• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Saturday, June 3, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Opportunities
      • Legals
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Opportunities
      • Legals
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

New Rutgers coach will build on Stringer’s legacy

by Charles Hallman
June 3, 2022
15
SHARES
295
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Coquese Washington
Courtesy of Twitter

Rutgers becomes the first Big Ten school to hire a Black woman coach whose predecessor also is Black. Coquese Washington last week was named the third full-time WBB coach in Rutgers history, succeeding the retiring C. Vivian Stringer.

“You can’t replace the legend,” was Washington’s response to a reporter’s question during her May 24 introductory press conference when asked about Stringer, the all-time winningest Black college coach and Hall of Famer. “It’s just not possible,” stressed the new coach. 

“When you look at Coach Stringer’s legacy, most people look at the championships. What’s really important is when you go to the Final Four and you see how many of her former players, whether they were Cheyney or Iowa or Rutgers, come together and celebrate Coach Stringer. That’s impressive.”

Deb Walker, a member of Stringer’s 1982 Cheyney State NCAA runners-up squad, the first and still only HBCU school to play in a Division I national championship game, praised Rutgers’ selection. “Coquese Washington is a great hire for Rutgers,” she said.

Washington played and studied at Notre Dame in the mid-1990s where she earned her undergraduate degree in only three years and later her juris doctorate from Notre Dame Law School in 1997. She then played six WNBA seasons, including with the 2000 Houston Comets champions. Before her retirement as a player, Washington became the first WNBAer to lead three different squads to the postseason.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The new Rutgers coach also helped start the WNBA Players Association, served as its founding president (1999 to 2001) and executive vice president (2001-03), and led the negotiations for the league’s first collective bargaining agreement. The Flint, Mich. native was twice an assistant coach at her alma mater in separate stints (assistant, 1999-05; associate HC, 2005-07; and associate, 2020-22). 

Her first head coaching position came at Penn State (2007-19), where she won three consecutive Big Ten titles, two Sweet 16 appearances (2012, 2014), three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2012-14), and twice Black Coaches Association Female Coach of the Year (2011, 2014). She also was Oklahoma associate head coach (2019-20).

“Her resume speaks volumes about her coaching skills. Her life speaks volumes about the great woman that she is,” noted Walker.

“Being at Rutgers is an unbelievable privilege,” admitted Washington. “I’m looking forward to enjoying a tremendous amount of success both on and off the court, and representing this university and this program in a way that this community deserves and expects.

“I’ve been inspired by Coach Stringer over my career…by who she is and the legacy that she’s left,” stressed her successor. “I’m not trying to replace her. I’m just trying to build on what she taught, what she meant.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Furthermore, Washington politely pointed out when asked to compare herself with Stringer, “We’re two different people. What is going to be consistent is the determination to be excellent.”

“Although she stands on the shoulders of Coach Stringer,” said Walker of Washington, “she is not in competition with the C. Vivian Stringer legacy. She has her own agenda. Her future on The Banks (the Rutgers’ main campus) is bright.

“I wish her the best.” 

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Four current and former preps making their marks

Next Post

Blue Line work group to meet June 4 as displacement concerns grow

Charles Hallman

Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

You Might Also Like

More sistas represent in Big Ten softball
Gophers/College

More sistas represent in Big Ten softball

Will the 1982 Cheyney team finally get due recognition?
Gophers/College

Will the 1982 Cheyney team finally get due recognition?

For Gopher men’s hoops, ‘the sky is not falling’
Gophers/College

For Gopher men’s hoops, ‘the sky is not falling’

Gopher hoops in crisis
Gophers/College

Gopher hoops in crisis

Big Ten offers opportunities for qualified Black coaches
Gophers/College

Big Ten offers opportunities for qualified Black coaches

Rutgers’ Washington reached two milestones with Barn win
Gophers/College

Rutgers’ Washington reached two milestones with Barn win

Next Post
Blue Line work group to meet June 4 as displacement concerns grow

Blue Line work group to meet June 4 as displacement concerns grow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

The Latest News

2023 legislative session will have a profound and lasting impact

Black Business Spotlight: 5enses Design & Home Staging

Black Business Spotlight: 5enses Design & Home Staging

Mobile campaign aims to heighten mental health awareness

Mobile campaign aims to heighten mental health awareness

Know your operator: Tamica Washington

Know your operator: Tamica Washington

tan and black dogs

What’s too hot for animals left outside in the summer?

Kick off summer with hot new (and old) movies and TV shows

Kick off summer with hot new (and old) movies and TV shows

Minneapolis
◉
72°
Fair
5:28 am8:53 pm CDT
SunMonTueWedThu
90/68°F
88/66°F
81/59°F
81/59°F
84/61°F
Weather forecast Minneapolis, Minnesota ▸
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Apr 6
April 6 @ 7:30 pm-June 3 @ 9:00 pm Recurring

Wit by Margaret Edson

Apr 14
April 14 @ 9:00 am-August 12 @ 5:00 pm

Paper Is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures

Jun 3
June 3-June 4

FANS Ultra Race

Jun 3
10:00 am-12:00 pm Recurring

Re-Imagining Station: Frequencies for Healing and Illustrating African Diasporic Consciousness with Jamie J. Philbert

View Calendar

Read our latest e-Edition!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...