{"id":21722,"date":"2021-07-26T13:51:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T18:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21722"},"modified":"2021-07-26T13:51:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T18:51:45","slug":"the-great-gillom-sisters-jennifer-and-peggie-are-two-of-only-five-black-females-who-have-been-u-s-womens-basketball-coaches-in-the-12-olympics-for-womens-basketball-and-they-beli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21722","title":{"rendered":"THE GREAT GILLOM SISTERS, JENNIFER AND PEGGIE, are two of only five Black females who have been U.S. women\u2019s basketball COACHES in the 12 Olympics for women\u2019s basketball, AND THEY believe the work they put in led to the historical appointment of Dawn Staley \u2014 also a member of that elite sorority \u2014 as head coach of the 2020 team."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Gillom sisters are part of a “GREAT GROUP OF AMAZING WOMEN” that made big strides in the role of Black\/AFRICAN AMERICAN female coaches with USA Basketball. \"FILE <\/span> \u00a0Los Angeles Sparks coach Jennifer Gillom gestures during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Gillom says everything is a process. Dawn Staley becoming the first Black female head coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team is no different.\u00a0 <\/span> <\/span>Peggie Gillom-Granderson and her sister Jennifer are two of only five Black females who have been U.S. women\u2019s basketball assistants in the 12 Olympics for women\u2019s basketball. She believes the work they put in led to the historical appointment of Dawn Staley<\/a> \u2014 also a member of that elite sorority \u2014 as head coach of the 2020 team.\u201cJust like pretty much everything else, it\u2019s a process,\u201d said Gillom, won Olympic gold as a player in 1988 in Seoul and was an assistant coach in 2012 in London. \u201cAnd I think that it took us to pave the way for Dawn.\u201dHer sister Gillom-Granderson was an assistant in 2000 at the Sydney Games. Being an Olympic head coach hasn\u2019t been a goal for either, especially for Jennifer \u2014 not after years of playing basketball internationally. She\u2019s happy coaching a high school team in Phoenix.<\/strong>The other two Black women who have been national team assistants are Naismith Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer in 2004 and Marian Washington, an assistant at the 1996 Atlanta Games who coached 31 seasons at Kansas and was the first Black to coach on a U.S. women\u2019s basketball staff and first Black female coach in international competition in 1982.<\/strong> \"FILE <\/span> Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer talks to players during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in College Park, Md. The five Black women, including Stringer, who have been national team assistants helped pave the way for Dawn Staley’s historic debut at the Tokyo Games.\u00a0 <\/span> <\/span>Neither were ever tabbed as Olympic head coaches.<\/strong>\u201cI thought she definitely would have been considered as a head coach for the Olympic team,\u201d said Gillom-Granderson, who once coached in the Big 12 against Stringer. \u201cYes, those ladies have paid their dues, and they\u2019ve been there. They\u2019ve done that. … So yes, I think those ladies deserved it.\u201d<\/strong>Added Gillom: \u201cMaybe Vivian, it was too early then.\u201d<\/strong>The timing is right for Staley.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A player on that 1996 team when Washington was an assistant, Staley said race wasn’t something that was openly discussed at that time. She sees USA Basketball as a place where \u201cyou just come together for a common goal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FILE <\/span> \u00a0Kansas head coach Marian Washington talks to her players during a practice session for the Women’s Big 12 basketball tournament in Dallas. The five Black women, including Washington, who have been national team assistants helped pave the way for Dawn Staley’s historic debut at the Tokyo Games. <\/span> <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re in a day and age where diversity matters, inclusion matters,\u201d Staley said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. coaching pipeline has featured 14 white women assistants \u2014 four who later were tabbed as Olympic head coaches. Geno Auriemma is one of five men to later become head coach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The candidate pool is growing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adia Barnes, who coached Arizona to the national championship game in April and helped make history with Staley as the first two Black females ever to coach in a Final Four<\/a>, was an assistant to Staley at the 2021 USA AmeriCup last month in Puerto Rico, a qualifier for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FILE <\/span> Dawn Staley, center, coaches during practice for the United States women’s basketball team in preparation for the Olympics in Las Vegas. Jennifer Gillom says everything is a process. Dawn Staley becoming the first Black female head coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team is no different.\u00a0 <\/span> <\/span>The Southeastern Conference<\/a>, where Staley coaches, features seven Black female head coaches.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gillom followed her playing career with stints as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. Now she is focused on Xavier College Preparatory High School and excited about a 6-foot-6 incoming freshman.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her sister retired as associate head coach at Mississippi in 2009 and has worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at her alma mater ever since.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Staley coaching the U.S. women, Gillom expects to see \u201ca ton of Black women\u201d coaching not just in the Olympics, but at the college level and in the WNBA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m almost positive you\u2019re going to see a lot more Black women stepping up to the plate, feeling more motivated, feeling like they are finally being given the opportunity to display their ability,” Gillom said. \u201cAll you need is someone to be in that position to give you that confidence.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her sister agrees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe time is now is for Black women to have that opportunity,” Gillom-Granderson said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one understands or appreciates that more than Staley.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peggie Gillom-Granderson<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Peggie Gillom-Granderson (born April 14, 1958) is a chaplain<\/a> at the University of Mississippi<\/a> since 2009. Before starting her religious position, Gillom played on the Ole Miss Rebels women’s basketball<\/a> team between 1976 to 1980. During her time at Ole Miss, Gillom set career records for Mississippi with 2,486 points and 1,271 rebounds. After university, Gillom briefly played in the Women’s Professional Basketball League<\/a> for a year with the Dallas Diamonds<\/a>. As an assistant coach, Gillom worked with Ole Miss from 1981 to 1997 before continuing her assistant coaching tenure in the Women’s National Basketball Association<\/a>. With the Houston Comets<\/a>, Gillom and her team won the 1997 WNBA Championship<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a head coach, Gillom had 63 wins and 86 losses with the Texas A&M Aggies women’s basketball<\/a> team between 1998 to 2003. She later returned to Mississippi in 2003 to become the associate head coach for their women’s basketball team and remained in the position until 2008. Apart from university basketball, Gillom was an assistant coach of the American women’s basketball team that won bronze at the 1999 Pan American Games<\/a> and gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics<\/a>. Gillom was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame<\/a> in 1998 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame<\/a> in 2013.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Women\u2019s <\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n