Kay James (basketball)
Kay James at the WBCA Awards ceremony | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 28, 1947 Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1970 | Southern Miss (assistant) |
| 1972–1977 | Berry |
| 1977–1999 | Southern Miss |
| 2001–2002 | Seattle Storm (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 488–244 (.667) |
Diana Kay James (born June 28, 1947) is a color analyst for Southern Miss Lady Eagles basketball games since 2005. Before starting her radio career, James was a high school gym teacher in Ocilla, Georgia during the early 1970s. As a basketball coach for Berry College from 1972 to 1977, her women's team won the 1976 AIAW National Small College Basketball Championship. After her team were consolation game champions at the 1977 AIAW National Small College Basketball Championship, James left Berry that year with 85 wins and 20 losses.
In 1977, James continued her women's basketball coaching career with the University of Southern Mississippi. As an AIAW team in 1981, James and Southern Mississippi reached the quarterfinals at the AIAW Region 3 women's basketball tournament. In the NCAA Division I, Southern Miss competed in the regional semifinals of the 1994 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Following her last season in 1999, James finished her head coaching career at Southern Miss with 403 wins and 224 losses. James received the Carol Eckman Award in 1998 from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and joined the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.