Wagner College head women’s basketball coach Lisa Cermignano has announced that former long-time Vanderbilt assistant coach and Rutgers Hall of Fame Player Vicky Picott has joined the Seahawk program as an assistant coach.
Picott, who served 11 seasons at Vanderbilt, returns to the sidelines after spending as aself-employed personal fitness trainer.
An established, respected coaching veteran, Picott began her coaching career as a student assistant in 1991-1992 at her alma mater, Rutgers, where she played for Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Theresa Grentz. In 1993-1994, she became the freshman girls basketball coach at her scholastic alma mater, Central New Jersey’s Hightstown High School.
Picott returned to Division I basketball in the 1994-1995 seasons as an assistant at Drexel, who was coached by her former Rutgers teammate, Kristen Foley. She remained in Philly for a total of six seasons, accepting an assistant role at Temple in 1995-1996, when Foley took over the program, and coached for the Owls under Foley from 1995-2000. She then spent the next two seasons, 2000-2002, at Xavier, where she assisted esteemed head coach Melanie Balcomb. At Xavier, she helped direct the Musketeers to a 43-22 mark, highlighted by an appearance in the 2001 NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional Finals.
In 2002-2003, Picott embarked on her 11-year tenure at Vanderbilt when Balcomb was tabbed as head coach, and remained with the Commodore program from 2002-2013. During three of those seasons, 2006-2009, she served as an assistant with Cermignano.
"Vicky is recognized in the women’s basketball community as one of the best post coaches out there. To be able to work with Vicky again is a blessing," Cermignano said. "For she is not just a great teacher and coach but an even better person and role model for these young players. We had tremendous success working together at Vanderbilt and we had a lot of fun doing it. As a former great player, she understands the level that we’re striving to reach and what we’re trying to create at Wagner.
"As the Wagner women’s basketball program moves forward and continues to grow, we need to grow as a staff" Cermignano continued. "By bringing in Vicky, I think we’ve jumped like five steps forward. For the kids to be able to work with someone like her, especially our post players, there’s going to be a significant difference in our overall play next year. I’m just so excited to have Vicky joining us here."
During her time in Nashville, Picott helped transform Vanderbilt women’s basketball into one of the nation’s elite programs. During her tenure there, the Commodores’ won three SEC Tournament Championships, made four Sweet 16 trips and had eight top-25 finishes.
"Lisa (Cermignano) is someone I’ve known, respected and admired for many years, and the three seasons that we spent together at Vanderbilt were tremendous," said Picott. "Wagner is a beautiful college and there are obviously a ton of talented student-athletes located in the New York City metropolitan area. Plus, Wagner is located less than an hour from the Trenton, NJ area where I’m from and where I have many relatives.
"After one year away from a college campus, I realized how much I missed coaching young people, helping them reach their full potential, and being a part of a team – something that’s bigger than me" Picott added. "I have followed Lisa’s career and am so impressed with the job that she’s done recruiting and coaching at Wagner. When she approached me with the possibility of coming on board, I was very intrigued and I’m just excited that everything has fallen into place."
While at Vanderbilt, Picott played an instrumental role in recruiting and developing a number of players into professional prospects, headed by2007 first-round WNBA draft pick Carla Thomas, who was selected by the Chicago Sky. All told, six Commodores under Picott’s tutelage were selected in the WNBA draft, headed by Thomas (Chicago), Christina Wirth, a second-round pick of the Indiana Fever and Chantelle Anderson, who was the second-overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft by the Sacramento Monarchs.
"As a recruiter, Vicky has a pure presence because of the hard work she has put in over the years," Cermignano said. "Walking into a gym in New Jersey or New York City for Vicky Picott is probably going to be the easiest task for her due to her incredible reputation."
A 1992 graduate of Rutgers, Picott ranks fourth in school history in career points (1,792), third in rebounds (1,029) and fifth in steals (225). A four-year starter at Rutgers, Picott was named the Atlantic-10 Freshman of the Year following the 1998 season.
She earned All-Conference honors three times and was a two-time Most Valuable Player of her team. Picott also earned the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Player of the Year and District II Regional All-America honors following her senior season. The exclamation point on her Scarlet Knight career came on April 26, 1998 when she was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame.
Picott boasts extensive international experience as well. She was selected to two Olympic Festival Teams (1987, 1989) and was a member of the Junior World Championship team that won a Gold Medal after competing in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1992-1993, Picott played in the Women’s Professional Basketball Association in Luxembourg, helping to lead the Etzella Team to the Luxembourg Cup Championship. While in Luxembourg, she continued her development in coaching by working with high school teams.
At Wagner, Picott joins a Seahawk program that made major improvement in 2013-2014. In Cermignano’s second season at the helm, and led by NEC Freshman of the Year Jasmine Nwaigwe (Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum),and NEC Defensive Player of the Year Ugo Nwaigwe (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream), the Green & White qualified for a berth in the NEC Tournament for the first time since the 2009-2010. In addition, the Seahawks improved their overall record to 9-21 after going 3-26 the prior season.
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