Tamara Moore is a former long-time basketball player. She was a star high school and collegiate athlete before playing several professional seasons. Most famously in the Women's National Basketball Association or WNBA.
After retiring from playing, Moore would go into coaching. She had been the head coach of the girls' basketball team at Edison High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A new school has now hired her.
Named the men's basketball coach at Mesabi Range College
Moore is the newest head coach Mesabi Range College's men's basketball team. According to NBC, it's the second time that a woman has been hired to coach a men's college basketball team.
The first was Kerri-Ann McTiernan. McTiernan coached at Kingsborough Community College in New York City.
In addition to the men's basketball, Moore is taking on head coaching duties for the softball team. Moore has also been a team owner, league owner, and CEO of The OBA League. A semi-pro men's basketball league.
A woman has never been the head coach of a Division I men's team of the NCAA. Which ESPN indicates is Moore's ultimate goal. Similarly, a woman has not yet been the head coach of a National Basketball Association team. But there have been several women who've served as assistant coaches, including Becky Hammon. Hammon made the shortlist for the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018.
Mesabi Range College is made up of two campuses. With one in Virginia, Minnesota, and another in nearby Eveleth. Its athletic teams are called the Norsemen and the Lady Norse. They compete at the Division III level of the National Junior College Athletic Association. And it is a member of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference.
Was the first-round pick in the WNBA
Moore is a graduate of North Community High School in Minneapolis. As a member of the girls' basketball team, she was named an All-American in 1998. She also played in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-America Game.
At the NCAA level, Moore played at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
With the Wisconsin Badgers, Moore was a two-time selection to the First Team All-Big Ten. In 2001, she was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to two NCAA Tournament appearances, Moore helped lead the Badgers to success in the WNIT. The team made the Final in 1999 and won the championship the following year. In 1999, Moore was named the tournament's MVP.
Moore was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. She holds a degree from the university in Afro-American History.
In 2002, Moore was chosen in the first round of the WNBA Draft. She was selected by the Miami Sol and made her debut with the team. She would play with six other teams during her WNBA career. Including the Detroit Shock during the team's 2003 championship season. After the end of her WNBA playing career, Moore would play with several teams overseas.
