Missouri State women’s basketball head coach Nyla Milleson completed her 2008-09 Lady Bear coaching staff Monday with the hiring of Camryn Whitaker as assistant coach. Whitaker, who comes to Missouri State after serving as an assistant coach at Austin Peay State University for the past two seasons, begins her duties this week, filling the vacancy created by Kristy Guffey’s departure in late March.
Whitaker joined head coach Carrie Daniels’ Austin Peay staff in July of 2006 and played key roles in the Lady Govs’ recruiting efforts, guard development, team travel and scouting operations. The Austin Peay job was Whitaker’s first full-time coaching position following a stint in the corporate business sector after her 2005 graduation from Western Kentucky University.
The Cynthiana, Ky., native was a standout point guard for Western Kentucky from 2000-05. Whitaker started 117 of 126 games during her WKU career, helping the Lady Toppers to 97 victories and post-season appearances in each of her five seasons with the program. She set a Sun Belt Conference freshman record for assists (170) in 2000-01 and averaged 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game to go with 5.8 points per outing during her career. She left a sizeable imprint on the WKU record book, despite being hampered by a knee injury that forced her to miss the 2002-03 campaign as a medical redshirt. Whitaker concluded her Lady Topper career second all-time in assists, third in games played, fifth in minutes played per game and 10th in steals.
"Camryn is going to be a great fit for our staff ," Milleson said. "She’s very personable, and we feel that, not only her playing experience, but also the experience she’s gained the last two years as a Division I coach will make her a great asset for our program."
The Lady Bears will return two starters and seven letterwinners in 2008-09 after finishing 11-19 in 2007-08, Milleson’s first season as head coach.
Courtesy: MSU sports information
