Randi and Duez Henderson enter their fourth season coaching the Washington University women’s basketball team, with Randi as the head coach and Duez an assistant coach.
Duez played four seasons at University of Iowa, which included the Hawkeyes advancing to the Sweet 16 in his freshman campaign and capturing the Big 10 title his junior season. He played professional basketball for five years in Germany, leading the league in scoring and rebounding four times. He also owns Henderson Basketball Training and served as a director for Point Guard College, a nationwide organization for training athletes in leadership, understanding the game, and player skill development.
Randi has posted a 226-127 record (.679 percentage) with four NCAA appearances in her 13-year coaching career, including one UAA title and two postseason trips in her first three years at WashU. The Bears advanced to the sectional semifinal round in 2018-19. Prior to leading the Bears, she coached for nine years at Coe College, leading the program to its first three 20-win seasons. Randi was a three-year starter and team captain at Iowa, helping lead the Hawkeyes to NCAA bids in 1998 and in 2001, when they won the Big 10 title. She concluded her career with 936 points and 745 rebounds.
The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.
University of Iowa: Culture Change
“The first time that race came into play for me was in college. I grew up in Detroit around Black people, family, and friends,” Duez stated. “I had a few white teachers and some white co-workers, but my teammates were Black and the teams we played were made of up a majority of Black players. Once I got to Iowa, I saw that neither the student body nor the state was diverse. I remember my first flight into Cedar Rapids. The pilot comes on and says we are making our final descent. I was thinking, ‘What do you mean? There is nothing here.’”
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