Charleston Southern University and women’s basketball coach Fred Applin have announced an agreement to a contract extension that ensures the continued growth of the program for the foreseeable future.
Details of the contract were not released, but Charleston Southern athletic director Hank Small called the agreement a commitment to the program and Coach Applin by the university.
“We always want to show support for your coaches and coaching staff,” Small commented. “We believe what Coach Applin and his staff have accomplished is really worthy of everything that we can do to show our support of him. A longer term commitment is our university’s way of doing that.”
Applin was appreciative and thankful for the continued commitment of the administration and staff toward the development of the women’s basketball program.
“I am so appreciative of the trust that has been put in me by President Dr. Jairy Hunter, Vice President Luke Blackmon, and Athletic Director Hank Small,” he commented. “This has been a special place to come to work every day. My staff and I are proud of what the program has achieved over the few years. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to reach even greater heights moving forward. I am very thankful for all the players and coaches that have sacrificed so much in helping us to build our program.”
The Buccaneers continued their development under Applin in his fifth season, posting program records in both wins (18) and Big South Conference wins (11). CSU also advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Championship this season with a win over tournament host Liberty, before falling to top-seed Radford.
CSU also returned to the postseason for the first time since the 2012 season with the Bucs hosting a first round game in the Women’s Basketball Invitational against UNC Greensboro.
The Bucs have made strides over the past two seasons under Applin’s tutelage with his focus on the defensive side of the ball paying dividends. CSU led the Big South in both steals (9.1), turnovers forced (20.7), and turnover margin (+6.03) in the 2016-17 season.
The latter two numbers ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA Division I standings when the final statistics were released following the National Championship Game. The Bucs finished 14th in turnovers forced and 15th in turnover margin among the 345 NCAA Division I women’s basketball playing institutions.
http://www.csusports.com/sports/wbkb/2016-17/releases/20170418njazz4
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