The Southeastern women’s basketball welcomes one of its own back with the hiring of former Lady Lion Aja Gibson as assistant coach on Monday.
“I’m really excited to be back,” said Gibson, a two-time All-Southland Conference forward for Southeastern from 2010-14. “My main thing is, my senior year I wanted to win a championship and I didn’t get that. So the opportunity for me to be able to come back, that’s what we are fighting for, to win championships, so I’m glad to be a part of that change.”
Also joining Southeastern as an assistant coach is Ayriell Robinson, a former Saint Louis University guard and assistant coach at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas.
“I was very impressed with her knowledge of the game,” Southeastern head coach Yolanda Moore said of the New Orleans native. “She has a great understanding of the game. She has worked a lot with our guards. She just came in and had that ‘whatever I can do to help move the program forward’ mentality. She is studying to get her degree in sports management so she is definitely committed to growing her knowledge, growing as a coach. She’s very committed, very dedicated. She stepped in and filled some spots in regard to helping with travel as well as recruiting. She’s meshed in with our team and our players love her. I feel like we have a really good coaching staff in place.”
Moore first met Gibson in spring 2014 when Gibson sat in on the interviewing process for Moore in spring 2014. Moore also said Gibson also worked out with the team during the summer and would stop by the coaching offices so she developed a good relationship with her outside of basketball.
“Just talking to her about her passion for the game and especially for her school, for Southeastern,” Moore said. “People in the community love her. They remember her for being a fierce competitor, a great student and just an all-around good person. She’s had an opportunity to play professionally and has also coached on the high school level and she has a great relationship with our players.”
That relationship with the players and local community was a big selling point for Moore. Among the responsibilities for Gibson, who earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from Southeastern in December 2013, are helping with recruiting and community service.
“I’ve always felt like the greatest ambassadors for a program, especially when you’re trying to rebuild a program, is to have former players come back in some capacity,” said Moore, who is in her second year as head coach of the Lady Lions. “And to have her on our staff is just an added bonus for us. She’s very energetic, she’s competitive, she’s hungry to learn and she loves Southeastern. She’s the type of person we want to promote our program, to help us with recruiting. Whom better to sell your program than somebody who’s been through it and earned a degree from here and can talk about it from first-hand experience. It’s just all-around a good hire for us.”
Gibson, who is starting her first year of collegiate coaching, earned third team All-Southland honors in 2012-13 and honorable mention recognition in 2011-12. She finished her career ranked in the program’s career top 10 in games played (118), career scoring (1,278 points), rebounding (694), free throws made (289), field goals made (494) and blocked shots (71).
“After coming to their games last year, I like their coaching styles and I like their energy,” Gibson said of working with Moore and associate head coach Levar Willis “I will be glad to be a part of that and bringing more energy to the team.”
Gibson had been hired as the head girls’ basketball coach at Independence High in Independence, Louisiana in July after serving as an assistant coach for the Lady Tigers during the 2014-15 season. She was also a physical education teacher at the school from 2014-15.
Gibson has also served as the recreation director at Chappapeela Park in Hammond since May 2013 and was an assistant coach for an Amateur Athletics Union under 13 girls team the past two summers, helping lead it to a third-place finish at the 2015 Nationals in Orlando, Fla.
A native of Somerville, Tennessee, Gibson was an All-District performer at Fayette Ware High School, leading her team to a District 14-AA title as a junior in being named the team’s Most Valuable Player. She captained the team her junior and senior seasons while also serving as vice president of her senior class.
Robinson is fresh off helping lead Angelina College to a 20-win season in 2014-2015 season. She helped lead the program to three NJCAA Region XIV conference tournament appearances and coached seven All-Conference athletes since 2012. Angelina went 50-42 over the past three seasons.
Prior to Angelina College, Robinson was at assistant at St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans in 2011-12 where she helped lead the Cougars to an 18-11 record and a playoff berth.
Robinson played guard at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri from 2009-11, earning the team’s 2011 Coaches Award for being a leader and extension of the coaching staff. She previously played at Labette Community College (Parsons, Kansas), earning second team All-Jayhawk-East Conference in 2008-09. Robinson started playing college basketball at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
“It’s been great so far,” said Robinson who’s been with the Lady Lions through fall camp. “It’s really exciting. The coaching staff is in their second year and they are really looking to change the culture and do a lot of things differently. A lot of the things they have been implementing so far is going to make a big difference in our team’s overall toughness and mindset. Just the way we do things so this year should be really good. Our players are working really hard and developing. Our transfers have stepped in and added to our level of competition so it should be really exciting this year.
“Hopefully knowing the JUCO ranks and the high schools and playing at that high level can help the team,” Robinson said. Hopefully I can bring something a little different and really contribute to the program.”
Robinson holds a Master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University at Irvine; a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Louis University and an Association of Science: Physical Education, Coaching/Teaching from Labette Community College where she was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
Southeastern opens the 2015-16 season Nov. 13 at Arkansas at 10:30 a.m. The Lady Lions’ home opener in the University Center will be Nov. 16 against Auburn at 7 p.m.
http://www.lionsports.net/news/2015/10/19/WBB_1019154759.aspx
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