AAPI Heritage Month: Making an Impact

TAMARA INOUE is a proud first generation Japanese American. She is also a coach, mentor and a winner. 

She won a state championship as a senior at Laguna Hills High School. 

In her first coaching gig, she led the Knox Raiders to a national championship in Australia’s Victorian Basketball League.

She was an associate head coach on the staff at New Mexico State when they won back-to-back Western Athletic Conference titles.

And now, as the head coach at UC Irvine, she has turned the women’s basketball program into a perennial championship contender.

In her seven years with the Anteaters, Inoue’s teams have produced three of the program’s five 20-win campaigns, made three of their four postseason appearances and placed among the top-two in the Big West in each of the last four years. 

In 2022-23, the ‘Eaters claimed their first Big West regular-season title, set a school record with 25 wins and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the WNIT for the second year in a row where they won their first-round game.

INOUE GREW UP on the island of Kaua’i where she played soccer and basketball. Although she was always competitive, the camaraderie and friendships were what drew her to sports.

“Back in Hawai’i, we would play our games then afterward we would all get together for a potluck and just hang out,” Inoue said. “That’s where I made a lot of my friends.”

Basketball continued to be a haven for Inoue when she and her twin sister moved to Orange County with their father at the start of junior high school. 

“On the islands, there were a lot of Hapa kids, Asians and Hawaiians,” Inoue said. “Moving out here, I definitely felt like I was different but when you’re good at sports and you are part of a winning team, you’re accepted. I think sports has allowed me to put my shoulders back and my head up.”

Being a minority in the sport of basketball didn’t bother Inoue. Her talent and work ethic stood out as she ended up signing with Cal where she spent her freshman year. Inoue then transferred to Long Beach State where she was an All-Big West selection, led the conference in assists and helped LBSU reach the third round of the WNIT. It was also where she first got an inkling to join the coaching ranks.

“We would do camps and clinics in college and then one day my coach, Dallas Bolla, asked if I ever thought about coaching,” she said. “It had never even crossed my mind, but when she suggested it, I started to think hard about it because she was someone I really looked up to.”

The idea of coaching was initially put on hold as Inoue went to Australia to play professionally. But, after an injury cut her career short, they offered her a coaching position and she instantly fell in love with it. 

INOUE RETURNED to California for a three-year stint as an assistant at Santa Clara, before making her way to Las Cruces where she helped New Mexico State to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988. After spending five seasons with the Aggies under another mentor of hers, Mark Trakh, Inoue got her first head coaching opportunity at UC Irvine.

It didn’t take long for Inoue to change the culture of a program that had seen two winning campaigns in 15 years. In just her second season at the helm, and first with her own recruits, Inoue led UCI to the second-best turnaround in the nation, going from five to 18 wins. In 2018-19, the Anteaters had their first 20-win season in 34 years, and in 2020-21, she was named the Big West Coach of the Year.

Inoue joined Colleen Matsuhara, also a Japanese American, as the only coaches in UC Irvine women’s basketball history to receive the Big West Coach of the Year award.

“Colleen recruited me out of high school and kept in touch throughout the years,” Inoue said. “There aren’t many Asians out there in the basketball world so I think Colleen is proud to see another Japanese American at UCI having success like she did because it’s important to show it can be done.”

INOUE’S IMPACT isn’t only seen in the on-court accomplishments as she also invests in the development of her student-athletes as a whole. 

While growing up in Hawai’i, Inoue went back to Japan every summer to visit family, and has fond memories of spending time with her grandparents and cousins along with learning the culture and history of her father’s home country.

When Inoue first got the job at UC Irvine, she knew she wanted to take her team back to Japan. That goal came to fruition in the summer of 2019, when they took the program’s first-ever foreign tour, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. They had the opportunity to play against a couple local universities and host a youth clinic, while also experiencing a different culture from the temples and castles to the food and public transportation. 

“I loved watching our student-athletes immerse themselves in another culture and give back to the local communities,” Inoue said. “I feel like they grew both on and off the court in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

AS ONE OF ONLY a handful of women of Asian descent in the NCAA Division I coaching ranks, Inoue has set an example for the younger generation. 

“A lot of times what you look like gets put before your accolades,” Inoue said. “It’s challenging but along with that comes more awareness and understanding. For me, it’s just about continuing to do what I’m doing. I’ll always pick up the phone for anyone looking for advice or mentorship. The responsibility piece is being available where I can and not shying away from the conversation.”

Inoue has also been active in the Asian Coaches Association (ACA) which was founded by current UC Riverside men’s basketball head coach Mike Magpayo to support and elevate Asian coaches at all levels by providing a network of resources and people who can aide each other in advancing Asian coaches professionally. 

Throughout her career, Inoue has made an impact on many individuals, but when she spoke at the ACA meeting at the 2016 NCAA Final Four Convention, she really struck a chord with a young, up-and-coming Filipino coach. 

“I just remember seeing someone who looked like me and thinking how cool that was,” recalled first-year UCI director of women’s basketball operations Cassie Klockgether. “Seeing Coach T as someone who could be that mentor and who had already accomplished so much of what I wanted to do was encouraging.”

CASSIE KLOCKGETHER was born in in the Philippines and grew up with her family in a straw house behind her uncle’s home in Manila.

