Semeka Randall Lay

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1979)}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Semeka Randall-Lay

| profile =

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| league = Big South Conference

| team = Winthrop Eagles

| position = Head coach

| height_ft =

| height_in =

| weight_lbs =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|2|7}}

| birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

| high_school = Trinity (Garfield Heights, Ohio)

| college = Tennessee (1996–2000)

| draft_league = WNBA

| draft_year = 2001

| draft = 17th

| draft_team = Seattle Storm

| career_start =

| career_end =

| career_number =

| career_position = Guard

| years1 = 2001

| team1 = Seattle Storm

| years2 = 2002

| team2 = Utah Starzz

| years3 = 2003

| team3 = San Antonio Stars

| cyears1 = 2003–2004

| cteam1 = Cleveland State (assistant)

| cyears2 = 2005–2007

| cteam2 = Michigan State (assistant)

| cyears3 = 2007–2008

| cteam3 = West Virginia (assistant)

| cyears4 = 2008–2013

| cteam4 = Ohio

| cyears5 = 2013–2016

| cteam5 = Alabama A&M

| cyears6 = 2016–2018

| cteam6 = Wright State (assistant)

| cyears7 = 2018–2019

| cteam7 = Cincinnati (assistant)

| cyears8 = 2019–2020

| cteam8 = Winthrop (associate)

| cyears9 = 2020–2021

| cteam9 = Winthrop (associate/interim)

| cyears10 = 2021–present

| cteam10 = Winthrop

| highlights =

NCAA champion (1998)
2x Second-team All-American – AP (1999, 2000)
All-American – USBWA (1999)
2x Kodak All-American (1999, 2000)
2x First-team All-SEC (1999, 2000)
SEC All-Freshman Team (1998)

| medaltemplates =

}}

Semeka Chantay Randall-Lay (born February 7, 1979) is the current head coach for the Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team. She is also a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was hired as recruiting coordinator at Wright State in June 2016 after serving as the head coach of the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team for three years.{{cite news|url=https://whnt.com/2013/05/16/semeka-randall-named-alabama-am-womens-basketball-coach/|title=Semeka Randall Named Alabama A&M Women's Basketball Coach|date=May 16, 2013|work=WHNT.com|accessdate=November 13, 2018}}{{cite news|url=http://www.swac.org/news/2016/5/26/210979513.aspx|title=Randall not returning as Alabama A&M head coach|website=swac.org|date=May 26, 2016|accessdate=November 13, 2018}} Randall was also head coach of the Ohio Bobcats, from 2008 to 2013.{{cite web|url=http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/womens-basketball-ohio-athletics-decides-not-renew-randalls-contract|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130626180416/http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/womens-basketball-ohio-athletics-decides-not-renew-randalls-contract|url-status=dead|archivedate=June 26, 2013|title=Ohio Athletics decides not to renew Randall's contract|accessdate=March 10, 2013}} She previously served as an assistant coach of the women's basketball teams at West Virginia University, Michigan State University, and Cleveland State University.

Early life

She attended Trinity High School in Garfield Heights, Ohio, where she starred in basketball until 1996. Randall was named a WBCA All-American.{{cite web|title=Past WBCA HS Coaches' All-America Teams|url=http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_caat_hs_past|publisher=Women's Basketball Coaches Association|accessdate=July 1, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715025150/http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_caat_hs_past|archivedate=July 15, 2014}} She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored seventeen points.{{cite web|title=WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores|url=http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_high_school_all-america_game_box_scores|publisher=Women's Basketball Coaches Association|accessdate=June 29, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715064856/http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_high_school_all-america_game_box_scores|archivedate=July 15, 2014}}

College career

She was a member of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team, the Lady Vols, which won the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship in 1998, with a perfect 39–0 won-loss record.

She was one of the three star players on the team collectively known as "The Three Meeks": Randall, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Tamika Catchings. Her reputation as a standout defensive player won her the nickname "Hard to Handle Randall". A game at UConn where the Huskies' fans booed her relentlessly earned her the nickname "Boo".

