Itoro Umoh-Coleman (born Itoro Umoh on February 21, 1977) is an American athlete and former WNBA

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. She played for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

in college and served as head basketball coach for that team.WNBA Player Bio
In 2002, Umoh-Coleman was selected for the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

'50-year all-star women's basketball team,' as well as '25th Anniversary Tournament' team.

Early years

Born in Washington, D.C., Umoh-Coleman grew up in

Hephzibah, Georgia Hephzibah () is a city in southern Richmond County, Georgia, Richmond County, in the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area. The population was 4,011 at the 2010 census. ''Hephzibah'' ...

. She attended

Hephzibah High School Hephzibah High School is a high school located in south Richmond County in the town of Hephzibah, Georgia, United States. It is the largest high school, by attendance, in the Richmond County School System. It is located in a rural area and its st ...

and played for the Lady Rebels under coach Wendell Lofton. She graduated in 1995.

College career

During her sports playing career at Clemson University from 1995 to 1999, Umoh led the Lady Clemson Tigers to two ACC Championships.Clemson's McKinney retains assistant

Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. The '' ...

, May 5, 2005. Retrieved 03-03-2009 While at Clemson, she played both point guard and shooting guard.Andy Johnston
"Umoh teaches lesson in life"
''Augusta Chronicle'', January 29, 1997. Retrieved 03-03-2009. During her 1995-1996 freshman year at Clemson, in which the university won the ACC Championship, Umoh led the team in assists and steals. At Clemson, she was a 3-time All-ACC player.
She scored her 900th career point in 1998 during a Clemson- Wake Forest game in which coach Jim Davis won his 100th game. During her 1999 senior ACC tournament, Umoh was awarded the MVP award in a rare unanimous vote. That same year, she was an honorable mention for the All-American team and Defensive All-American. Umoh-Coleman represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

, with the team winning a bronze medal. She graduated with a degree in communications from Clemson in 2000. She appeared in the 2002 romantic comedy film

Juwanna Mann ''Juwanna Mann'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jesse Vaughan, written by Bradley Allenstein, produced by Bill Gerber, and starring Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, Kim Wayans, Gi ...

WNBA career

In 1999 Umoh was in the preseason camps of the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

and

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

but did not make either team. In 2002, after attending WNBA league camp tryouts, she was assigned to the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

training camp, but failed to make the team. In 2003, Umoh became the first Clemson player to be named to an active WNBA roster after being signed by the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

early in the season to replace the injured Cynthia Cooper (she had previously been in the Comets training camp that year but was waived before the regular season started). She played in three games for the team before being waived again.

Coaching

Her first coaching job was as a student assistant for

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

in 1999. After graduation from college, Umoh worked at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

, where she coached from 2000 to 2002. She accepted an assistant coaching job for the Lady Clemson Tigers in 2002. One of her major functions in the program was as a recruiter. She became the head coach of the team in 2010. After 3 years as head coach, she was let go by Clemson at the end of the 2013 season. She is now an assistant coach for

Courtney Banghart Courtney Rosholt Banghart (born May 11, 1978) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at North Carolina. Prior to North Carolina, she served as head coach at Princeton from 2007 to 2019. Playing career B ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Nigerian National Team

At the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens, Umoh-Coleman played for the

Nigeria women's national basketball team The Nigeria women's national basketball team, also known as D'Tigeress, represents Nigeria in international women's basketball competition, and are regulated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Nigeria. Nige ...

.Nigeria snaps streak, finishes 11th

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, August 24, 2004. She played on the team with

Joanne Aluka Joanne Aluka-White (born April 26, 1979 in Jackson, Mississippi, United States) is a Nigerian American women's basketball player. Early life and education She was born in Mississippi in the United States and acquired Nigerian citizenship throug ...

, a fellow Hephzibah High School alumna. In 2006, Umoh-Coleman played for the Nigerian national team at the

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

world championships. She had the highest number of assists in the tournament.

Personal life

In December 1999, Itoro Umoh married Harold Coleman. Together, they have four children, three girls and a boy.Kristy Shonka
"Umoh leads in life, Games"
''Augusta Chronicle,'' August 17, 2004. Retrieved 03-03-2009. They became the primary caregivers for her two younger siblings after the death of Umoh-Coleman's mother in 2002. They also care for Harold Coleman's nephew.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Umoh-Coleman, Itoro 1977 births Living people African-American basketball players American women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Clemson Tigers women's basketball coaches Clemson Tigers women's basketball players Guards (basketball) Houston Comets players Liberty Lady Flames basketball coaches Nigerian women's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Nigeria People from Hephzibah, Georgia Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games United States women's national basketball team players