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'You have to make choices for your family,' says former C-J star
Friday, April 18, 2008
At first, Tamika Raymond (then Williams) and her Minnesota Lynx teammates didn't know Ben Raymond's name. They called him Green Eyes.
Spotted around the Minneapolis social scene, Raymond was a favorite of the Lynx players, including Williams.
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"He was 6-5 and a nice-looking guy," she said. "Toward the end of the season, he asked some of my teammates about me. That was a big move."
Now it's her turn. Raymond will leave her assistant coaching position on the Ohio State women's basketball staff to move with husband Ben to the Dallas area as he opens a State Farm Insurance office. The former Chaminade-Julienne High School and University of Connecticut star discussed the move as a relationship compromise that can happen to any coach, male or female.
Married last April, the couple has lived in Columbus while Raymond completed her fifth season as part of the Buckeyes coaching staff. Ben's latest opportunity, she said, was one they couldn't refuse.
"We're going on three years as a couple, and people forget you have to make choices for your family," Raymond said. "I'm going to have kids in the future, I can't play in the WNBA forever, and coach (Jim) Foster has taught me what he can. It's time to move on."
Raymond, 28, will begin training camp next week with the Connecticut Sun (the team she was traded to last season). She said she might pursue coaching opportunities or possibly work in conference offices after joining Ben in the Dallas area.
"I've tried to teach my kids about relationships, and I told them this is a choice I had to make," Raymond said. "There might be a time my husband has to move because I get a head coaching job."
