| Winthrop Eagles | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Head coach | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Big South Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-02-07)February 7, 1979 (age 46) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Trinity (Garfield Heights, Ohio) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee (1996–2000) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2001: 17th | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Seattle Storm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Seattle Storm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Utah Starzz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | San Antonio Stars | ||||||||||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Cleveland State (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Michigan State (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | West Virginia (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2013 | Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Alabama A&M | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Wright State (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Cincinnati (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Winthrop (associate) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Winthrop (associate/interim) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–present | Winthrop | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Semeka Chantay Randall-Lay (born February 7, 1979) is the current head coach for theWinthrop Eagles women's basketball team. She is also a former collegiate and professionalbasketball player. She was hired as recruiting coordinator at Wright State in June 2016 after serving as the head coach of theAlabama A&M University women's basketball team for three years.[1][2] Randall was also head coach of theOhio Bobcats, from 2008 to 2013.[3] She previously served as an assistant coach of the women's basketball teams atWest Virginia University,Michigan State University, andCleveland State University.
She attended Trinity High School inGarfield Heights, Ohio, where she starred in basketball until 1996. Randall was named aWBCA All-American.[4] She participated in theWBCA High School All-America Game where she scored seventeen points.[5]
She was a member of theUniversity of Tennessee women's basketball team, theLady Vols, which won theNCAA 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, andTamika Catchings. Her reputation as a standout defensive player won her the nickname "Hard to Handle Randall". A game atUConn where the Huskies' fans booed her relentlessly earned her the nickname "Boo".
She was named on theKodakAll-American First Team in (1999–2000), and to theAssociated PressAll-American Second Team in (1999, 2000).
She graduated in December 2000, a semester ahead of her class, with aBachelor's Degree in Speech Communications.
Randall was named to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team (now called theU18 team). The team participated in the third Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament, held inChetumal, 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[6]
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 inNatal, 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 fromMaylana Martin andLynn 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.[7]
Randall was named to the team representing the USA at the 1998William Jones Cup competition inTaipei, Taiwan. The USA team, coached byNell 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.[8]
Randall joined theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) after being selected by theSeattle Storm in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 2001WNBA draft.
She played for the Storm until she was traded to theUtah Starzz in exchange forKate Starbird during the middle of the WNBA's 2002 season.
She remained with the Starzz franchise when the team relocated toSan Antonio, Texas, and changed its name to theSan 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 theCharlotte Sting on September 17. After the game, Randall announced that she would be retiring from the WNBA to take an assistant coaching job atMichigan State University.
Like most WNBA players during the off-season, Randall kept playing basketball in international leagues.
In 2001–02, Randall started all 16 games atpoint 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 theNational Women's Basketball League, averaging 12.2 points as ashooting guard.
Randall's first coaching job was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team atCleveland 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 theNCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship game, only to lose toBaylor University. On April 17, 2007, Randall was hired as an assistant coach atWest Virginia University.
She was named head coach of theOhio 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 ofOhio 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).[9]
In May 2013, Randall was named as the new head coach of theAlabama A&M Lady Bulldogs basketball team.[10]
Randall is currently the head coach for the women's program at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.[11][12]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Seattle | 32 | 30 | 27.6 | 37.1 | 0.0 | 66.0 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 9.4 |
| 2002 | Seattle | 21 | 16 | 21.8 | 35.3 | 21.1 | 70.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 6.4 |
| Utah | 8 | 0 | 16.9 | 45.0 | 0.0 | 75.9 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 7.3 | |
| 2003 | San Antonio | 33 | 1 | 10.3 | 35.6 | 0.0 | 53.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 2.7 |
| 2004 | San Antonio | 29 | 8 | 15.9 | 37.1 | 0.0 | 62.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.7 |
| Career | 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Utah | 5 | 0 | 12.4 | 36.4 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| Career | 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Tennessee | 38 | - | - | 48.7 | 9.1 | 72.8 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.1 | - | 15.9 |
| 1998–99 | Tennessee | 33 | - | - | 51.2 | 25.0 | 59.0 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.2 | - | 14.1 |
| 1999–00 | Tennessee | 37 | - | - | 41.8 | 25.7 | 78.5 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.1 | - | 14.0 |
| 2000–01 | Tennessee | 32 | - | - | 41.7 | 15.4 | 71.3 | 5.0 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.1 | - | 10.3 |
| Career | 140 | - | - | 46.0 | 20.9 | 71.0 | 5.1 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.1 | - | 13.7 | |
Source:
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats(Mid-American Conference)(2008–2013) | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | Ohio | 13–18 | 7–9 | 7th | |||||
| 2009–10 | Ohio | 8–22 | 4–12 | 9th | |||||
| 2010–11 | Ohio | 9–22 | 4–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Ohio | 14–18 | 6–10 | 8th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Ohio | 6–23 | 1–15 | 11th | |||||
| Ohio: | 50–103 (.327) | 22–58 (.275) | |||||||
| Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs(Southwestern Athletic Conference)(2013–2016) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Alabama A&M | 6–24 | 3–15 | 9th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Alabama A&M | 6–24 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Alabama A&M | 5–25 | 3–15 | 9th | |||||
| Alabama A&M: | 17–73 (.189) | 11–43 (.204) | |||||||
| Winthrop Eagles(Big South Conference)(2020–present) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | Winthrop Eagles | 6–18 | 5–15 | 8th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Winthrop Eagles | 6–24 | 4–14 | 9th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Winthrop Eagles | 8–22 | 6–12 | 9th | |||||
| Winthrop: | 20–64 (.238) | 15–41 (.268) | |||||||
| Total: | 87–226 (.278) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
