Jenny Boucek

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Jenny Boucek

| image = Jenny Boucek at 2 August 2015 game cropped.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| position = Assistant coach

| league = NBA

| team = Indiana Pacers

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 8

| weight_lb = 130

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|12|20}}

| birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| high_school = University School of Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee)

| college = Virginia (1992–1996)

| draft_year = 1997

| draft_league = WNBA

| career_start = 1996

| career_end = 1998

| career_position = Guard

| career_number = 10, 14

| coach_start = 1999

| coach_end =

| years1 = 1997

| team1 = Cleveland Rockers

| years2 = 1997–1998

| team2 = Keflavík

| cyears1 = 1999

| cteam1 = Washington Mystics (assistant)

| cyears2 = 2000–2002

| cteam2 = Miami Sol (assistant)

| cyears3 = 2003–2005

| cteam3 = Seattle Storm (assistant)

| cyears4 = 2007–2009

| cteam4 = Sacramento Monarchs

| cyears5 = 2010–2014

| cteam5 = Seattle Storm (assistant)

| cyears6 = 2015–2017

| cteam6 = Seattle Storm

| cyears7 = {{nbay|2017|start}}–{{nbay|2017|end}}

| cteam7 = Sacramento Kings (assistant)

| cyears8 = {{nbay|2018|start}}–{{nbay|2020|end}}

| cteam8 = Dallas Mavericks (assistant)

| cyears9 = {{nbay|2021|start}}–present

| cteam9 = Indiana Pacers (assistant)

| highlights =

As player:

Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year (1998)
Icelandic champion (1998)
Icelandic Basketball Cup (1998)
ACC All-Freshman Team (1993)

As head coach:

WNBA All–Star Game Head Coach (2007)

As assistant coach:

2x WNBA champion (2004, 2010)
WNBA All–Star Game Assistant Coach (2011)

| medal_templates =

}}

Jennifer Dawn Boucek ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|uː|s|ɛ|k}} {{respell|BOO|sek}};{{cite press release |author= |title=2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide |url=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide |publisher=National Basketball Association |date=October 24, 2023 |access-date=May 17, 2024}} born December 20, 1973) is an American basketball coach and a former player. Boucek played college basketball for the University of Virginia and later professionally for the Cleveland Rockers in the WNBA and Keflavík in Iceland where she won both the national championship and the national cup, as well as being named the Foreign Player of the Year.

Boucek started her coaching career in 1999 as an assistant with the Washington Mystics. She later served as an assistant for the Miami Sol and the Seattle Storm before being named the head coach of the Sacramento Monarchs in 2007. After serving as an assistant coach for the Storm again, she became the head coach of the team in 2015. In 2018 she became the third woman to serve as an assistant coach in the NBA when she was hired by the Sacramento Kings. She later served as an assistant for the Dallas Mavericks and has been an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers since 2021.

College career

Born Jennifer Dawn Boucek in Nashville, Tennessee, Boucek was a four-year starting player for the University of Virginia's women's basketball team from 1992 to 1996. She helped lead the Cavaliers to four regular season Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships and three NCAA Elite Eight appearances.

Boucek was a two-time GTE Academic All-American team member and two-time ACC selection. Boucek twice earned team Defensive Player of the Year honors and finished her career at Virginia as a member of the 1,000-point club. She also competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993.

Boucek graduated with honors in 1997 with a double major degree in sports medicine and sports management. She was given a free fifth year after her college playing career ended. She had six mini-internships during that year, including in sports medicine, sports information and sports psychology. Boucek graduated as No. 1 at Virginia's Curry School of Education and Human Development.{{Cite news|url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-mavericks/mavericks/2018/12/20/ready-choose-motherhood-nba-career-now-blazing-dual-trails-mavericks-first-female-coach|title=She was ready to choose motherhood over an NBA career. Now she's blazing dual trails as the Mavericks' first female coach.|work=SportsDay|access-date=June 7, 2019|language=en-GB}}

