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Raptors 905 add Tamara Tatham to coaching ranks

By Brian Boake

Senegal's power forward Mame Marie Sy (L) defends against Canada's forward Tamara Tatham during a Women's round Group B basketball match between Senegal and Canada at the Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 10, 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. / AFP / JAVIER SORIANO (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)
Senegal's power forward Mame Marie Sy (L) defends against Canada's forward Tamara Tatham during a Women's round Group B basketball match between Senegal and Canada at the Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 10, 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. / AFP / JAVIER SORIANO (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images) /
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The Raptors have fleshed out the assistant coaching ranks of the 905 G League team. Among the new names was Tamara Tatham, a Canadian pro turned coach.

The Toronto Raptors have turned themselves into one of the NBA’s most female-friendly organizations since Masai Ujiri has been in charge. There are women in critical positions in both line (trainer, coach, etc.) and staff (executive) roles throughout.

The Raptors 905 recently filled out their assistant coaching ranks by hiring Tamara Tatham. This decision is to be applauded. Tatham, a former Canadian international, made two Olympic appearances, and was on the squad which defeated the U.S. for the gold medal in the 2015 Pan-Am Games.

Tamara rose to prominence during a fine 4-year collegiate career at University of Massachusetts. She played professionally in Europe for years before returning to her hometown of Brampton.

[20-second timeout: For those unfamiliar with Toronto geography – the city itself uses the 416 area code (and others since the explosion of cellular service), while the bedroom communities use 905. Hence the silly team moniker, which was chosen to emphasize that the team “belongs” to Mississauga (where they play), Brampton, and other satellite cities on the western periphery of the Greater Toronto Area [GTA]. Who knows? Maybe the eastern GTA satellites like Pickering and Oshawa will demand their own team – in the WNBA!].

The right move for her and the team

Tamara turns 33 today, so moving on from the difficult, peripatetic life of pro hoops and becoming a coach seems perfectly timed. She got her feet wet in coaching with a year as an assistant with the University of Toronto women’s squad, and she will juggle that position while helping the 905.

Tamara is the first Canadian woman to hold a coaching position in men’s pro hoops in North America. She is a “mentor coach”, which I interpret to mean (since no explanation is offered) that she will be groomed in the finer points of coaching with the aim of taking on other roles elsewhere in Canadian hoops.

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I’m pleased to see how head coach Jama Mahlalela is adding so many Canadian assistants to his staff. What I still can’t figure is whether his accepting the 905 job is a consolation prize. Was he bumped from the Raptors’ front bench when Nick Nurse got the head coach’s gig, or did Jama really want a top job somewhere, and 905 was available after Jerry Stackhouse left?

Be that as it may (and we’ll continue to explore the matter), let’s welcome Tamara to senior coaching ranks. I suspect she’s just getting started.

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