She was named on the Kodak All-American First Team in (1999–2000), and to the Associated Press All-American Second Team in (1999, 2000).

She graduated in December 2000, a semester ahead of her class, with a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Communications.

USA Basketball

Randall was named to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team (now called the U18 team). The team participated in the third Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament, held in Chetumal, Mexico in late August and early September 1996. The USA team won their early games easily, but lost by four points to the team from Brazil, ending up with the silver medal for the event, which qualified the USA for the 1997 FIBA Junior World Championship{{cite web|title=Third Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team – 1996|date=June 10, 2010|url=https://www.usab.com/history/u18-womens/third-womens-junior-world-championship-qualifying-team-1996.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906232830/http://www.usab.com/history/u18-womens/third-womens-junior-world-championship-qualifying-team-1996.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 6, 2015|publisher=USA Basketball|accessdate=November 13, 2018}}

Randall was named to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team, which competed in the 1997 FIBA Junior World Championship (now called U19) held in Natal, Brazil. After beating Japan, the next game was against Australia, the defending champion. The USA team pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half, but gave up the lead and lost the game 80–74. The USA rebounded with a close 92–88 victory over Cuba, helped by 23 points each from Maylana Martin and Lynn Pride. The USA then went on to beat previously unbeaten Russia. After winning the next two games, the USA faced Australia in the gold medal game. The USA team has a three-point lead late, but the Aussies hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Although the Aussies scored first, the USA team came back, then pulled into the lead and held on to win 78–74 to earn the gold, and the first medal for a USA team at a Junior World Championship. Randall was injured and unable to play in the event.{{cite web|title=Fourth FIBA Women's U19/Junior World Championship – 1997|date=January 20, 2011|url=https://www.usab.com/history/u19-womens/fourth-fiba-womens-u19junior-world-championship-1997.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907031413/http://www.usab.com/history/u19-womens/fourth-fiba-womens-u19junior-world-championship-1997.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2015|publisher=USA Basketball|accessdate=November 13, 2018}}

Randall was named to the team representing the USA at the 1998 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team, coached by Nell Fortner, won all five games, earning the gold medal for the competition. Randall was the leading scorer on the team, averaging 10.6 points per game.{{cite web|date=June 10, 2010|title=1998 Women's R. William Jones Cup|url=https://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/r-williams-jones-cup-team/1998-womens-r-william-jones-cup.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907023409/http://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/r-williams-jones-cup-team/1998-womens-r-william-jones-cup.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2015|publisher=USA Basketball|accessdate=November 13, 2018}}

WNBA career

Randall joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) after being selected by the Seattle Storm in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 2001 WNBA draft.

She played for the Storm until she was traded to the Utah Starzz in exchange for Kate Starbird during the middle of the WNBA's 2002 season.

She remained with the Starzz franchise when the team relocated to San Antonio, Texas, and changed its name to the San Antonio Silver Stars for the 2003 season.

In the last game of the 2004 season, Randall set a Silver Stars record by recording eight steals in the Silver Stars' 82–65 win over the Charlotte Sting on September 17. After the game, Randall announced that she would be retiring from the WNBA to take an assistant coaching job at Michigan State University.

Overseas and the NWBL

Like most WNBA players during the off-season, Randall kept playing basketball in international leagues.

In 2001–02, Randall started all 16 games at point guard and averaged 19 points while playing for the Israeli Professional Basketball League.

The following year, she played in the Greek Professional Basketball League, again starting all 16 games for her squad.

In 2003, she was a member of the Tennessee Fury of the National Women's Basketball League, averaging 12.2 points as a shooting guard.

Coaching career

Randall's first coaching job was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at Cleveland State University, during the 2002–03 season.

On September 17, 2004, Michigan State University (MSU) announced that Randall was hired as an assistant coach. During that season, the MSU team made it all the way to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship game, only to lose to Baylor University. On April 17, 2007, Randall was hired as an assistant coach at West Virginia University.

