Tasha Butts (March 10, 1982 – October 23, 2023) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. She played for the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She was an assistant coach at several NCAA schools over 17 seasons. She was hired as the head coach of the

Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball The Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball team is Georgetown University's women's basketball program in the NCAA Division I Big East Conference. The team was first formed in 1970, and joined the Big East in 1983. They play their home games on campus ...

team, but died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

before her first game as a head coach.

Career

Butts attended Baldwin High School in

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville () is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Georgia, Baldwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Founded in 1803 along the Oconee River, it served as the List of current and former capital cities in the ...

, and was named the state's girls basketball player of the year in 2000. She then enrolled at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to play

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers women's basketball Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

team. The

of the WNBA selected Butts with the 20th overall selection in the

2004 WNBA draft The 2004 in sports, 2004 WNBA draft was the eighth draft in the WNBA's history. It took place on April 17, 2004, at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, NJ. Additionally, on January 6, 2004, the WBNA held a 2004 WNBA dispersal draft, disp ...

. Butts played for the Lynx in the 2004 WNBA season. Over the next four years, she had various contracts with other WNBA teams, none of which resulted in further regular season playing time. She returned to Tennessee in 2005 as a graduate assistant. Butts worked as an assistant coach at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

. She left there to serve as an assistant coach at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. From 2011 to 2019, she was an assistant coach at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and, from 2019 to 2023, served as an assistant coach for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The team plays its home games at McCamish Pavilio ...

team. In April 2023, she was named the head coach of the

team.

Personal life

Butts was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in November 2021. She died due to complications from breast cancer on October 23, 2023, at the age of 41.

Career statistics

College

Source

WNBA

Source

Regular season

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Playoffs

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References

External links

WNBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butts, Tasha 1982 births 2023 deaths American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Duquesne Dukes women's basketball coaches Forwards (basketball) Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball coaches LSU Tigers women's basketball coaches Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players Sportspeople from Milledgeville, Georgia Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball players UCLA Bruins women's basketball coaches Deaths from breast cancer