Tomekia Reed has been hired as New Orleans Privateers women’s basketball assistant coach, the New Orleans Department of Athletics announced on Friday.
Reed comes to the Privateers after her most recent stint at Louisiana Tech where she was part of a Lady Techsters squad that reached the Conference-USA tournament quarterfinals as a 14-seed. In the tournament, Louisiana Tech stunned higher seeded North Texas and Charlotte with wins over both.
Head Coach Keeshawn Davenport said about choosing Reed, "I have a vision for the program. I look at the entire program, both the team and my staff as a puzzle. To bring the vision to past, the puzzle must be complete. Coach Reed completes my staff but she can also help bring in more pieces to better the team."
Prior to her stay in Ruston, Reed spent three seasons as an assistant at Southern Miss. Reed helped bring in a nationally ranked recruiting class in 2013 while the Lady Eagles achieved a school record in wins and a second round appearance in the WNIT.
On the floor, Reed has worked mainly with developing skills of post players in her assistant’s role while having an extensive reach in recruiting in the Southeast region. "Coach Reed has a wealth of knowledge and experience considering she’s been at several good schools and I expect her to use that while here at UNO. I’m really excited and her energy is refreshing. Coach Reed is passionate but humble at the same time and we welcome her to our family with wide open arms," said Davenport.
Off the court, Reed has been involved with and organized many community outreach projects at her coaching stops, a role Coach Davenport is looking forward to her continuing to undertake in New Orleans. Reed launched student organizations at Southern Miss and Louisiana-Lafayette. While at Southern Miss, Reed headed the Extraordinary Eagles Program community event which honors elementary Honor Roll students.
Reed started out her collegiate career as a recruiting coordinator at South Georgia Technical College, and moved into the same role at Jackson State from 2006-09 and Louisiana-Lafayette from 2009-10. Reed has assisted in several high ranking recruiting classes including the 2014 class at Louisiana Tech, which garnered a Top 50 ranking the nation and was the second-highest ranked class in Conference-USA.
"The one thing that really grabbed my attention about the Women’s Basketball program was Coach Davenport’s vision," said Reed. "She knows exactly where she wants this program to go and the necessary steps needed to get there."
As a player, Reed started her career at Southern Miss where she helped lead the program to a WNIT appearance. Reed then transferred to Hinds Community College where she led the Mississippi Junior College Athletic Association in rebounding. Reed finished her playing career at Georgia Southwestern State University where she led the team in scoring.
"This program is going in right direction," said Reed. "The players already came up with their mission statement. Since I’ve been here they have taken their fundamental skills to another level. That’s one thing they pride themselves in and their confidence is through the roof."
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