UIC head women’s basketball coach Regina Miller has added two new members to her coaching staff for the 2017-18 season. Kristen Morris has joined the staff as an assistant coach, and Megan Grimes is the new director of basketball operations.
Morris joins the Flames after a stint as the head coach at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Huron High School and a six year professional playing career. She will primarily work with the Flames’ post players, and will have additional responsibilities in opponent scouting, practice plans, and recruiting.
“Kristen was an outstanding post player with the ball as well as on defense at every level she played, and her skills have translated extremely well in her coaching,” Miller said. “We’re lucky to have someone of her caliber on our staff, and we’re expecting big things from her in working with our post players.”
After graduating from LSU, Morris ventured overseas for a professional career that took her to Latvia, Poland, Belarus, Israel, Slovakia, and Ecuador. She won two league championships and played in three additional championship series. Morris was named the Eurobasket.com All-Belarusian League Player of the Year in 2014. She averaged 13 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals during her career.
Morris appeared in 108 games during her career at LSU, where she was a member of three Final Four teams. She was also a two-time Academic All-SEC selection. The Lathrup Village, Mich. native won three state championships at Detroit Country Day School. She coached the Michigan Crossover AAU team and was an assistant at Harrison High School (Kennesaw, Ga.) during her time in the US between pro seasons.
Grimes will be responsible for planning all the logistics of team practices, game day routines, and travel itineraries; as well as assisting with basketball and administrative duties, recruiting visits, and scouting reports.
Grimes comes to UIC from Michigan State University, where she spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant on Suzy Merchant’s staff while earning her master’s degree in sports administration. At Michigan State, Grimes was part of the staff that produced two NCAA appearances as the Spartans advanced to the second round in 2016 and earned an eight seed in 2017. MSU advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game in 2016 and made it to the semifinals this year.
“Coming from a college sports powerhouse like Michigan State, Megan brings us not only great basketball knowledge and operations savvy, but also the kind of dedication to a major brand that we are striving to achieve here at UIC,” Miller said. “She gets it. She understands that success has a look, sound and feel on and off the court. She’s a perfect fit for our program.”
While at Michigan State, Grimes assisted Merchant with designing practices, team meetings, and game strategy. Under the staff’s direction, Tori Jankoska was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection in 2017. Aerial Powers made the first team All-Big Ten squad in 2016, becoming the first Spartan to earn that distinction in three straight years. Powers was also a finalist for the Wooden Award.
Grimes was a four-year letterwinner at Northwood University. She made great contributions in practice during her redshirt year, and was poised to make an impact on game days as a sophomore until suffering a career ending injury. She was tapped as a student assistant for her final two years on campus, becoming a crucial part of game day preparation and opponent scouting. She helped the program improve every season, advancing from 12 wins to 18 her senior year.
http://www.uicflames.com/news/2017/6/22/flames-add-to-womens-basketball-coaching-staff.aspx
Tagged with: UIC. DI
