Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Lady Mocs Hire Former Lady Vol and Her Husband

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The wife-and-husband coaching team of Kellie Jolly Harper and Jon Harper has been hired as assistant basketball coaches for the Chattanooga Lady Mocs.

The duo replaces former assistants Jill Jameson (now assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Marquette) and Laura Cottrell (now head girls coach at Baylor School in Chattanooga), both of whom resigned earlier this spring.

Kellie, a former prep standout at White County High School in Sparta, Tenn., was a Tennessee Lady Vols All-America point guard who won three national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 under coach Pat Summitt. In the 1999-2000 season, she was an administrative assistant coach at Auburn University and last season she moved up to a full-time assistant.

"As a player, she epitomized what you wanted in a point guard and the same characteristics you want to see in a coach," said UTC coach Wes Moore. "She works extremely hard. She provides a lot of leadership and sets a great example for everyone around her. Her name and reputation will be priceless in recruiting Tennessee girls."

"I am so excited about coming back home to Tennessee, especially for recruiting," said Harper, who married Jon on May 15, 1999. "I have a lot of friends and contacts there."

While at Tennessee, Kellie piled up 450 assists, which is sixth on UT's all-time chart, and she averaged 3.4 assists, which ranks fifth all-time. She is third on the Lady Vols' career 3-point percentage with 37.1 percent. She finished her career with a 131-17 overall record and her teams were 54-1 at home. She was a member of the 1997-98 squad that went 39-0.

"I've known Kellie since she was a player in high school and I was an assistant coach at North Carolina State," Moore said. "I received a rejection from her then, so I'm excited I'll finally have the opportunity to work with her."

Interestingly, Jon was recruited by former UTC football coach Buddy Green as a punter and kicker out of Tucker High School in Atlanta. Instead, he attended Auburn and was a team manager for the Lady Tigers basketball team.

For the Lady Mocs, Jon will work with post players and do extensive work with tape exchange, team travel, preseason conditioning and academic enhancement. The new position gives him an opportunity to start his coaching career.

"This is what I've always wanted to do," he said. "You just want to get your foot in the door, but I feel like I did a whole lot more than that with this job."