Looking for a better life for their family, her father took a job as an engineer in Santa Barbara. Cassie stayed back with her mother and sister until they all came out to the States when she was four years old. It was a challenge at first for Cassie as she only spoke Tagalog. 

“Looking back, I was such a shy kid because I didn’t know how to speak English,” she said. “Now I’m not shy at all; it’s crazy how you grow up. I can still understand and speak Tagalog which is something I value along with my culture.”

Not long after she came to the U.S., Cassie’s father put her in the Boys & Girls Club where she first picked up a basketball. It was an activity she enjoyed, and it quickly evolved into a passion. It was also a constant in her life no matter where she lived. 

She wasn’t a military kid, but Cassie moved around a lot, attending middle school in Reno, her first two years of high school back in Santa Barbara before finishing her prep career in San Diego. 

“The best thing about growing up was that I had basketball,” Cassie said. “I always knew people since I would join a team that became like family. Basketball means so much because you meet so many different people along the way and you always have those memories and bonds.”

Her senior year at Montgomery High School, Cassie had a scholarship lined up with the University of San Diego but that fell through after an ACL injury. It didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream of playing collegiate basketball as she spent two years at Saddleback College where she was an all-state and all-conference selection before earning a scholarship to Stony Brook University in New York. She continued to battle through injuries but finished out her last two seasons and graduated with a degree in sociology.

Like many 21-year olds, Cassie returned home to San Diego with some uncertainty about her future. Not sure what she wanted to do, she started working with the before and after school programs at a local YMCA, while also taking on a job as a caretaker for the elderly before receiving a call that jump started her coaching career.

THE CALL CAME from a friend and former coach with an opportunity to lead the junior varsity girls’ basketball team at Montgomery High. Cassie didn’t hesitate, delving right into it, and following her first season at the JV level, she was hired as the head varsity coach at her alma mater. 

It was a learning experience, but four years down the road, with a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia in her back pocket, she led the Aztecs, who didn’t have a player over 5-foot-8, to the CIF Division II championship game. 

After that playoff run, Cassie started to get the itch to coach at the collegiate level, so she took matters into her own hands.

“I heard about the NCAA Final Four Convention which was in Indianapolis that year,” Cassie said. “I took my coaching stipend which was $5,000 for the whole year and booked my flight and hotel. I didn’t know anyone but knew I needed to invest in myself.”

It was a move that paid off. She made numerous connections, but none more rewarding than the one she made with Tamara Inoue, the keynote speaker at the ACA meeting. Cassie introduced herself and kept in contact as she continued her journey, starting with an assistant coaching position under Jeff Harada at NCAA Division II Central Washington. 

She then made a 13-month stop in Singapore, coaching club and private lessons. Although she was working six days a week, she eventually got enough time off to travel to Thailand, and to go home to the Philippines for the first time since she left for the States at four years old.

When she returned to Southern California, Cassie joined the staff at Westcliff (NAIA) in Irvine for two years before making her way to the University of Arkansas Fort Smith (DII) for the 2021-22 campaign.

At the end of her first season in Arkansas, Inoue called Cassie to check in and let her know that there was an opening on her staff as the Director of Administration. Wanting to get her foot in the door at the Division I level, be closer to home and have the chance to work for someone she looked up to, Cassie took the job. Following a couple staff changes over the summer, she moved over to her current role as Director of Basketball Operations (DOBO).

“Cassie is someone I had my eye on and I definitely wanted to see if she’d be interested in getting her feet wet at the DI level,” Inoue said. “I kind of left it up to her and she went after it herself which to me shows her eagerness.”

AROUND THE TIME she was getting ready to head back to Southern California, a connection Cassie made through social media also presented her with an opportunity she couldn’t turn down. 

Cris Gopez, founder of Fil-Am National Select, initially reached out to Cassie about working a showcase camp and it was a no-brainer for her to say yes. From there, she was asked to assist with the Philippines U18 National Team, helping with a month-long training camp in the U.S. before traveling to India with the squad for the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship where they won bronze in Division B. 

“It’s always been a dream of mine to coach a team in the Philippines so being able to do that in India last year was just an amazing experience,” Cassie said. “When I met Coach Pat Aquino, and really all of the coaching staff, it was just instantly like family.”

The dream lives on as she is currently with the Philippines Senior National Team. They started practicing in March, but Cassie left on April 26 to join them in the Philippines for a week before heading to Cambodia for the 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

When Cassie returns to the States she will get right back to work at UC Irvine as the team looks to build on their historic season. 

“This past year has probably been the best for me learning-wise,” Cassie said. “I’ve been to so many places that I know when there’s something good and special, which is hard to find.”

Cassie doesn’t take how far she’s come lightly. She has seen first-hand the challenges of being an Asian female in the industry, but that hasn’t diminished her drive and passion as she continues to grow professionally while also helping to build the Filipino basketball brand.

“I’m thankful every day that I get to do what I love,” Cassie added. “This industry is cut-throat and what I’ve learned is it’s not what you know but who you know. It’s sad to say that it is a big challenge being female and Asian, but you can’t compare yourself to others. You need to stand up for what you believe in and be authentic.”

The month of May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and UC Irvine Athletics is proud to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of our Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander staff, student-athletes and community.