Professional playing career

Boucek planned to enter med school but rumors of the WNBA's founding had her spending a month getting back into shape to attend a Cleveland Rockers open tryout. In 1997, she was one of a pair of women to earn a spot on the roster from 350 attendees to the tryout.{{cite web|title=Jenny Boucek: Career|url=http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/jenny_boucek.html|publisher=WNBA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010430030949/http://wnba.com/playerfile/career/jenny_boucek.html|archive-date=April 30, 2001|accessdate=August 6, 2016}} Boucek played her first game with the Rockers on June 21, 1997, in a 56 - 76 loss to the Houston Comets. where she recorded 2 points and 2 rebounds.{{cite web | url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706210CLE.html | title=Houston Comets at Cleveland Rockers, June 21, 1997 }} She would play in 10 of the Rockers' 28 games in the 1997 season, missing several games due to a stress fracture in her back.{{cite news |author1=Liz Robbins |title=Talent on court, tact at the table |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-talent-on-court-tact-a/160521220/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |work=The Plain Dealer |date=1998-05-14 |page=2D |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}

In November 1997, Boucek signed with Keflavík in the Icelandic top-tier 1. deild kvenna (now named Úrvalsdeild kvenna).{{cite news |title=Bandarísk stúlka til Keflvíkinga |url=https://timarit.is/page/1891751?iabr=on#page/n1/mode/1up/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |work=Morgunblaðið |date=1997-11-15 |page=2B |language=Icelandic |via=Tímarit.is}}{{open access}} She appeared in 18 league, playoffs and Cup games, with Keflavík winning 16 of those{{cite news |author1=Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson |title=Eins og hún hefði verið geymd í formalíni |url=https://timarit.is/page/6465358?iabr=on#page/n47/mode/1up/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |work=Fréttablaðið |date=2014-12-17 |page=40 |language=Icelandic |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}} and the Icelandic championship{{cite news|author1=Skapti Hallgrímsson|title=Keflvíkingar bestir|url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=130434&pageId=1902009|accessdate=August 10, 2017|work=Morgunblaðið|date=March 31, 1998|language=is}} and the Icelandic Basketball Cup.{{cite news|author1=Skúli Unnar Sveinsson|title=Spila alltaf fyrir liðið|url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=130309&pageId=1898675|accessdate=August 10, 2017|work=Morgunblaðið|date=February 17, 1998|language=is}} In the league competition she was named the Foreign player of the year{{cite news|title=Helgi Jónas og Anna María best að mati leikmanna|url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=130497&pageId=1903693|accessdate=August 10, 2017|work=Morgunblaðið|date=April 25, 1998|language=is}} after averaging 20.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.{{cite web |title=1. deild kvenna - KKÍ |url=https://gamli.kki.is/mot/1500000629_KEFLAVIK____.htm |website=kki.is |publisher=Icelandic Basketball Association |access-date=8 December 2024 |language=Icelandic}}

She returned to the Cleveland Rockers in time for the 1998 season but was released prior to the start of the regular season on her own accord due to a torn hamstring.{{cite news |author1=Liz Robbins |title=Boucek's Rockers career cut short |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-bouceks-rockers-career/160521252/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |work=The Plain Dealer |date=1998-05-20 |page=2D |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}

Career statistics

= College =

| style="text-align:left;" | 1992–93

| style="text-align:left;" | Virginia

|32||-||-||54.2||0.0||70.6||3.8||1.9||0.7||0.1||-||5.9

| style="text-align:left;" | 1993–94

| style="text-align:left;" | Virginia

|30||-||-||41.5||24.0||67.2||4.6||4.2||1.4||0.2||-||8.5

| style="text-align:left;" | 1994–95

| style="text-align:left;" | Virginia

|32||-||-||51.6||30.6||67.5||3.8||3.8||1.4||0.1||-||9.9

| style="text-align:left;" | 1995–96

| style="text-align:left;" | Virginia

|33||-||-||51.7||0.0||58.2||2.7||2.7||1.3||0.0||-||7.4

| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career

|127||-||-||49.3||27.0||65.7||3.7||3.1||1.2||0.1||-||7.9

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/Jenny-Boucek-1.html|title=Jenny Boucek College Stats|publisher=Sports-Reference|accessdate=April 11, 2024}}

