This past June, former LSU women's basketball assistant coach Bob Starkey joined the UCF women's basketball staff in the same capacity. Starkey's new co-workers were long-time friends Joi Williams, Greg Brown and Richard Fortune. One of his new co-workers was one of his former players.
Khalilah Mitchell was the UCF's graduate assistant the past two seasons. This offseason, Williams promoted her to director of program development. Prior to joining UCF, Mitchell played for Starkey at LSU. She is just one of two players (men or women) to be a part of five NCAA Final Four Teams. Starkey and Mitchell are excited to reunite.
"We reunite that Bayou connection that we had back at LSU," Mitchell said. "It is great to learn from him, first as a player and now looking at it from a different side of coaching. It is very informative. I am learning a whole lot and I'm enjoying it."
Starkey said, "Obviously she learned some basketball along the way from playing. Now she is in a position to hopefully take some of the things she learned and teach it as well. Any time one of our former players goes into coaching, it is a big thrill for me. It means a lot for me to actually see her do that.
"In her five years that she played at LSU, she was by far the most popular teammate on that team. She did not have a single person that did not like her. She related very well to every player on that team and every one of them adored her." Starkey spent 22 seasons with LSU's basketball programs. He spent the last 13 with their women's team. During his tenure at LSU, he worked with players such as Shaquille O'Neal, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Temeka Johnson.
After suffering a season-ending knee injury in her freshman year, Mitchell went on to play four more years with LSU. After her final season, 2007-08, she earned a position at UCF as a graduate assistant.
Starkey sees the same promise in Mitchell as a coach that he saw in her as a player. "She is a great people person. She cares about people, which is why I think she is going to be a great coach."
