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Webster’s first foray into college coaching came at Division III Wisconsin-Parkside in 1998-99. He spent one year there before eventually moving on to Ball State, which advanced to the NIT quarterfinals during his second season on the bench in Muncie, Ind. Gene Keady then summoned Webster for an assistant coaching position at Purdue, where Martin also was on staff. That 2003-04 Boilermakers squad also reached the NIT, giving Webster the second postseason run of his young coaching career. Postseason success became the norm for Webster during his time as an assistant coach in the Big Ten. He spent three seasons on Bruce Weber’s staff at Illinois (2005-07), helping to lead the Fighting Illini to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2005 squad posted an incredible 37-2 record (tying the NCAA record for wins in a season), advanced to the Final Four and finished as the national runner-up. That 2005 Illinois team featured five eventual NBA players in James Augustine, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and Olympic gold-medal-winner and perennial AllStar Deron Williams. After twice earning All-State honors as a point guard at Thornton High School in Harvey, Ill. — a career that led to the Chicago Sun-Times naming him the sixth-best point guard in Chicago prep history in 1992 — Webster starred at Wisconsin under head coaches Steve Yoder and Stu Jackson from (1991-94). Webster lettered three years for the Badgers and finished his career with 1,264 points and a school-record 501 assists. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, including first-team accolades in 1993 when he set Wisconsin’s single-season assists record with 179. In 1992, he set the school record for 3-point percentage, shooting .490 percent from beyond the arc. After his collegiate playing career, Webster served as the coordinator of community outreach programs at Wisconsin from 1994-97 before joining the coaching ranks as the freshman head coach and assistant varsity coach at Verona Area High School in Verona, Wis., from 1997-98. Webster spent 1999-2000 as the director of Webster Extramural Basketball Productions and as a care coordinator at Willowglen Academy in Milwaukee, Wis. He joined Martin’s Tennessee staff on April 5, 2011. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Wisconsin in 1995 and is married to the former Shenetta Richardson.
RESULTS
Tracy Webster has spent two seasons on staff at Tennessee alongside head coach Cuonzo Martin. Webster, a native of Harvey, Ill., boasts 10 seasons of high-major Division I coaching experience, with four NCAA Tournament berths and one Final Four appearance to his credit. Webster was promoted to associate head coach on July 3, 2012. Martin and Webster have known one another since their days as hardwood rivals and All-Big Ten selections at Purdue and Wisconsin, respectively, in the early 1990s. And in September 2009, HoopScoopOnline.com ranked Webster as one of the top 50 assistant coaches in the nation. “Coach Webster has experience coaching in the SEC, Big Ten and Big East,” Martin said. “He’s really the total package. From recruiting, to player development, to scouting, he is extremely well-rounded. He’s made a big impact with our perimeter guys in terms of skill development, shot selection and decision-making.” Shooting guard Jordan McRae, who blossomed into an SEC Player of the Year candidate in 2013, has improved his scoring, rebounding and assists averages — as well as his field-goal, 3-point and free-throw shooting percentages — every year since Webster’s arrival. Tennessee’s point guards reduced their turnovers by 36 percent from Webster’s first to second seasons working with that group. “Coach Webster was a great point guard,” Martin said. “He has a great understanding and a great feel for how to play the game. He’s a great teacher for our guards, because he was a really complete basketball player and he has a great mind for the game.” In addition to player development, Webster also has showcased his game-planning prowess at Tennessee, scouting the Vols to victories over defending national champion UConn in 2012 and eventual Elite Eight participant Florida in 2013. Prior to Webster’s arrival on Rocky Top, he spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant at Nebraska. That was immediately preceded by one year at DePaul, during which he was elevated to the position of interim head coach in mid-January. Upon his hiring at Tennessee, Webster was no stranger to the Southeastern Conference, having spent two seasons as an assistant on Billy Gillispie’s staff at Kentucky. The Wildcats earned postseason bids each year, appearing in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and reaching the NIT quarterfinals in 2009.
REVIEW
3rd Season at Tennessee Wisconsin, 1994
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