Figgs, Ukari O.
(born: 1977)Ukari Figgs was born in Georgetown, KY. In high school, she was an outstanding student and athlete, leading the Scott County girls' basketball team to a state title in 1995, the year she was named Miss Basketball of Kentucky. She played college ball at Purdue University, helping them win the 1999 women's NCAA title; Figgs was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. She graduated in 1999 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was drafted into the WNBA; Ukari Figgs was the first African American woman from the Bluegrass region to play in the WNBA. She was a member of the 2001 Los Angeles Sparks WNBA title team. In 2004, Figgs retired from the WNBA, where she had averaged 6.5 points, 3.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and had played in 151 games on three different teams. She was an engineer at Toyota Manufacturing in Georgetown, KY, and an assistant coach with the male varsity team at Scott County High School from 2004-2009. Figgs was named the assistant coach to the Purdue women's basketball team in 2009. Two years later, June 2011, Ukari Figgs was named the University of Kentucky's assistant athletic director for women's basketball. She would give up coachng and return to Toyota. For more see Ukari Figgs, WNBA player information and Ukari Figgs Announces Retirement. See also M. Carmin, "Coaching lures Figgs back to Purdue," Journal and Courrier, 04/14/2009, Sports section, p. 1, 3C; and J. Tipton, "Figgs named women's basketball AD - 1995 Miss Basketball coached at Purdue," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/11/2011, p. D6.