She was named head coach of the Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team on May 9, 2008. Upon her hiring, she stated: "It is my dream job to coach in the state of Ohio. If you look at my previous coaching experiences, you'll see that I've always positioned myself around this state because it's a great place for women's basketball. Ohio is a great school. I like that it urges student-athletes to excel in the classroom and on the court. It's just a great place and I'm looking forward to becoming part of the Ohio basketball family and the Athens community!" Jim Schaus, Athletic Director of Ohio University, described her hiring as "a winning half-court shot at the buzzer."

On March 10, 2013, Randall was released from the Ohio coaching staff where she held a five-year record of 50–103; during her fifth year as head coach, Semeka held a record of 6–23, going 1–15 in the Mid American Conference (MAC).{{cite web

|url=https://ohiobobcats.com/sports/wbkb/2018-19/files/2018-19_WBB_Record_Book.pdf

|title=Women's Basketball Record Book

|date= 2018–2019

|website=Ohio University Athletics

|access-date=

}}

In May 2013, Randall was named as the new head coach of the Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs basketball team.{{cite web|url=http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/05/semeka_randall_named_new_alaba.html|author=Mark McCarter|title=Semeka Randall named new Alabama A&M women's basketball coach (updated)|work=The Birmingham News|date=May 16, 2013|accessdate=November 13, 2018}}

Randall is currently the head coach for the women's program at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.{{Cite web|url=https://winthropeagles.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/semeka-randall-lay/1088|title=Semeka Randall Lay – Women's Basketball Coach|website=Winthrop University Athletics|language=en|access-date=April 22, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/womens-basketball/2021/04/12/former-lady-vol-semeka-randall-lay-named-winthrop-womens-basketball-coach/7188385002/|title=Former Tennessee Lady Vols star Semeka Randall Lay named Winthrop women's basketball coach|website=Knoxville News Sentinel|date=April 12, 2021}}

Awards

Ohio Ms. Basketball (1996, 1997) awarded by Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association

Career statistics

=WNBA=

==Regular season==

{{WNBA player statistics start|caption=WNBA regular season statistics{{cite web |title=Semeka Randall WNBA Stats |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/r/randase01w.html |website=Basketball Reference |access-date= }}}}

| align="left" | 2001

| align="left" | Seattle

|32||30||27.6||37.1||0.0||66.0||3.3||1.4||0.9||0.1||2.3||9.4

| align="left" rowspan=2 | 2002

| align="left" | Seattle

|21||16||21.8||35.3||21.1||70.6||3.2||1.4||1.0||0.0||1.7||6.4

| align="left" | Utah

|8||0||16.9||45.0||0.0||75.9||2.6||1.0||0.5||0.1||1.3||7.3

| align="left" | 2003

| align="left" | San Antonio

|33||1||10.3||35.6||0.0||53.3||1.6||0.7||0.3||0.0||1.3||2.7

| align="left" | 2004

| align="left" | San Antonio

|29||8||15.9||37.1||0.0||62.5||2.1||0.7||0.8||0.1||1.0||4.7

|- class="sortbottom"

| align="left" | Career

| align="left" | 4 years, 2 teams

|123||55||18.5||37.0||12.9||65.2||2.5||1.0||0.7||0.1||1.6||5.8

==Playoffs==

{{WNBA player statistics start|caption=WNBA playoffs statistics}}

| align="left" | 2002

| align="left" | Utah

|5||0||12.4||36.4||0.0||80.0||2.4||1.0||0.2||0.0||0.6||4.0

|- class="sortbottom"

| align="left" | Career

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

|5||0||12.4||36.4||0.0||80.0||2.4||1.0||0.2||0.0||0.6||4.0

= College =

{{WNBA player statistics start|caption=NCAA statistics{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/semeka-randall-1.html|title=Semeka Randall College Stats|publisher=Sports-Reference|accessdate=April 11, 2024}}}}