=Professional=

==WNBA==

===Regular season===

| align="left" | 1997

| align="left" | Cleveland

|10||1||11.2||46.7||0.0||57.1||1.0||0.9||0.6||0.0||2.2||1.8

| align="left" | Career

| align="left" | 1 year, 1 team

|10||1||11.2||46.7||0.0||57.1||1.0||0.9||0.6||0.0||2.2||1.8

==Iceland==

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"

|+{{{caption

}}

! Year

! Competition

! Team

! {{tooltip|2=Games played|GP}}

! {{tooltip|2=Minutes per game|MPG}}

! {{tooltip|2=2-point field-goal percentage|2P%}}

! {{tooltip|2=3-point field-goal percentage|3P%}}

! {{tooltip|2=Free-throw percentage|FT%}}

! {{tooltip|2=Rebounds per game|RPG}}

! {{tooltip|2=Assists per game|APG}}

! {{tooltip|2=Steals per game|SPG}}

! {{tooltip|2=Blocks per game|BPG}}

! {{tooltip|2=Turnovers per game|TO}}

! {{tooltip|2=Points per game|PPG}}

| align="left" | 1997–1998

| align="left" | 1. deild

| align="left" | Keflavík

|9||32.9||60.3||0.0||76.9||5.9||4.4||5.3||0.0||4.3||20.7

| align="left" | 1997–1998

| align="left" | 1. deild playoffs

| align="left" | Keflavík

|6||37.0||55.6||25.0||75.8||4.3||3.2||5.0||0.0||3.0||18.2

| align="left" | 1997–1998

| align="left" | Icelandic Cup

| align="left" | Keflavík

|3||30.0||59.6||33.3||87.5||3.3||4.0||5.3||0.0||2.0||28.7

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|[https://gamli.kki.is/mot/1500000629_KEFLAVIK____.htm Regular season statistics] - [https://gamli.kki.is/mot/1500000815_KEFLAVIK____.htm Playoff statistics] - [https://gamli.kki.is/mot/1500000646_KEFLAVIK____.htm Cup statistics]

Coaching career

Boucek began her coaching career in the WNBA during the 1999 season as an assistant with the Washington Mystics. In 2000, she joined the Miami Sol, also as an assistant coach, for three seasons.

In 2003, Boucek joined the Seattle Storm as an assistant coach and in 2004, helped the team win the WNBA Finals Championship, beating the Connecticut Sun. She also served as one of the Storm's scouts for prospective college players during the NCAA basketball season.

In addition to her official scouting duties, Boucek also served as a color commentator on several Fox Sports Net broadcasts of ACC women's basketball games.

However, shortly after the 2005 WNBA season ended, Boucek declined to remain with the Storm for the upcoming 2006 season, citing personal reasons for her departure.

On November 15, 2006, the Sacramento Monarchs named Boucek as their new head coach for the 2007 WNBA season. On July 12, 2009, Sacramento Monarchs general manager John Whisenant announced the team relieved Boucek of her head coaching duties. She compiled a 40–41 record in two-plus years as Monarchs head coach. She was 19–15 in 2007, 18–16 in 2008, and 3–10 in 2009 at the time of her dismissal.

She regards Pacers coach Rick Carlisle as a friend and mentor with their shared background as standout basketball players at Virginia. He invited Boucek to spend time with his Mavericks staff in 2011 and for a month of 2014's training camp.

