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| | Monday, September 4 Morris led Fordham to '94 NCAA Tournament | |||||
| ESPN.com news services Kevin Morris has been named interim coach of Princeton's women's basketball team, school officials announced on Aug. 16. Morris, Fordham's coach the past seven seasons, replaces Liz Feeley, who left Princeton after five years of service to become head coach at Smith College, a Division III institution in Massachusetts. "This is a great opportunity," Morris said. "Princeton is one of the best schools in the country both academically and athletically." Morris takes over a team that finished 9-19 (6-8 Ivy League) in the 1999-2000 campaign. While at Fordham, Morris led his team to the Patriot League regular-season and tournament championships and a first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament in 1994. That same year, Morris was named Coach of the Year by the Patriot League and the New York State Coaches Association, as well as Fordham University. Former UConn standout named Providence assistant Carla Berube has been named an assistant coach for the Providence women's basketball team, replacing Kelly Bond who resigned in July. A four-year letterwinner at the University of Connecticut, Berube was a member of the 1995 undefeated National Championship team. She is ranked 13th on the school's all time scoring list, netting 1,381 points during her collegiate career. She also holds the school record for games played with 138. During the 1996-97 season, the senior co-captain was named to the All-Big East Conference Second Team and the Big East All-Tournament Team as she helped lead her team to a 33-1 overall mark and the NCAA Regional Finals. The Huskies complied an overall record of 132-8 during her four years. UCLA's White named Northeastern coach Willette White, former associate head coach at UCLA, on Wednesday was named head women's basketball coach at Northeastern. White, 41, replaces Joy Malchodi, who held the position for the past 20 seasons but has since assumed an administrative position within the school's athletics department. White, the first African-American woman to be a head coach of a Northeastern athletic team, joined UCLA's program in 1993, and quickly made a name for herself in the recruiting world. In her first season, she put together the fifth-ranked recruiting class in the nation. The next season, the Bruins' recruiting class ranked third in the country. In 1998, White was recognized as one of the college game's top 10 assistant coaches in a vote of her peers conducted by the Women's Basketball Journal. "White is a rising star in women's basketball coaching circles, is one of the nation's top recruiters, an outstanding teacher and coach," Northeastern athletic director Ian McCaw said. "She has enjoyed success at every stop during her career. We are very fortunate to have attracted her to lead our program." Prior to her time at UCLA, White also served as an assistant coach at Washington for eight seasons. During that span, the Huskies compiled a 181-59 record and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1990, the Huskies earned a top seed to the tournament, and ended the season ranked third in the country, the team's highest ranking ever. White also has served assistant coaching stints at Iowa State, Ohio State and Idaho, her alma mater. White, a native of Tacoma, Wash., attended Green River Community College for two years before transferring to Idaho, where she earned a bachelor's degree in general studies. She played on two consecutive AIAW Region Nine championship teams (1980 and 1981) and was named a Division II All-American. White served as team captain at Green River and Idaho and was voted Most Inspirational all four years of her career. In 1992, she was inducted into the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges' Hall of Fame. White earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Ohio State in 1984. Schaefer promoted at Arkansas FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Vic Schaefer was promoted Tuesday to women's basketball associate head coach at Arkansas. Entering his fourth season with the women's basketball team, Schaefer served as the top assistant coach the past three seasons. Schaefer was head coach at Sam Houston State before joining the Arkansas staff in 1997. "Since Vic Schaefer has been at Arkansas, we've gone to the Final Four and the Women's NIT Championship," said head coach Gary Blair. "We have had back-to-back nationally ranked recruiting classes in 1999 and 2000. Vic has been very instrumental in our success." American tabs Hart as new head coach Shann Hart has been named new head coach at American University. Hart, 34, served the past four seasons as the head coach and associate athletics director for St. Mary's College of Maryland, where she led the Seahawks to two back-to-back 20-win seasons, three consecutive Capital Athletic Conference championships (1998-2000) and three Division III NCAA Tournament appearances. Hart, who compiled a 77-32 record (.706 winning percentage), is the winningest coach in St. Mary's history. Prior to taking over the reins at St. Mary's, Hart was an assistant at Central Florida in 1995-96. Hart also spent several seasons as an assistant at Richmond (1991-95) after five seasons at the high school level, where she led her teams to five consecutive district championships. Al Checcio, American's vice president for development and chairman of the search committee, said Hart is an "ideal fit" for the Eagles' coaching vacancy. "I