Jolette Law
{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Jolette Law
| image = Jolette Law.jpg
| caption =
| current_title = Assistant coach
| current_team = South Carolina
| current_conference = SEC
| current_record =
| contract =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = University of Iowa
| player_team1 = Iowa
| player_years1 = 1987–1990
| player_team2 = Harlem Globetrotters
| player_years2 = 1990–1994
| player_positions =
| coach_team1 = Ball State (assistant)
| coach_years1 = 1994–1995
| coach_team2 = Rutgers (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1995–2003
| coach_team3 = Rutgers (associate HC)
| coach_years3 = 2003–2007
| coach_team4 = Illinois
| coach_years4 = 2007–2012
| coach_team5 = Tennessee (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 2012–2017
| coach_team6 = South Carolina (assistant)
| coach_years6 = 2017–present
| overall_record = 69–93
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships =
| awards =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCompetition|Jones Cup| Team Competition}}
{{MedalSilver|1988 Jones Cup Taipei, Taiwan| Team Competition}}
}}
Jolette Law is an assistant coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. She was previously a Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball assistant and, before that, the Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball head coach in addition to being a Harlem Globetrotter from 1991 to 1994. Florence, South Carolina is her hometown.[http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/law_jolette00.html Jolette Law] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510171439/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/law_jolette00.html |date=2012-05-10 }} Fighting Illini
College career
Law grew up in South Carolina. She was recruited by C. Vivian Stringer, then head coach at Iowa. Law visited the campus on a day when the mercury dropped to twenty degrees below zero, and Coach Stringer thought she had little chance to get her to commit. Law was still interested, but Stringer had another roadblock—Law's father, who didn't want his daughter going so far away. Stringer explained that he would be able to listen to games on the radio, as the games were broadcast on station WHO. Stringer had heard that the reach of the station was national, but she had never tried it. Jolette's father, Joe, put her to the test. He handed her an old radio and told her to find the station. Stringer tried to find the station, fiddling with the dial and the antenna, but came up empty. She then asked Joe for a coat hanger, to rig up a better antenna. He responded, "Oh, I'll get you anything you want. But unless you get that station on the radio, I'm not letting Jolette go out there." Stringer kept fiddling with the radio and suddenly they heard Larry Cutler announcing the station call sign and adding "home of the Hawkeyes". Jolette went to Iowa.
In her freshman year, Iowa played North Carolina, as close as they would get to her home.
Her father arranged for a busload of friends and relatives to go to the game. However,
the game was very close, and Stringer didn't think Law was ready yet for the pressure of
a close game. By halftime, when Law still hadn't played, the family section was audibly
reacting. Stringer could hear it, but chose to ignore it. The assistant coaches were
nervous, but Stringer told them to ignore it. Near the end of the game, the
dissatisfaction rose, and Stringer decided to call Joe over for a word. She also asked
Jolette to listen. Stringer said, "She's going to be fine... She's not ready now, but
she will be...That's all I have to say unless you're serious about her going somewhere
else, in which case we need to have a conversation." Jolette chimed in, "I'm learning a
lot, but I'm not ready yet." Law's father backed off. The following year, Law's sophomore
year, she won a starting job over a senior, and helped the team reach a number one ranking
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason= }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=Illinois Fighting Illini
|startyear=2007
|conference=Big Ten Conference
|endyear=2012
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2007–08
| name = Illinois
| overall = 20–15
| conference = 8–10
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason = WNIT Third Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2008–09
| name = Illinois
| overall = 10–21
| conference = 5–13
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2009–10
| name = Illinois
| overall = 19–15
| conference = 7–11
| confstanding = T–8th
| postseason = WNIT Quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2010–11
| name = Illinois
| overall = 9–23
| conference = 2–14
| confstanding = 11th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2011–12
| name = Illinois
| overall = 11–19
| conference = 5–11
| confstanding = T–9th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Illinois
| overall = {{Winning percentage|69|93|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|27|59|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall = {{Winning percentage|69|93|record=y}}
|legend = no
}}
USA Basketball
Law was named to the team representing the US at the 1988 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team had a 3–2 record, but that was enough to secure the silver medal. She averaged 5.4 points per game and led the team with eight assists. Law was named to the All-Tournament Team.
References
{{Reflist|refs=
}}
{{Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball coach navbox}}
{{2022 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball navbox}}
{{2024 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Jolette}}
Category:Harlem Globetrotters players
Category:Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball players
Category:Ball State Cardinals women's basketball coaches
Category:Basketball coaches from South Carolina
Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball coaches
Category:Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball coaches
Category:South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball coaches
Category:Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coaches