On January 20, 2015, the Seattle Storm named Boucek as head coach.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=wnba&id=12197909|title=WNBA's Storm promote Jenny Boucek to head coach|date=January 20, 2015|website=ESPN.com|access-date=September 4, 2017}} On August 10, 2017, the Storm fired Boucek as head coach after compiling a 36–58 record for the franchise and, in particular, for a disappointing 2017 season.{{cite web|last1=Allen|first1=Percy|title=Following fourth straight loss, Storm fires coach Jenny Boucek|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/storm/following-fourth-straight-loss-storm-fires-coach-jenny-boucek/|website=The Seattle Times|accessdate=August 10, 2017|date=August 10, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/07/22/5-things-to-know-about-new-mavericks-assistant-jenny-boucek-including-her-extensive-coaching-history-and-days-as-a-baller-at-uva/|title=5 things to know about new Mavericks assistant Jenny Boucek, including her extensive coaching history and days as a baller at UVA|date=July 22, 2018|work=The Dallas Morning News|access-date=January 30, 2020}}

On October 20, 2017, Boucek was announced as a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, becoming the third woman assistant coach in NBA history.{{Cite news|url=https://femalecoachingnetwork.com/latest-news/nba-team-sacramento-kings-hire-jenny-boucek-assistant-coach-usa/|title=NBA Team Sacramento Kings hire Jenny Boucek as Assistant Coach (USA) - Female Coaching Network|work=Female Coaching Network|access-date=March 8, 2018|language=en-GB}}

On July 19, 2018, Boucek was announced as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the first female assistant coach in franchise history.{{Cite news|url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-mavericks/mavericks/2018/07/18/rick-carlisle-hires-jenny-boucek-new-mavericks-coaching-position/|title=Rick Carlisle hires Jenny Boucek to assistant role, the first female on Mavs' coaching staff in franchise history|work=SportsDay|access-date=July 25, 2018|language=en-GB}} She gave birth to her daughter Rylie twelve days later.

On July 16, 2021, Boucek was named an assistant coach of the Indiana Pacers, remaining with Rick Carlisle, who hired her to join the Mavericks' staff three years earlier.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/pacers-hire-four-assistant-coaches|title=Pacers Hire Four Assistant Coaches|work=NBA.com|access-date=July 16, 2021}}

Coaching record

| align="left" |SAC

| align="left" |2007

|34||19||15||{{Winning percentage|19|15}}|| align="center" |3rd in West||3||1||2||{{winning percentage|1|2}}

| align="center" |Lost in Western Conference Semi-Finals

| align="left" |SAC

| align="left" |2008

|34||18||16||{{Winning percentage|18|16}}|| align="center" |4th in West||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}

| align="center" |Lost in Western Conference Semi-Finals

| align="left" |SAC

| align="left" |2009

|13||3||10||{{Winning percentage|3|10}}|| align="center" |6th in West||-||-||-||-

| align="center" |Fired Mid-Season

| align="left" | SEA

| align="left" |2015

|34||10||24||{{Winning percentage|10|24}}|| align="center" |5th in West||-||-||-||-

| align="center" |Missed Playoffs

| align="left" | SEA

| align="left" |2016

|34||16||18||{{Winning percentage|16|18}}|| align="center" |4th in West||1||0||1||{{Winning percentage|0|1}}

| align="center" |Lost in 1st Round

| align="left" |SEA

| align="left" |2017

|26||10||16||{{Winning percentage|10|16}}|| align="center" |5th in West||-||-||-||-

| align="center" |Fired Mid-Season

|-class="sortbottom"

| align="left" |Career

| ||175||76||99||{{Winning percentage|76|99}}|| ||7||2||5||{{Winning percentage|2|5}}

References

External links

[http://www.wnba.com/storm/roster/jenny_boucek.html Seattle Storm coaching profile]
[http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/New_Storm_Assistant_Coach_Jenn-68954-221.html March 14, 2003 WNBA.com article and interview shortly after she joined the Seattle Storm team]
[http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/Bouceks_Choice_Pays_Off-101205-221.html February 27, 2004 WNBA.com article, "Boucek's Choice Pays Off"]
[http://www.seattlepi.com/wnba/241399_storm20.html September 20, 2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on Boucek leaving the Storm]
[http://www.wnba.com/monarchs/news/monarchs_coach_111506.html Sacramento Monarchs press release on being named their head coach]
[http://www.wnba.com/monarchs/news/boucek_q_and_a.html November 15, 2006 Question And Answer session]
[http://www.jennyboucek.com/ Jenny Boucek Web Site]