Daedra Charles-Furlow was persistent. Relentless. A force to be reckoned with.
Those qualities weren't limited to the court for the former Lady Vols basketball star. It was how she approached every area of her life, even when it came to convincing Bill Ferrara he'd found his future wife back when they were on the Auburn staff together in 2006-07.
Ferrara, now entering his first season as a Lady Vols assistant coach, was dating his wife Courtney when he got his first full-time job in women's basketball as the video coordinator on Nell Fortner's staff. Charles-Furlow was hired as as assistant coach a couple months later, and they bonded over long hours on the court and trying different restaurants in town.
"Daedra knew. She was always telling me,
'Bill, this the one. You got to marry this one. You got to put a ring on it,' " Ferrara said. "She had planted that seed the whole entire year."
In 2007, Ferrara accepted an offer to be an assistant coach at Central Michigan. Then he told Charles-Furlow, whose nickname was "Night Train," it was time.
"I was like, 'Train, I think I need to do it. I can't move her to Michigan (without proposing),' " Ferrara said. "And she said, 'Aight, I got you.' "
So Charles-Furlow helped Ferrara plan the proposal along with her husband, Anthony, and their son, Anthonee, who was like a little brother to Ferrara.
"I took my wife to dinner and when we came back, our whole apartment was decorated by Daedra," Ferrara said. "I didn't have money for a ring, so we had a cheesecake that Daedra picked up for me and it said, 'Will you marry me?' "
They got married in 2008 and now have two daughters, Callie and Maya.
Ferrara is reminded of his friend often now, coaching on the courts she once dominated, a photo of them in his office. He wrote Oct. 1 on social media he was honored to be at her school and that Charles-Furlow "would be so happy knowing I am here now." He's also reminded of her watching Auburn great DeWanna Bonner play in WNBA Finals with the Atlanta Dream.
Miss my friend Daedra. Honored to be at her school. She would be so happy knowing I am here now. Miss you, Train. 🍊 https://t.co/8VRrYb8yeV
— Bill Ferrara Jr. (@CoachFerrara) October 2, 2026
Ferrara and Charles-Furlow coached Bonner as a sophomore, and Charles-Furlow was always preaching legendary coach Pat Summitt's definite dozen in practices.
"Her legacy lives on in every Lady Vol, but also, DeWanna Bonner's about to win the WNBA championship in her last season right now with the Dream," Ferrara said. "I'm telling you, D would lean on Daedra for just toughness stuff, and what do I need to do here? How can I push through? It was cool for me to watch a baby future Hall of Famer learn from Daedra."
Ferrara never got to see Charles-Furlow play at Tennessee. When he asked another Auburn assistant coach what she was like as a player, he was quickly informed he was working with the woman who, at the time, was widely considered the greatest post player the college game had ever seen.
It didn't take long for Charles-Furlow herself to give Ferrara an education.
"She would come in my office and she's like, 'Bill, I want you to look at this one.' And she had tapes of her games," Ferrara said. "So it's an old VHS tape, and we would watch highlights of her championship game and she would tell me about different moments. It was pretty awesome."
Charles-Furlow's story is one of resilience and determination, forced to sit out her freshman year as a Prop 48 signee. But then she excelled in the classroom and had a career that landed her among the six Lady Vols to have their jerseys retired.
The 6-foot-3 center won two national championships in 1989 and 1991 and was a two-time Kodak All-American and Wade Trophy winner. She finished her career seventh on the program's all-time scoring list (1,495), sixth in rebounding (858) and second in blocks (95) in just three seasons.
Charles-Furlow returned to be an assistant coach and then director of character development at Tennessee from 2008-12. She eventually moved back to her hometown of Detroit, where she died on April 14, 2018 at age 49. She had a bout with breast cancer while at Tennessee, and Ferrara was inspired by her unwavering spirit.
He remembered her as "boisterously loud and unbelievably passionate about defending and rebounding," and it's was something he tried to emulate after he left Auburn.
"I got to coach with one of the greatest players of all time, and you would never know that she was one of the all-time greats, because she never talked about herself," Ferrara said. "There's a humbleness and just a contagious energy that she carried, and that's what I hope everybody learns from Daedra."
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Daedra Charles-Furlow impacted Bill Ferrara way before joining Lady Vols