am confident that her tradition of excellence, wealth of basketball knowledge and intensity are just what our women's basketball program is looking for," Checcio said. "She has the background to take us to a new level both academically and athletically." A 1988 graduate of Norfolk State University, where she played from 1984-88, Hart holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications and marketing, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Sports Management. Hart replaces Jeff Thatcher, who coached the Eagles the past twelve seasons. American will be playing its final season in the Colonial Athletic Association before moving to the Patriot League for the 2001-2002 season. Barmore completes staff at La. Tech RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore has completed his coaching staff with the hiring of former Lady Techster player Katie Cochran as women's basketball administrative assistant. Cochran, 24, comes back to her alma mater after working at the University of Mississippi this past season in the same position for the Lady Rebels. Earlier this summer, Cameron coach Stacy Johnson resigned after three seasons to join the coaching staff at Louisiana Tech. Hancock is new coach at UNC-Wilmington WILMINGTON -- Ann Hancock, an assistant at North Carolina for the past eight years, was hired Thursday as coach at North Carolina-Wilmington. Hancock received a one-year, $57,000 contract, the school said. She replaces Bernie Flax, whose contract was not renewed. The Seahawks went 18-12 last season with their first trip to the Colonial Athletic Association championship game. Hancock, an all-conference player at Wingate, joined North Carolina's coaching staff in 1992. The Tar Heels won the NCAA championship in 1994 and four Atlantic Coast Conference titles while Hancock was on the bench. Santa Clara makes Denker permanent coach SANTA CLARA Calif. -- Santa Clara dropped the interim from Chris Denker's title Tuesday and made him the women's head basketball coach. Denker was an assistant coach at Santa Clara for the past seven years, serving as the top recruiting and offensive coordinator. In those seven years, the team had a 137-64 record, including 69-29 in the West Coast Conference, and won three WCC championships. The coaching staff will not change much with Denker's advancement. Second-year assistant coach Anita Kaplan will stay on as will first-year assistants Jeff Dow and Benita Martin. Santa Clara will have three starters returning from last season's team that went 21-9. Denker was appointed interim coach in April when Caren Horstmeyer left Santa Clara after 12 years to become head coach at California. Oklahoma City tabs Jones Oklahoma City University promoted Janell Jones on Thursday to head coach of its NAIA women's national champion basketball team. Jones had been interim head coach since the university decided in April not to renew Kent Stanley's contract. She had been an assistant with Stanley the past two seasons as the Stars won back-to-back national titles. Jones has been an assistant at Oral Roberts and coached at Midwest City Carl Albert High School, where her team won the Class 5A state title. Bradley goes with Buscher Paula Buscher, coach at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Omaha the past two seasons, will take over as coach of Bradley's women's basketball team. Buscher, who replaces Donna Freitag, will be introduced to the media in a news conference June 15 on Bradleys campus. She is the seventh coach in women's basketball program history. A 1981 Richwoods High School graduate, Buscher coached the Mavericks to a 26-28 (.481) record, including a 15-12 mark last season. A nine-year (1988-97) assistant at Nebraska-Omaha, Buscher earned her first head coaching position in 1997 and led Minnesota State-Mankato to a 17-11 record in 1997-98. Overall, Buscher comes to Bradley with a 43-39 (.524) career record in three years as a collegiate head coach, all in the North Central Conference, considered the premier Division II womens basketball league in the country as an NCC team has caputured eight of the past ten national titles. Rowan's Crabtree makes jump to Drexel Candace Crabtree has been named coach of the Drexel University women's basketball program, director of athletics Eric Zillmer announced Wednesday. Crabtree, coach at Division III Rowan University the past seven seasons, becomes the fourth women's basketball head coach since Drexel turned NCAA Division I in 1982-83, succeeding former head coach Kevin Murphy, who compiled a 55-87 record through the last five seasons. Crabtree, 34, led Rowan to five New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championships and six Division III NCAA Tournament berths. The Profs made an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1998, advanced as far as the Elite Eight in 1996 and 2000, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen in 1999 under Crabtree's guidance. In her seven seasons as Rowan's head coach, Crabtree, Rowan's all-time winningest women's basketball coach, posted a 171-25 record (.872). Her 1994 team finished 25-1 and her 1996 squad was 29-1. Crabtree was named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III District 3 Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 after leading the Profs to a 24-4 record, their sixth NJAC regular-season title, and their third Elite Eight showing. Additionally, Crabtree was the NJAC and New Jersey Collegiate Basketball Coaches Association (NJCBCA) Coach of the Year in 1998, and the WBCA District 4 Coach of