By Scott Mammoser
The list of former University of Tennessee players coaching in the highest ranks grew again recently when it was announced that former Lady Vol guard April Schilling would be joining the Indiana Fever as an assistant coach.
“It’s awesome!” Schilling said through email. “Though I have been able to work individually with players on both the men’s and women’s side, there is nothing like being a part of a team and coaching the best women athletes in the world.”
A former Indiana Miss Basketball at Connersville High School, Schilling was known as April McDivitt when she played for Pat Summitt at Tennessee from 1999 to 2002, appearing in two Final Fours. She spent her senior year at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she led the Gauchos to the Sweet 16 in 2004, losing to the eventual champion UConn Huskies. She went on to play for the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics, before coaching both boys and girls high school basketball in Indiana, as well as a stint as an assistant at UCSB.
Schilling arrived in Knoxville a season after current coach Kellie Harper graduated, and her teammates included Kara Lawson (Boston Celtics), Kyra Elzy (Kentucky), Niya Butts (Kentucky), Tasha Butts (Georgia Tech), Semeka Randall (Winthrop), and Shalon Pillow (Middle Tennessee), all presently in coaching positions.
Of course, you can’t say Tennessee and Indiana Fever in the same sentence without thinking about Tamika Catchings, who serves as the Fever’s general manager and vice president of basketball operations. Schilling is thrilled about reuniting with her former teammate, who was just elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
“Tamika was a tremendous teammate at Tennessee,” said Schilling, who played with Catchings from 1999 to 2001. “We had great chemistry on the court at UT and now that we are working together with the Fever 20 years later, I feel like we have picked up right where we left off. She is obviously a Hall of Fame player, but more important to me is she is a Hall of Fame person.”
Marianne Stanley, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, will be in her first season as head coach of the Fever, as will be Steve Smith, the team’s other assistant.
“The chance to work with such a respected coaching staff in my home state speaks for itself,” Schilling listed on what she is most excited about.
On the court, Schilling will be working with players such as Teaira McCowan, the 6-foot-7 center who was on the WNBA All-rookie team in 2019, All-Star Game MVP Erica Wheeler, Olympic team candidate Tiffany Mitchell, and highly-decorated veteran Candice Dupree.
“I’ve really focused on skill development with some of the top players in the country and also executing team building workshops with corporations, college basketball teams, etc.,” Schilling added. “My hope is that these two will prove to be significant and help the Indiana Fever maximize its potential.”
The Fever owns the third overall selection in the April 17 Draft, as everyone awaits when the league will officially open.
“The COVID-19 and the shortened season will present unique challenges that are unprecedented,” Schilling added as the greatest challenge she will face.
