Former University of Arizona basketball standout Dee-Dee Wheeler was approved by a unanimous vote Tuesday night to be the head of Interscholastics for the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). Wheeler replaces longtime administrator Herman House and she will begin in June, working side by side with House through the summer.
“I’m excited and I’m looking forward to return to the community that embraced me as a young student from Chicago and now I have the opportunity to serve the city and the students,” Wheeler said. “I’m excited about helping the students grow athletically but also in other areas such as job advancement, business and being part of a family. I am humbly honored to return to Tucson.”
Wheeler has also been a big fan of the program Adia Barnes has built and looks forward to seeing playing such as Aari McDonald in person.
“Adia has done an outstanding job and she’s using the tools she learned as a player in college and in Europe and she is showcasing the family aspect that came down from coach Joan Bonvicini.”
Wheeler graduated for Arizona in 2006 with a degree in Elementary Education after four standout years on the basketball court with multiple awards including Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2002 and Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2005. Wheeler was also a three-time First Team All-Pac-10 selection and her name is on the Ring of Honor in McKale Center.
.@ArizonaWBB letterwinner Dee-Dee Wheeler with a message for the Wildcats 😼#BearDown | #MadeForIt pic.twitter.com/o0MuCtPbGx
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) April 5, 2019
Wheeler played professionally for the LA Sparks and the Houston Comets along with stints in Turkey, Bulgaria and France. Wheeler earned two masters degrees from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago in 2012. Starting in 2016, Wheeler was the District-Wide Director of Elementary Sports for Chicago, serving 75,000 students.
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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