Former Players Coaching

Jennifer Wilson Galloway former Lady Wildcat, now is the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Hardin Valley Academy. Hardin Valley a district opponent for the Lady Wildcats debuted in the 2008-2009 Season.

She currently is a seventh grade math and reading teacher at Cleveland Middle School.  She was an associate head girls’ basketball coach at Cleveland High School.  While at Cleveland, she helped lead the team to four state tournament appearances, reaching as far as  the final four.  She also served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Jennifer played basketball at UTC where she was a four year starter and helped lead the Lady Mocs to four regular season conference championships and three tournament championships.  As a senior she was an Academic All-American and was the Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

Jennifer was raised in Oak Ridge by her parents, L.C. and Susie Wilson. She was a member of the National Honor Society.

Jennifer has a bachelor’s of education and a master’s of education from UTC.  She is currently working on her Education Specialist degree.  Jennifer has been married to Keith Galloway for two years.

While at Oak Ridge, Jennifer was All-State in volleyball and basketball her junior and senior year.  Jennifer was also named AAA Miss Basketball her junior and senior year. Jennifer also ranks at #1 on Career Scoring with 2120 points in her 1996-1999 Campaign. She also holds the single game scoring record for 38 points in one game.

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UCLA Lady Bruins Head Coach - Nikki Caldwell

Nikki Caldwell, former Lady Wildcat, is the Head Girls Basketball Coach at UCLA.

Caldwell came to UCLA after serving on the staff of legendary women’s coach Pat Summitt as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee for the 2003-08 seasons. She helped the Lady Vols post a 195-24 record during that span, which included five trips to the Final Four and NCAA championships in 2007 and 2008. Caldwell has been lauded as an excellent floor coach and a consistent star among college recruiters.

In her 14 seasons as a collegiate player and assistant coach, Caldwell’s teams have compiled an amazing 404-76 record and appeared in the NCAA Tournament each season, while winning three national championships.

In 2008, the Lady Vols captured a second-straight NCAA championship and finished with a record of 36-2. National Player of the Year Candace Parker, the No. 1 selection in the WNBA draft and the 2008 WNBA MVP, led a group of five Lady Vols to be drafted into the WNBA on the day following the championship.

Caldwell joined the Tennessee staff for the 2002-03 season and became the recruiting director in the spring of 2003. In the fall of 2003, the Tennessee staff signed perhaps the most prolific freshman class in the history of women’s collegiate basketball. That class consisted of six 2004 high school All-Americans, including three Players of the Year. In 2007, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named Tennessee as the best recruiting school in the nation. In 2008, three of the top 15 current high school seniors in the country (hoopgurlz.com) committed to play for Tennessee in 2008-09, and five played in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

A guard during her own playing days at Tennessee (1991-94) when the Lady Vols put together a 118-13 record, Caldwell was known for her tough defense and three-point shooting. She still ranks among the all-time top 10 at Tennessee in three-point field goals made (128) and three-point shots attempted (364). She scored 20 points in her first collegiate game against Stanford and went on to be named to the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) All-Freshman team. In the 1991 NCAA title game victory over Virginia, Caldwell’s defense was considered a key in UT’s overtime win. She received the Gloria Ray Leadership Award in both her junior and senior seasons at Tennessee.

After graduating with a degree in public relations in 1994, Caldwell moved behind the microphone as a color analyst on Tennessee games for Fox Sports Net South. She went on to become the color analyst for the SEC’s Game of the Week from 1995-97. Her television exposure opened the door for her to become the hostess of the sports segments for the Knoxville, TX-based cable network show, Shop at Home (1997-98). She then decided to return to her first love, coaching, in 1998, when she became a graduate assistant for administration on the Lady Vols women’s basketball staff. During the 1998-99 season, Tennessee went 31-3 and captured the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles. Caldwell was responsible for assisting the coaching staff in all aspects of basketball operations.

Caldwell is a passionate crusader for breast cancer awareness.

Coach Caldwell’s Bio from UCLA Bruins Sports Website.

