Virginia alumna Jenny Boucek joining the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff

Former Virginia basketball star Jenny Boucek will be on the sidelines of the Dallas Mavericks next season as assistant to the basketball staff and special projects, according to a press release from the team.

Boucek played for the Cavaliers from 1992-96, where she started her entire career and helped the Hoos to four straight regular season ACC titles and three Elite Eight appearances. She’s 34th in Virginia history in points scored over her career, breaking into the 1,000 point club and finishing with 1,003 career points.

After a short stint as a player in the WNBA that was derailed by a back injury, Boucek started her coaching career as an assistant with the Washington Mystics in 1999. She continued as an assistant with the Miami Sol (2000-02) and the Seattle Storm (2003-05) before taking over as the head coach of the Sacramento Monarchs in 2007.

In 2010, Boucek joined the Seattle Storm as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach in 2015. In 2017, she became the third female coach hired as an assistant coach in the NBA when the Sacramento Kings brought Boucek on board as their player development coach. The Mavericks join the Spurs (Becky Hammon) and the Kings (Boucek, Nancy Lieberman) as the only NBA teams that have had a woman on staff as a coach.

“Jenny is a veteran WNBA head coach and was a player development coach last season for the Sacramento Kings,” Mavericks coach — and fellow Virginia alum — Rick Carlisle said of Boucek. “She will be involved in wide-ranging basketball assignments.”

Carlisle continued, saying, “I consider her one of the brightest minds in our game and welcome her to Dallas.”