URI Staff Update

Rhode Island women’s basketball head coach Tammi Reiss has just about completed her staff, adding Adeniyi Amadou as Associate Head Coach and Megan Shoniker as Assistant Coach. Reiss also promoted Cory Macchioni to Director of Basketball Operations from his previous position of Assistant Director of Basketball Operations/Video Coordinator.

One of the premier recruiters and skill developers of post players in the country, Amadou spent the last three years as an assistant at Syracuse, helping lead the Orange to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

“I am thrilled to welcome Adeniyi to the Ram family,” Reiss said. “I have had the pleasure of working alongside him for three years and have witnessed his mentorship of student-athletes first hand. He is one of the best international recruiters and skill development coaches in our game today. He is committed to the student-athlete experience as well as the value system we are establishing at Rhode Island.”

Prior to Syracuse, Amadou served as an assistant coach for the Kentucky women’s basketball program for two seasons and helped the Wildcats advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in both 2015 and 2016, including a trip to the 2016 regional semifinal.

Before his stint at Kentucky, Amadou spent four seasons on the Dayton coaching staff, where he worked with the post players and also contributed to scouting and recruiting for the Flyers. While at Dayton, Amadou helped lead the Flyers to back-to-back regular season Atlantic 10 titles in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

Prior to Dayton, Amadou spent the 2009-10 season at Syracuse as the assistant director of basketball operations. The Orange posted a 25-11 overall record, which included a trip to the WNIT quarterfinals. He assisted with all areas of the program, including strength and conditioning and post player development and scouting. He also served as the team’s video coordinator.

A native of Paris, France, Amadou started his collegiate career playing for the Army West Point. He later transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and led his team in offensive rebounding his senior year.

He received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from IUP and earned a master’s degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse.

Shoniker returns to her alma mater after spending the 2018-19 season as an assistant at Binghamton.

“I have been a big fan and admirer of Megan, so I couldn’t be happier to welcome her back home to Rhode Island,” Reiss added. “She is an extremely passionate and dedicated coach who puts the student-athlete first. She also has a fabulous personality and an innate ability to connect with people, both traits that make her an excellent recruiting coordinator. Her ability to develop players, along with her community ties to URI, make her an invaluable piece to our future success.”

At Binghamton, Shoniker was the recruiting coordinator and managed all aspects of the program’s recruiting efforts, including planning official visits and organizing travel arrangements.

Prior to her stint with the Bearcats, Shoniker spent time at Canisius, where she was a member of the staff for four years. She was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2017-18 after previously serving as the recruiting coordinator.

From 2012-14, Shoniker was a staff associate at St. John Fisher College, where she assisted with player development, recruiting and video operations while also completing her master’s degree in special education.

A 2011 graduate from Rhode Island, Shoniker was a two-time team captain who finished her career with 1,318 points. She earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors as a senior while also being named to the Capital One Academic All-District Second Team.

After her collegiate career, Shoniker played in Belarus with Team Olimpia Grodno and earned First-Team All-Belarusian League and First-Team All-Import honors.

A graduate of Greece Arcadia High School, Shoniker left the school as Monroe County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,216 career points.

https://www.gorhody.com/sports/w-baskbl/2019-20/releases/20190516knjkzd