While at Oak Ridge, she still holds the Single Season Scoring Record with 819 points in her 1989-1990 season.

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University of San Francisco Head Coach - Jennifer Azzi

After a lifetime associated as both a player and an ambassador for women’s basketball, the assignment at USF will be Azzi’s first as a Division I head coach. The Bay Area Sports Hall-of-Famer (BASHOF) brings an impressive playing resume featuring successful tenures with the USA National Team, five seasons in the WNBA, a founding member of the American Basketball League (ABL), professional experience overseas and an All-Ameri- can collegiate career at Stanford.

A four-year starter at Stanford from 1987-90, Azzi became the first Cardinal women’s basketball player to earn the Wade Trophy, the James Naismith Player of the Year award, and the Honda-Broderick National Player of the Year honor. She was Stanford’s first WBCA/Kodak All-American as a junior in 1989, and she earned the award a second time as a senior in 1990.

A three-time All-Pacific-10 performer and the 1990 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Azzi led the Cardinal to a pair of conference titles (1989, 1990) while being a catalyst for Stanford’s first national championship in 1990, leading her squad to a 32-1 record as the squad’s captain.

She finished her career at Stanford with 1,634 career points (eighth), 13.4 points per game (tied for ninth), 191 3-pointers made (seventh) and departed as the Cardinal’s all-time leader in career assists (751) and steals (271), and she is currently second and third all-time, respectively, in each category.

Upon her graduation from Stanford in 1990 with a B.A. in economics, Azzi embarked on a professional career that initially took her overseas before returning to compete once again on American soil. Azzi made successful stops abroad in Italy (1990-91), France (1991-93), and Sweden (1994-95).

In the American portion of her professional career, Azzi was one of the founding members of the American Basketball League. A three-time all-star, she played for the San Jose Lasers from 1996 to 1999. During that span, she was named the March of Dimes Female Athlete of the Year in 1996 and was awarded the Sport Image Award, with NFL great Jerry Rice, in 1996.

After the ABL folded in 1999, Azzi was drafted by the Detroit Shock in the first round, fifth overall pick, of the inaugural WNBA draft. During her four years in the league, she played for the Shock (1999), Utah Starzz (2000-03) and the San Antonio Silver Stars (2003). Each season, the guard led her respective teams in minutes played. In 2000, she led the league in free-throw percentage, shooting .930 from the line and set the league all-time single season record for 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 30-of-58 (.517). She finished her career as the all-time WNBA 3-point field goal leader, connecting at a .458 clip.

Internationally, Azzi was a member of the USA Basketball Senior National Team from 1990-91 and 1993-98. A key member of the United States gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Team that concluded a perfect 60-0 season with an 8-0 record during the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Azzi played on 13 USA National Teams, compiling a mark of 114-14. She also medaled three times at the World Championships, claiming gold in 1998 and 1990, while earning a bronze in 1994.

Azzi is a member of several Hall of Fames, including the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2009), the Anderson County Hall of Fame (2009), the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (2007), the San Jose Sports Authority Hall of Fame (2006), the Knoxville Hall of Fame (1998), and the Oak Ridge High School Hall of Fame. In 1995, Azzi became the youngest inductee into the Stanford University Hall of Fame.

Since retiring from her playing career, Azzi has continued to serve as a ambassador for the sport both locally and internationally. Azzi has traveled thousands of miles representing the NBA and WNBA on trips to Africa, Denmark and Dubai. In addition, Azzi has conducted youth basketball clinics and workshops across the globe.

A highly-regarded motivational speaker, Azzi has conducted seminars for dozens of companies, including members of the Fortune-500 – Coca-Cola, Disney, McDonalds, Nike and Proctor & Gamble. Azzi has written articles and features for a wide variety of publications, including Success Magazine and online at WNBA.com and NBC Quokka Sports Online. She has also made countless media appearances on network and cable TV.

Coach Azzi’s Bio from USF Sports Website.

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Athens Junior High School (Athens, TN) - Renee Robinson Pettitt