Former player returns to familiar territory as assistant coach
A familiar face has popped up on the sidelines of the women’s basketball team this season. Katiya Jackson, a former Lady Mustang, has transitioned from playing to coaching this season, as she serves her first year as an assistant coach for the Lady Mustangs.
Jackson started playing basketball at an early age, but not in a traditional team-oriented situation most think of when talking about a former collegiate player.
“I started playing basketball when I was in third grade, but I didn’t play on a team; I played with my older brother Reggie,” Jackson said. “I wanted to do everything he did, and that’s what got me started.”
After a few years of one-on-one ball with Reggie, Jackson finally gave organized basketball a try in fifth grade with the local Boys & Girls club league. Reggie continued to support and push Jackson, and also serve as her source of inspiration at this time.
“There was always someone better than me when I started playing, and I would always try to work on my game to improve it and be better than them,” Jackson said. “I stayed with the challenge because of my brother. He worked with me a lot and pushed me to do better, and I always wanted to do better than what he did. I think you always want to be better than your siblings.”
When she finally got to high school, Jackson excelled at the sport. Starting on the varsity team as a sophomore at nearby Burkburnett High School, she earned numerous honors throughout her time playing as a Lady Bulldog.
“I was all-academic my sophomore year, all-district my junior year and all-state my senior year,” Jackson said. “I also made the TGA All Star team my senior year, which was a team made up of the top 25 high school players in Texas, so I accomplished something every year.”
Jackson’s time at Burkburnett also connected her to one of the most important figures in her life, head basketball coach Alex Koluvatos.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” Jackson said. “He’s very supportive of me and he’s always been there for me. Even now, I can call him up and ask anything of him. He’s one of my biggest mentors and one of my heroes.”
After her successful high school career, Jackson received a few offers from various schools at the junior college level where she played from 2006 to 2008. Jackson transferred to MSU in 2008 from Frank Phillips College, following in the footsteps of her father, Derrick Jackson, who played basketball for the Mustangs from 1986-1988.
“My dad actually played here for two years, and he transferred from a junior college like I did,” Jackson said. “I’ve always wanted to play college basketball and follow in his footsteps and achieve as much as he’s achieved.”
Jackson’s career stat line as a Lady Mustang included 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.4 assists and .7 blocks per game. In her first season at MSU, Jackson suffered an ACL injury in 2009 that forced her to redshirt the 2009-2010 season. After a year of rehabilitation, Jackson played her senior season in 2010-2011 when the Lady Mustangs just barely missed the conference tournament.
“I enjoyed playing at MSU,” Jackson said. “It was a great experience and it allowed me to be around a lot of great players and people throughout my time at this program. Not only was it good that I got to play basketball, but I also go an education from it, too.”
Jackson’s first season in 2008 was also the first year another important figure in the women’s basketball program.
Head coach Noel Johnson had officially taken over for former coach Shannon Burks, who originally recruited Jackson to MSU, and it took some time to adjust.
“Once I saw her and her work ethic and commitment to what we were trying to do here, I definitely had to have her on my team,” Coach Johnson said. “She’s one of those people that leads by example, and when she spoke, people listened.”
Wanting to coach was never a part of Jackson’s plan of originally being a teacher, but the thought began to cross her mind during her ACL injury.
“When I sat out that year, I watched and learned the different aspects of the game that you don’t always see playing it,” Jackson said. “After that year, I really thought it I could coach and wanted to do it.”
Jackson admits that Coach Johnson also played a part in deciding that coaching was something she wanted to do after her playing career was over.
“Coach J pushed it a little bit, too,” she said. “She kept asking if I wanted to help out and coach and do other things with the program. I was a little hesitant at first, but I’m glad I chose to do it.”
Johnson’s push for Jackson to look into coaching stemmed from viewing her skill set as something that could be very valuable to the coaching world, and more specifically the women’s basketball program at MSU.
“I wanted her (as a coach) because she worked hard for me,” Johnson said. “She’s one of the most loyal people you’d ever meet, so it was a no brainer to ask her to be involved with the program. Last year, she was the graduate assistant, and as soon as the position she now has opened up, she was the first person I called.”
During her time as the GA, Jackson learned the ins and outs of basketball that don’t necessarily have to do with the on-court play.
“I learned the outside stuff like travel and hotel arrangements, as well as all the different things you work on to get the team ready for a game,” Jackson said. “Now that I’m an assistant coach, I do a lot more of the coaching part.”
Johnson said Jackson’s transition to coaching was greatly eased into, and cited her time as a Lady Mustang as a factor.
“She understands my coaching style and she has a great knowledge of the game,” Johnson said. “She has the ability to determine where our strengths could exploit another team’s weaknesses, and she’s a great communicator.”
Jackson’s career as a guard naturally drew her to working with the team’s guards, which takes up a majority of her coaching time.
“I do a lot of dribbling and shooting drills with them, and the coaching staff as a whole works on seeing the different things we can get better at as a team,” she said.
Two players on the team were former teammates of Katiya’s, juniors Skyler Warrick and Kirsti Degilia.
“They were freshmen when I last played here,” Jackson said. “They don’t even call me coach, just ‘Tiya, and they give me a hard time about it all the time.”
Despite the familiar relationship she has with Warrick and Degilia, Jackson said there is a respect between them and that she expects them to work as hard as she did when she was a player.
“I think she’s a wonderful coach,” Warrick said. “She comes across very clear, and she’s always been someone we could follow easily. I loved playing with her, and I love playing for her now.”
Although she’s working as an assistant coach, Jackson is continuing her education at MSU as she works on finishing up her Masters.
“I hope she wants to stay here and help,” Johnson said. “You always want the consistency in staff, and she brings a lot to our program. I’m very, very fortunate to have Katiya on my staff.”
Once she’s finished with school, Jackson’s ultimate plan is to be the head coach of a high school program.
“I think she does have the qualities that will springboard her to the head coaching position,” Johnson said. “Whatever level she chooses to coach at, she’ll do great at it.”