| style="text-align:left;" | 1997–98

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

|38||-||-||48.7||9.1||72.8||5.3||1.3||2.7||0.1||-||15.9

| style="text-align:left;" | 1998–99

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

|33||-||-||51.2||25.0||59.0||4.8||1.4||1.8||0.2||-||14.1

| style="text-align:left;" | 1999–00

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

|37||-||-||41.8||25.7||78.5||5.3||1.9||1.9||0.1||-||14.0

| style="text-align:left;" | 2000–01

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

|32||-||-||41.7||15.4||71.3||5.0||2.2||1.6||0.1||-||10.3

|- class="sortbottom"

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

|140||-||-||46.0||20.9||71.0||5.1||1.7||2.0||0.1||-||13.7

Head coaching record

Source:

Winthrop{{Cite web |title=2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule |url=https://winthropeagles.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/2022-23 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Winthrop University Athletics |language=en}}
Big South{{Cite web |title=2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings |url=https://bigsouthsports.com/standings.aspx?standings=1123 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=bigsouthsports.com |language=en}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Start

|type=coach

|conference=

|postseason=

|poll=

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

|name=Ohio Bobcats

|startyear=2008

|conference=Mid-American Conference

|endyear=2013

|}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2008–09

| name = Ohio

| overall = 13–18

| conference = 7–9

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2009–10

| name = Ohio

| overall = 8–22

| conference = 4–12

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2010–11

| name = Ohio

| overall = 9–22

| conference = 4–12

| confstanding = 8th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2011–12

| name = Ohio

| overall = 14–18

| conference = 6–10

| confstanding = 8th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2012–13

| name = Ohio

| overall = 6–23

| conference = 1–15

| confstanding = 11th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Ohio

| overall = 50–103 ({{Winning percentage|50|103}})

| confrecord = 22–58 ({{Winning percentage|22|58}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

|name=Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs

|startyear=2013

|conference=Southwestern Athletic Conference

|endyear=2016

|}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2013–14

| name = Alabama A&M

| overall = 6–24

| conference = 3–15

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2014–15

| name = Alabama A&M

| overall = 6–24

| conference = 5–13

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2015–16

| name = Alabama A&M

| overall = 5–25

| conference = 3–15

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Alabama A&M

| overall = 17–73 ({{Winning percentage|17|73}})

| confrecord = 11–43 ({{Winning percentage|11|43}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

|name=Winthrop Eagles

|startyear=2020

|conference=Big South Conference

|endyear=

|}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2020–21

| name = Winthrop Eagles

| overall = 6–18

| conference = 5–15

| confstanding = 8th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2021–22

| name = Winthrop Eagles

| overall = 6–24

| conference = 4–14

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 2022–23

| name = Winthrop Eagles

| overall = 8–22

| conference = 6–12

| confstanding = 9th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Winthrop

| overall = 20–64 ({{Winning percentage|20|64}})

| confrecord = 15–41 ({{Winning percentage|15|41}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record End

|overall= 87–226 ({{winpct|87|226}})

}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiobkcoaches.com/Awards/Ms_Basketball.html|title=OHSBC MS. BASKETBALL|accessdate=June 21, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207042212/http://ohiobkcoaches.com/Awards/Ms_Basketball.html|archivedate=February 7, 2009}}

}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512180721/http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/050908aac.html Randall Named Head Coach of the Ohio Bobcats]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027045518/http://geocities.com/semekarandall/ Official website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130104173127/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/semeka_randall/ WNBA player profile]
[http://msuspartans.collegesports.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/randall_semeka00.html Michigan State University profile]
[http://msuspartans.collegesports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/091704aac.html Michigan State University press release on hiring Randall]
[http://www.thepost.ohiou.edu/Articles/Sports/2008/08/07/25149/ Ohio U Post Newspaper: Recruit upset with timing of new coaching staff’s scholarship removal]