the Year in 1996. Michigan State asst. lands Sac State post SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Carolyn Jenkins is the new women's basketball coach at California State University, Sacramento. Jenkins joined the Hornets program Tuesday after serving the past four years as an assistant coach at Michigan State. Prior to that, Jenkins was an assistant at Stanford from 1991-1995, under Tara VanDerveer. Jenkins played four seasons for the California Golden Bears (1986-1990). She replaces Sue Huffman, who resigned in March after 14 years as head coach. Davis takes over helm at Delaware State Edward Davis, 49, has been named coach of the Delaware State women's basketball team. Davis takes over the Lady Hornets after eight seasons at Bowie State University, where he compiled a 165-62 record. From 1995 to 1999, Davis' Bowie State teams posted a 110-10 record and a CIAA championship threepeat. His 1996-97 squad posted a 27-game winning streak en route to a 29-2 overall mark and the CIAA Tournament championship. Davis' 1995-96 team was 28-2 and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament, and ranked first among all Division II teams in scoring defense. Davis has earned a number of awards for his coaching success, including CIAA Coach Of The Year in 1995 and Women's Basketball Coaches Association District II Coach Of The Year in 1998 and 1999. Davis holds a master's degree in edducation from Howard University and a bachelor's in education from West Virginia State College. He succeeds Jackie DeVane, who resigned after five seasons to become head coach at Monmouth University. Texas-Pan American taps Nicholls EDINBURG, Texas -- Texas-Pan American has named Truman State coach Karin Nicholls to coach the Lady Broncs. Nicholls compiled a 71-64 record and took the Bulldogs to three NCAA division II national tournaments and a Sweet 16 appearance. Truman State had only one winning season in the previous 13 seasons before Nicholls' arrival. The Bulldogs were 22-9 in 1998-1999 and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16. Before Truman State, Nicholls was an assistant at Illinois and an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Nebraska. Maine hires former James Madison assistant ORONO, Maine -- Sharon Versyp, an assistant coach at James Madison, was named head women's basketball coach at the University of Maine on Monday. Versyp replaces Joanne Palombo-McCallie, who left to take the head coaching position at Michigan State after eight seasons with the Black Bears. Versyp, 34, was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison for three seasons during which the Dukes had a combined record of 47-41. Versyp, who also worked as an assistant coach at Louisville, was a standout point guard for Purdue, graduating in 1989. Palombo-McCallie guided the Black Bears to a 167-73 record and six NCAA tournament appearances, including a 62-57 loss to North Carolina in the first round last season. Palombo-McCallie's teams won 20 games for seven straight seasons, including a 20-11 mark last season. During Palombo-McCallie's tenure, attendance for games reached an all-time high as the Black Bears averaged 3,310 fans per game last season. Cal State-Fullerton hires former UCSB assistant FULLERTON, Calif. -- Former UC Santa Barbara assistant Barbara Erhardt was hired Wednesday as head coach of the Cal State-Fullerton women's basketball team. Erhardt, 36, signed a three-year contract to coach the Titans, who have not had a winning season since going 25-8 in 1990-91. Erhardt succeeds Denise Curry, who did not seek renewal of her contract after three years on the job. Fullerton had a 2-25 record this past season and went 16-64 under Curry. A 1988 graduate of Idaho State, Erhardt helped build UCSB into the dominant team in the Big West Conference as an assistant under Mark French from 1988-95. Erhardt also served two-year stints as an assistant at Brigham Young and Washington State. Iowa assistant named coach at UMKC KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dana Eikenberg, a former assistant basketball coach at Iowa, has been named women's basketball coach at UMKC, Director of Athletics Bob Thomas announced Tuesday. Eikenberg, who replaces Jeff Tadtman, served as an assistant for the past three seasons at Iowa, where she was responsible for recruiting, including evaluations and budgeting, and was part of the staff that won the 1998 Big Ten conference championship. Eikenberg was a four-year starter at point guard for Penn State 1989-92. She helped the Lady Lions to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1990, 1991 and 1992. The team also gained its first national No. 1 ranking during 1991. Eikenberg, who later spent a season in the German professional women's league in 1992-93, received the Joanie O'Brien Award for dedication and team leadership in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Ex-Tiger Nix named head coach at Winthrop ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Cheryl Nix, the Cumberland coach and a former Clemson player, was hired as women's basketball coach at Winthrop. She replaces Robin Muller, who was fired in March after a 9-19 season. The 34-year-old Nix spent five years at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., where she compiled a 106-51 record. Cumberland was 27-7 last year and the NAIA school was ranked as high as No. 11. Nix started for three years at Clemson. The Tigers went 21-9 during her senior season. | ALSO SEE Barmore 'unretires,' will stay as La. Tech coach Division I coaching changes | |||||