Indiana State head women’s basketball coach Chad Killinger announced the final member of his staff on Wednesday with the addition of LaKale Malone as an assistant coach/director of player development.
“LaKale is someone that I’ve known for a long time. I couldn’t be happier for her to be joining our staff and I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with her,” Killinger said. “She will be a positive influence on the young women in our program, both on and off the court, and completes what I believe is the most well-rounded staff that we could’ve assembled when it comes to knowledge, skill and personality.”
Malone comes to Indiana State after an eight-year stint at the University of Illinois from 2012-2020, serving as the associate head coach for the final five.
“I am extremely excited to join Coach Killinger, my longtime friend, on this quest of building on the winning tradition of Indiana State women’s basketball,” Malone said. “I look forward to developing champion on and off the court. The positivity, dedication and energy of our coaching staff will be contagious.”
While at Illinois, Malone’s recruiting efforts helped guide the Illini to back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes and earned earn their best season record since 2007 in 2012-13, as the team went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s NIT. Malone has reached the postseason in 10 of her 20 years as a college coach.
In her first season with Illinois, Malone helped guide the Illini to a fifth-place national ranking in steals per game (12.6) in 2012-13, breaking Big Ten records for steals in all games (417) and conference games (234). Illinois also broke school records for three-pointers made (184) and turnovers forced (773). The Orange and Blue finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten, their best finish in six years, and posted their first winning conference record in 10 years with a 9-7 mark in Big Ten play.
Illini players continued to break into the record books under Malone’s direction as she mentored a young group of Illini players during the 2013-14 season, helping them finish eighth in the nation in steals (11.0 per game) and 13th in turnover margin (+5.2 per game). Illinois also broke the school record for three-pointers made (202) for the second-straight season.
With Malone’s coaching, the Illini got off to one of the best starts that the Orange and Blue have seen in 12 years as the team went 5-0 to start the 2014-15 season and topped ninth-ranked Kentucky in the non-conference portion of the year. Malone’s recruiting talents were put on display as freshman Chatrice White made a major impact for the Illini on the floor. White broke the Illinois all-time freshman scoring and blocked shots records on her way to Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
The 2015-16 season saw Malone continue to guide a young squad as she helped to mold five newcomers into significant contributing roles on the squad. With Malone’s guidance, the Illini continued to be one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, led by senior Kyley Simmons who knocked down 77 of Illinois’ school-record 224 three-pointers made. That number also marks the fourth consecutive season that the Orange and Blue have reset the school’s season three-pointers record.
Malone continued to shape a youthful squad throughout the 2016-17 campaign, helping to guide Illinois to two of the biggest conference wins in program history as the Orange and Blue posted a 37-point victory over Rutgers, followed by a 20-point win over Nebraska. The wins marked the first time since the 2006-07 campaign that an Illini squad has earned two conference victories by a margin of 20 or more points in the same year.
Malone’s efforts continued to pay off in the 2017-18 as she helped lead Illinois to a 9-5 nonconference record, which marked the best start to the season since Illinois also earned nine non-conference victories in the 2014-15 campaign (9-3). Illinois won four of its last five games leading up to league play, with the streak marking the most consecutive victories for the Orange and Blue since the start of the 2015-16 season.
With Malone’s assistance, the 2018-19 Illini squad opened the season with a 7-0 record on Lou Henson Court for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Additionally, Illinois’ 8-3 record in nonconference play, a .727 nonconference winning percentage, marks is the highest for an Illini squad since starting the 2014-15 campaign with a 9-5 nonconference record (.750).
Prior to joining the staff at Illinois, Malone played a big role in signing multiple top-25 classes under head coach Gail Goestenkors at Texas, including four McDonald’s All-Americans. The Longhorns advanced to the NCAA tournament in all five seasons Malone was an assistant, and produced eight All-Big 12 and 11 Academic All-Big 12 honorees. She helped recruit WNBA draft pick Brittainey Raven and signed 2012 Wade Trophy Watch List honoreee, Chassidy Fussell.
Before her time in Austin, Malone was an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for Connie Yori at the University of Nebraska from 2003-07, helping build that program to a national level. She spearheaded the signing of a top-25 recruiting class in 2007 and helped develop 2010 first team All-American and first-round WNBA draft pick Kelsey Griffin. The Huskers advanced to the postseason all four years she was on staff.
Malone also served as an assistant at Wagner College (2000-01) and Bradley University (2001-03).’
A four-year letterwinner at Indiana University, Malone graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and marketing. She also holds a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska.
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