The Rutgers women's basketball team has added former WNBA coach and women's basketball Hall of Fame member Marianne Stanley to its staff, head coach C. Vivian Stringer announced yesterday.
Stanley will replace the departed Sue Wicks - now at St. Francis College - as an assistant to Stringer. She has most recently served as an assistant with the WNBA's New York Liberty and has a total of seven years experience in the league. Before New York, Stanley was the head coach of the Washington Mystics and was named the 2002 WNBA Coach of the Year.
That was also the year she was inducted into the women's Hall of Fame.
Stanley also assisted with the Los Angeles Sparks, beginning in 2000, and has experience with several collegiate programs.
"The past seven seasons in the WNBA have been some of the most memorable, exciting and rewarding years of my coaching career, and I cherish the friendships and relationships that I have been able to establish in the professional ranks," Stanley said yesterday in a statement. "In re-entering the collegiate coaching ranks, I am excited to return to the joys and challenges of working with college student-athletes on a daily basis."
As a player, Stanley was a two-time national champion at Immaculata College in the early days of women's college basketball.
"It's a really great catch for Rutgers," said Mel Greenberg of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a long-time writer in the sport. "Vivian and Marianne have known each other for a long time so there is an instant symmetry there.
"She brings a wealth of knowledge - not only her success in college but also in the pros - which, in the case of Rutgers, is enhancing because in recent years people like [former Scarlet Knights] Chelsea Newton and Cappie Pondexter have gone onto the WNBA."
In 1985, Stanley coached the Old Dominion women's team to the national championship, and at age 23 became the youngest Division I coach in the country. Posting a 269-59 overall record at ODU, she worked with players like Anne Donovan and Nancy Lieberman, some of the game's all-time greats.
"Coach Stanley is a tremendous hire for us at Rutgers," Stringer said yesterday in the statement. "I'm very excited to work with her again after having the opportunity at the 1991 Pan-Am Games. I have nothing but the deepest respect for her ability as a coach."
Stanley's other college stops include the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Stanford and Cal-Berkeley.
In her 21 seasons as a head coach, she has built a record of 416-222 and reached 10 NCAA tournaments.
Stanley also brings international experience to the Banks, having coached numerous USA Basketball teams overseas.
Last season, the Scarlet Knights (27-5, 16-0) finished the season ranked No. 9 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Stanley leaves behind a New York Liberty team that suffered a disappointing 2006 season, finishing the season tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11-23. Her last four seasons in the WNBA found her assisting Rutgers alum Patty Coyle.
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