The Western Michigan women’s basketball program and head coach Shane Clipfell are excited to announce the hiring of Terrance Slater as the program’s new associate head coach.
“We are really happy to have Coach T Slater and his family coming back home to his Bronco roots,” Clipfell said. “He has been a great supporter and fan of our Bronco teams since my first day on the job here. He has always tried to give back to the University every chance he has and now he can give back in an even bigger way by joining our coaching staff. He will be in charge of Post Player development as well as heading up the defensive side of the ball.
He also has a great recruiting network which will help us in the most critical area of finding the right players for our program. His love for the University and what it taught him as a young adult is something he will be able to share with recruits and their families. We look forward to welcoming Coach T and his wife Eboni Banks-Slater, who is also a Bronco alum, along with their two children Branden and Egypt back to Kalamazoo!”
While at Kentucky State, Slater compiled a 88-66 record and guided four student-athletes to All-SIAC honors. Additionally, he led the 2018-19 squad to the SIAC Championship game as the lowest seeded team in the tournament. Four of his student-athletes went on to play professionally.
Before joining the staff at KSU, Slater was the director and coach for the Illinois MEANSTREETS AAU program in Chicago, IL. He produced talents such as Derrick Rose (New York Knicks) and former UK standouts Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), and Tyler Ulis (Phoenix Suns). He also served as a trainer and Director of Scouting for Sports Prep NBA, which produced Jahlil Okafor (Philadelphia 76ers).
A native of East St. Louis, Ill., Slater was a McDonald’s All-American honorable mention standout at East St. Louis Lincoln Senior High School from 1995-98. He continued his playing career at Los Angeles Community College where he was a National Junior College Association All-American in 1999. He then moved on to WMU and played for the Broncos from 2000-03. He turned the program from a nine-win team in his first season to a back-to-back 20-win team the following two seasons. The team collected key victories over Michigan, Auburn and Fordham.
After finishing his college playing career, Slater was signed by the Charleston Lowgators of the NBA Development League. He then went on to play in the World Basketball Association with the Rome Dragons during their 2004 season. He also played with the Battle Creek Knights of the International Basketball League in 2006. With the Knights, Slater helped the team complete a perfect 21-0 season, earning the franchise’s first ever IBL Championship.
Slater earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Western Michigan in 2003.
