Georgia Southern Head Women’s Basketball Coach Anita Howard has announced the addition of two to her coaching staff, naming Coretta Brown and Chris Straker as assistant coaches for the Eagles’ upcoming 2019-20 season.
Brown joins the Eagles after serving as an assistant coach at the University of West Alabama for the last two seasons. Prior to joining the Tigers staff, she started the women’s basketball program at Thomas University, serving as head coach for four seasons for the Nighthawks from 2012-16.
A four-year player at the University of North Carolina and a four-year veteran of the WNBA, Brown was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree and still holds the career record for three-point field goals (251) made at UNC, which is third in ACC history. She was team captain as a junior and senior, leading UNC to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003. Her 517 assists are third in Tarheel school history. She graduated from UNC with her bachelor’s degree in African American Studies in 2003.
“I am extremely thrilled to bring Coretta back home to help take our program to the next level,” Howard said. “The decision to bring this hometown legend back to Statesboro was easy! Coretta is one of the most respected assistant coaches in our business, who brings an energetic personality and a contagious work ethic for greatness. She’s played the game at the highest level, and will help elevate our program to higher heights.”
A native of Manchester, England, Straker has 15 years of advanced level coaching experience under his belt with European basketball, including stints as a head coach with women’s club teams such as Leeds Carnegie, Manchester Mystics, as well as the North West U17 regional squad.
He also served as associate coach with the Great Britain U20 and England U18 national teams. Under his tutelage, Straker’s teams captured three national titles, while many of his pupils have secured collegiate scholarships in the United States or have gone on to play professionally in Europe. He graduated from San Diego State with his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2017.
“I am overjoyed to have Chris join me once again here at Georgia Southern,” Howard said. “He is very loyal, and an excellent student of the game. His attention to detail and his ability to develop the entire student-athlete is amazing! He’s our analytics guy, who will keep us head and shoulders above our competition with his ability to translate statistics into strategy! He is willing and ready to hit the ground running as we look to bring a winning culture to our program.”
https://gseagles.com/news/2019/5/6/anita-howard-adds-two-to-gs-womens-basketball-staff.aspx
