Head women’s basketball coach Kristy Curry has finalized her staff, announcing the addition of Kelly Curry, Terry Nooner and Shereka Wright as assistant coaches and Grant Fausset as Director of Operations.
"We have assembled a staff here that compliments each other well," said Kristy Curry. "I speak on behalf of the group when I say we are all really excited about getting to work and building this program up to where we all want it to be. I think we’ve put together one of the best staffs in the county, and I am looking forward to what is in store for the Crimson Tide."
Kelly Curry, Wright and Fausset all served with Kristy Curry at Texas Tech for the past seven seasons, while Nooner joins the group after spending the last year as an assistant at Kansas.
While at Tech, Kelly Curry was the defensive coordinator of the staff and was also responsible for working with post players, scheduling, recruiting and scouting. Throughout his tenure, the Lady Raiders made five postseason appearances and had three 20-plus win seasons. Prior to his seven-year stint in Lubbock, Curry spent seven seasons at Purdue, where he also coached the post players and was heavily involved in recruiting and scheduling. The Boilermakers advanced to the NCAA tournament in each of those years, making the national championship game in 2001. In addition, Purdue won three Big Ten Tournament Championships (2000, 03, 04) and two Big Ten regular season titles (2001, 02).
Kelly Curry began his coaching career at Louisiana Tech in 1998, where he spent one season on the sidelines under Hall of Famer Leon Barmore. That year, the Lady Techsters posted a 30-3 record and reached the NCAA Final Four. Curry graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in business administration management in 1990 and received his teaching certification in 1993 from Stephen F. Austin. He and his wife, Kristy, have two daughters, Kelsey and Kendall.
Nooner, a former guard and team captain for the Jayhawk men’s basketball team from 1997-2000, helped the women’s basketball team to one of its most successful seasons as Kansas finished with a 20-14 overall record in 2012-13 while advancing to the fourth NCAA Sweet 16 in program history and its first in back-to-back seasons. He returned to Lawrence after serving as an assistant for one year at Southern Illinois.
Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, Nooner coached high school and AAU basketball for seven years in the Kansas City area. In addition, he served as president of KC Pro Am Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides basketball instruction, from 2007-11 and also worked at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City as a personal basketball instructor from 2006-11. Nooner’s past clients include Chauncey Billups of the L.A. Clippers, and former NBA players Tyronn Lue and Billy Thomas, in addition to several college players.
Nooner earned two degrees from Kansas, including a bachelor’s degree in African and African American studies, which he earned in 2000, and a master’s degree in sports administration that he finished two years later. He and his wife, Tracy, have one daughter, Tarynn.
Wright, who began her coaching career at Texas Tech, was responsible for the perimeter players, recruiting, scouting, academics and equipment in Lubbock, and will add recruiting coordinator duties at Alabama. Prior to coaching, she spent two seasons in the WNBA, averaging 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds for the Phoenix Mercury, but missed all of the 2006 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during training camp.
Wright was selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock after a stellar collegiate playing career under Kristy Curry at Purdue. She was the third player in program history to be named to the All-Big Ten First Team on three occasions and was also honorable mention Kodak All-America as well as a finalist for the Wade Trophy, Naismith Award and Wooden Award. As a freshman in 2001, Wright was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.
Throughout her four-year career, the Boilermakers appeared in four NCAA tournaments, advancing to the national championship game in 2001, the Elite Eight in 2003 and the Sweet 16 in 2004, and won two Big Ten regular season titles (2001, 02) and a pair of Big Ten Tournament crowns (2003, 04). Wright graduated from Purdue in 2004 with a degree in health and fitness.
Fausset has overseen the daily organization of Kristy Curry’s programs for the past six seasons and served as video coordinator one seasons prior to that. This will be Fausset’s second stint in the state of Alabama as he spent one year as video coordinator at Auburn after serving in a similar capacity at Purdue under Curry. Fausset also has experience working in the WNBA as he spent the summer of 2004 working as the equipment manager for the Seattle Storm.
Fausset graduated from Purdue in 2004 with a degree in agricultural communications and a minor in communications. During his undergraduate years, he spent one year as a practice player before taking over the managerial role his last two years. He and his wife, Lindsey, have one daughter, Bellamy.
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