Rhode Island College has named Jhamal Diggs and Derek Shanks as assistant women’s basketball coaches. They will assist Head Women’s Basketball Coach Jenna Cosgrove in all phases of the RIC women’s basketball program.
“I am super excited to begin this next chapter in my coaching career,” Diggs said. “Coaching college basketball has always been one of my goals. Coach Cosgrove has supported me and been a mentor the past couple of years while I was a high school coach at Cranston East and now to be her assistant is an honor. I am grateful to be in a position where I can continue to work with student-athletes at the next level and also continue to learn and gain more experience under a great coach and experienced staff . Thank you to Coach Cosgrove for believing and trusting in me to bring me on to her staff to continue the great work and foundation that she has built here at Rhode Island College. I can’t wait to get work.”
“I am honored and extremely grateful for this opportunity to work with Coach Cosgrove and the RIC family,” Shanks said. “I am excited to be a part of the championship-level culture here and work with the talented young women on this team to reach new heights.”
“I am so excited to welcome Jhamal and Derek to the RIC Women’s basketball staff,” Cosgrove said. “They are both extremely passionate and energetic about continuing to elevate our program.”
“I have grown a strong relationship with Jhamal over the last couple of years while he was the coach at Cranston East,” Cosgrove added. “He not only has established himself as a great coach in the Rhode Island and Providence communities, but has also established himself as a great mentor. He brings a wealth of basketball knowledge as well as experience developing players that will make him an immediate asset to our program.”
“When I first met Derek this spring, he expressed professionalism and enthusiasm and certainly did his homework on our program and each of our student-athletes,” Cosgrove stated. “During his undergraduate career at UMass Amherst, Derek has gained valuable experience working with a Championship program and being surrounded by great mentors. I’m excited to see and help him grow as a coach.”
Diggs comes to RIC after spending the past three seasons as the Head Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach at Cranston High School East. He was named the Coach of the Year in 2020-21. Diggs is also the founder and director of Beat the Odds AAU, an organization that mentors and assists youth basketball players.
He is also currently the Head Girls’ Varsity Volleyball Coach at La Salle Academy, a position he’s held since 2019.
Diggs played three seasons of men’s volleyball while he was an undergraduate at Johnson & Wales. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from JWU in 2016.
Shanks joins the RIC staff after recently graduating with a bachelor’s degree in finance and sports management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. While at UMass, Shanks served as the head coach of the women’s club basketball team and was also a practice player with the varsity team.
The North Attleboro, Mass. native served as an assistant coach with the Red Rocketeers boys’ varsity basketball program for three seasons.
https://goanchormen.com/news/2022/8/23/diggs-and-shanks-join-womens-basketball-staff.aspx
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