Open mobile menu

Blue Named Women's Basketball Assistant Coach

Aug. 31, 2009

ATLANTA – Octavia Blue, assistant coach at St. John’s University, has been named an assistant coach for the Georgia Tech women’s basketball program, head coach MaChelle Joseph announced Monday.

“I am excited to bring someone like Octavia Blue to Georgia Tech,” Joseph said. “To have an assistant coach that has the type of professional playing experience that she has will be such a tremendous asset to our program.

“I am so impressed with her work ethic in recruiting and the impact she made at St John’s in a short period of time. I look forward to having Octavia in our program at Tech.”

Blue comes to Georgia Tech from St. John’s in Queens, N.Y., where she spent the 2008-09 campaign. During her tenure, Blue was responsible for recruiting, post-player development and scouting.

“I am excited to join the Georgia Tech family,” Blue said. “Head Coach MaChelle Joseph is one of the best young coaches in the country and I am eager to be part of what she is building at Tech. I can’t wait to get on the floor and work with the players.” Prior to St. John’s, Blue enjoyed one season at St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla., as an assistant coach. She worked on the development of post players and assisted head coach Robin Harmony with game planning and preparation.

Before taking her position at St. Thomas, Blue was the executive director of player relations for the Merit Management Group, which is a sports management company for professional athletes. She assisted in the supervision of athletes’ careers, coordinated WNBA exposure camps, scouted for professional talent and negotiated player contracts.

Blue has extensive experience and knowledge of the game of basketball, dating to her playing career at the University of Miami from 1994-98. She was a two-time All-American, a three-time All-BIG EAST selection and is the fifth all-time leading scorer in Hurricane history with 1,724 points. In her senior campaign at Miami, she earned All-BIG EAST first team honors, averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game.

After her decorated collegiate career, she was the 15th overall draft pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 1998 WNBA draft. She had a long-tenured professional career from 1998-2006, which included playing for two WNBA teams (Sparks and Houston Comets) and playing internationally with clubs in Greece, Israel, France, Turkey and Poland.

MaChelle Joseph has hit a grand slam home run in hiring Octavia Blue as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech,” said Van Chancellor, former Houston Comets head coach. “Octavia is extremely team oriented, very loyal and displays tremendous character. When I was coaching the Houston Comets, Octavia Blue was just one of my favorite people because of how much she added to our team. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that she will make a difference in the Georgia Tech program.”

Blue received her bachelor’s degree in sociology/sports management from Miami in 2007. In 2008, she was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and she was selected by the Atlantic Coast Conference as an ACC/Miami Legend. – RamblinWreck.com –

RELATED HEADLINES

Women's Basketball Georgia Tech Breaks Ground on Fanning Center

New student-athlete performance center set to open in 2026

Georgia Tech Breaks Ground on Fanning Center
Women's Basketball Jackets Drop WBIT Decision at MSU, 84-47

Tonie Morgan led Georgia Tech with team-high 16 points

Jackets Drop WBIT Decision at MSU, 84-47
Women's Basketball PHOTOS: Women's Basketball vs. Mississippi State (WBIT)

Photos by Bailey Black

PHOTOS: Women's Basketball vs. Mississippi State (WBIT)
Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Legends Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets