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Head coach Shimmy
Gray-Miller was introduced on April 19, 2005, as the
sixth coach in the 30-year history of the Saint Louis
University women's basketball program.
Gray-Miller has been around successful programs all of
her life and has plans to quickly rebuild the Billikens
into a contender in the Atlantic 10 Conference, as well
as nationally.
In her first season at Saint Louis University,
Gray-Miller almost doubled the win total from the
previous year while overcoming a depleted roster. Under
Shimmy’s tutelage, Tyler McIlwraith was named the
basketball A10 Student – Athlete of the Year and also
was voted to the A10 All Conference Second Team. The
Billikens were among the conference leaders in turnovers
per game and offensive rebounding, despite being
undersized. Three different Billikens were ranked among
the leaders in several statistical categories, including
scoring, rebounding, steals, and 3 point percentage.
The upward swing for the Billikens continued in year two
as Gray-Miller once again nearly doubled Saint Louis’s
win total from the year before. Although starting 4
freshmen, the Billikens qualified for the conference
tournament for the first time in 4 years. While not
being satisfied with simply qualifying, Shimmy and the
Billikens knocked off a #6 seed and took the #3 seed and
eventual conference tournament champion down to the wire
in a 1 pt loss in the quarterfinals. The Billikens would
finish the regular season as the conference leaders in
steals per game and second in points scored per game.
Year two would also prove to be a record breaking year
for Saint Louis University Women’s Basketball as the
Billikens set records for steals in a season, free
throws made in a season and free throw percentage.
Recruiting has always been a focal point of
Gray-Miller’s. Shimmy has brought the same fire and work
ethic that she possessed as an assistant to the Billiken
coaching staff. Gray-Miller’s recruiting philosophy is
based on building relationships with her potential
student athletes. That philosophy paid off in Shimmy’s
first year as the Billiken coaching staff hauled in
arguably the best recruiting class in Saint Louis
University women’s basketball history. Her first year
recruiting class included a 2006 Illinois Miss
Basketball winner, an Ohio State Girl’s Basketball
Champion, and a player who would go on to be voted Team
Captain in her true freshman year. In addition, Theresa
Lisch was named to the 5 member All Conference Rookie
Team at the conclusion of her freshman year.
No stranger to the values of community service,
Gray-Miller’s team performed over 140 hours of work in
the Saint Louis area the past two years. The Billikens
dedication to the community ranges from serving food to
the homeless at local soup kitchens to mentoring young
girls and acting as volunteer coaches at the Missouri
Special Olympics.
Gray-Miller, a native of Flint, Mich., was an assistant
at the University of Arizona for two seasons. The
Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament both seasons that she
served in Tucson. In 2004-05, Gray-Miller helped Arizona
to a 20-12 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the
Pacific-10 Conference. The Wildcats defeated Oklahoma in
the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 1 LSU.
In 2003-04, the Wildcats posted a 24-9 record, tied for
the Pac-10 regular-season championship with a 14-4 slate
and runner up in the conference tournament. While with
the Wildcats, Gray-Miller coached honorable mention
All-Americans in center Shawntinice Polk and guard Dee
Dee Wheeler, who was a second round WNBA draft choice in
2005.
Prior to her stint at UofA, Gray-Miller was an assistant
coach at the University of Washington for three years.
She helped the Huskies to the postseason every season,
including two NCAA Tournaments. In 2000-01, Washington
finished 22-10 and tied for the Pac-10 regular-season
title. In the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies reached the
Elite Eight after defeating Old Dominion, Florida and
Oklahoma and finished the year ranked No. 14 in the
polls.
The Huskies reached the WNIT in 2001-02 and registered
19 wins. Washington posted a 22-8 record in 2002-03, and
Gray-Miller coached the Pac-10 Player of the Year in
Giuliana Mendiola.
In 2003, Gray-Miller earned the Seattle Parks and
Recreation Award for "Outstanding Dedication to the
Youth of Seattle."
During her coaching tenure, Gray-Miller has coached 11
All-Conference or Academic All Conference players, 6 All
American honorees, 2 WNBA draft picks, 1 Conference
Player of the Year, and 1 National Student Athlete of
the Year.
Gray-Miller worked as a volunteer coach for the WNBA's
Seattle Storm in 2003 and spent the 1999-2000 season as
an assistant coach at Bellevue (Wash.) Community
College. She played at the University of Michigan and
served as team captain for the Wolverines as a senior.
Gray-Miller was the 1994 Swish Club Award winner for
leadership and dedication. She still ranks in the career
top 10 in four categories at UofM.
Gray-Miller graduated from Michigan in 1994 with a
degree in sociology with a minor in law and criminology.
In 1998-99, Gray-Miller played one season of
professional basketball for Olivais Futbol Clube, a
first division club team in Coimbra, Portugal. She also
played with Athletes in Action for two seasons & served
as a member of the AIA the Northwest travel team.
Gray-Miller is a graduate of Carman-Ainsworth High
School and was a 1989 All-State selection as a senior.
In 2005 Gray was inducted into the Carman-Ainsworth
Athletic Hall of Fame.
An excellent public speaker, for the past five years
Gray-Miller has been invited to speak at workshops
sponsored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association
(WBCA) and conducted at the NCAA convention. She also
wrote a column for adolescent girl basketball players
and their parents for the website "Hoop Gurlz." |
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© Copyright
Shimmy Gray, All Rights Reserved. |
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