Rutgers hires Coquese Washington as women’s basketball coach, C. Vivian Stringer’s successor

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Rutgers is predicted to name Notre Dame associate head mentor Coquese Washington as its head women’s basketball mentor to replace legend C. Vivian Stringer, who retired past month, persons with know-how of the choosing explained to NJ Progress Media on Monday.

With a women’s basketball legacy and facilities that — when sweetened with a huge shell out test — may possibly have attracted a bigger-profile coach, Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs in its place landed Washington, who had not appeared on the radar display screen of probable candidates. The timing of Stringer’s retirement, which came practically two months just after the Scarlet Knights performed their final recreation of the 2021-22 time, definitely performed a aspect.

Amid the coaches qualified by the Scarlet Knights were being Princeton’s Carla Berube, Michigan’s Kim Barnes-Arico and Rhode Island’s Tammi Reiss, a supply advised NJ Progress Media.

Washington, 50, is envisioned to be launched on Tuesday at a press convention at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the courtroom that quickly will be named soon after Stringer.

Washington’s knowledge coaching in the Large Ten — she was Penn State’s head mentor from 2007-19 — probably produced her an appealing applicant. Her backlink to Notre Dame as a player and assistant mentor, along with her WNBA knowledge, ought to assistance, much too.

In her 12-yr stint in State School primary the Lady Lions, Washington compiled a 209-169 general record, with a 98-111 mark in meeting engage in.

Washington gained convention regular-year titles in 3 consecutive seasons (2012-2014) and reached 4 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2011-2014. The Woman Lions gained at the very least one activity in each of all those postseason appearances, twice reaching the Sweet Sixteen. As she rebuilt the Penn State plan, she was named the Huge 10 Mentor of the Yr for the 2011-12 year.

When she still left Penn Point out after the 2019 period, the departure was introduced as a mutual decision. Penn Point out experienced concluded 11th or worse in the convention in 4 of her last five seasons.

Washington invested the following time as the affiliate head coach at Oklahoma. A year later on, she was hired at the identical posture at Notre Dame, her alma mater.

Beneath head coach Niele Ivey, she spent the earlier two seasons in South Bend. It was her second stint as an assistant coach at the plan exactly where she starred as a stage guard from 1989-1993 she formerly served under her former mentor Muffet McGraw from 1999-2007. She gained a regulation diploma at Notre Dame above that span and served as the very first president of the WNBA Gamers Association from 1999-2001.

Washington, who grew up in Flint, Mich., performed five seasons in the WNBA with the New York Liberty, Houston Comets and Indiana Fever, winning a title with the Comets in 2000.

As the 3rd full-time women’s basketball mentor at Rutgers, Washington follows two legends.

Theresa Grentz, who became the country’s first total-time head women’s basketball coach at Rutgers in 1976 and remained in the posture via 1995, and Stringer are in the Basketball Corridor of Fame. Each put in at least 19 seasons in Piscataway, each earning additional than 400 wins and developing Rutgers into just one of the leading packages in the nation.

Both had streaks of at least 9 decades of achieving the NCAA Tournament. Stringer reached two Last Fours and a national championship match while profitable a WNIT title.

Washington’s employ will come 3 months after Stringer, 74, introduced her retirement after 26 seasons at Rutgers. She finished her occupation with 1,055 wins, 4 Remaining 4 appearances, and 28 berths in the NCAA Event in 50 seasons as a head coach. She became the fifth NCAA Division I women’s university basketball mentor in heritage to arrive at 1,000 occupation wins in 2018.

Stringer had not been with the team considering the fact that April 2021, getting a leave of absence soon immediately after she signed a new 5-calendar year, $5.5 million agreement. Stringer accumulated at the very least $235,000 in bonuses on top rated of her $1 million once-a-year salary throughout her absence.

There was not a lot clarity on her problem all through her leave, which was extended at minimum a few times, in accordance to a report from Gannett.

Stringer did not answer to requests for remark and experienced not been produced out there by the university all over her hiatus. Rutgers officials initially stated she stepped absent from her coaching duties to prevent acquiring sick and to treatment for her household, which includes her daughter, Janine, 40, who has necessary distinctive care since contracting spinal meningitis at age 2.

They later denied these statements to Gannett this March without the need of indicating detailing her absence.

“Out of respect for her privateness and pursuant to law, we cannot present any higher specificity into her situations,” a Rutgers athletics spokesman explained to Gannett.

The Scarlet Knights struggled without the need of her. Less than interim coach Tim Eatman, Rutgers went 11-20 this past season, like a 3-14 history in Massive 10 participate in, to complete 13th in the meeting. The Scarlet Knights defeated Penn Condition in the opening spherical of the Significant 10 Match in advance of falling to Indiana in the next round.

Washington’s initial endeavor will be cleansing up the mess and placing collectively a roster.

O
nly a few gamers on last season’s group keep on being on the roster — sophomore ahead Chyna Cornwell, junior guard Awa Sidibe and sophomore guard Erica Lafayette.

The remainder of the roster fatigued its eligibility (4 players) or entered the transfer portal (eight gamers), according to WBB Site. Of the eight, Tyia Singleton (Ole Skip), Liz Martino (Jackson State), Sayawni Lassiter (Rhode Island) and Joiya Maddox (Florida Atlantic) have observed landing places.

The Scarlet Knights received a motivation from Hartford guard Abby Streeter out of the transfer portal, and signed superior faculty recruits Kaylene Smikle (Westtown Substantial in Pennsylvania) and Antonia Bates (Rutgers Prep) in its 2022 class.

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Brian Fonseca may be achieved at [email protected].

Patrick Lanni may possibly be achieved at [email protected].



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