Joanne Aluka-White (born April 26, 1979 in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

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 ...

) is a

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

player.

Early life and education

She was born in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

in the United States and acquired

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n citizenship through her parents. 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 stu ...

in the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. She was a graduate of Middle Tennessee State with a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science in 2001 and went further to complete her Master’s degree in Human Performance with a concentration in Sports Management in 2003. She married Fred White and they have twins: Daniel and Gabrielle.

Career

Aluka competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics 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 Greece with 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 ...

. After the Olympics, Aluka joined and played for a while in the Dallas Fury in the National Women’s Basketball League. Aluka experienced her first coaching job at FIU where her responsibilities included assisting with recruiting, on-floor game and practice coaching as well as promotions and camps. Before she went into coaching, she successfully built her career and played at Middle Tennessee State (1997-2002).

Achievement

* Scoring over 1,000 career points * Earned Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors during her four-year career * Team captain that helped the Blue Raiders capture an Ohio Valley Tournament Championship and a bid to the NCAA Tournament during her career * Played professionally in Portugal and helped her team to the National Cup Championship game in 2004

References

1979 births Living people American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Jackson, Mississippi Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball players Nigerian women's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Nigeria {{Nigeria-basketball-bio-stub