With the Rutgers Women's Basketball team's season just a week away, The Knight Report previews all aspects of the Scarlet Knights. Head coach Coquese Washington enters a key third season leading the program, and this year represents her best chance to take a step forward with some of the incoming and returning talent on the team.
The second part of the season preview looks into the team's coaching staff, including newcomers and returning coaches. The Scarlet Knights return all four assistant coaches from last season and add another with the new NCAA rules.
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HEAD COACH
Coquese Washington - 3rd Season (20-44 (7-29) at Rutgers, 229-213 (105-135) Career)
After a rocky first two seasons amid a lengthy rebuild, Washington returns to Rutgers for her third season as the Scarlet Knights head coach.
In Washington's first season, she only had eight players on the roster: Three transfers, two freshmen, and three returnees. Only three of the original eight - Antonia Bates, Awa Sidibe, and Chyna Cornwell - remain on the team. Two years later, Washington now has 12 players on her roster and five assistant coaches, ahead of a key third season.
Washington has made sure to play an uptempo-style offense, focusing on getting up and down the floor as quickly as possible to set up the half-court offense or do damage in transition. One of the main parts of the game keeping the offense from taking a big step forward is turnovers. According to Bart Torvik, the Scarlet Knights' 26.5% turnover rate ranks 336th nationally (out of 360 teams) and is the highest of any high-major team.
That number should - in theory - go down with the amount of ballhandlers on the team, even though some are new. Another year of instilling the culture and offensive system will be a positive, even for those entering their first year in the program.
Washington has emphasized building a family atmosphere and culture, applying to past, present, and even future Scarlet Knights. Past and present players echo that sentiment, with many talking about how close-knit the team is and always enjoying the presence of Rutgers alumni visiting, including WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Kahleah Copper, who was on the coaching staff last season.
The 2024-25 campaign will be a crucial year on the Banks, and will go a long way in determining the direction of the Scarlet Knights' program, given the talent brought in and the rugged Big Ten.
"I'm feeling really good about where we are. I feel really good about this team, I think that the additions we've brought into the program have been impactful already, both on the court and probably more as important in the locker room in terms of team chemistry and camraderie. So I'm feeling really good about where we are and our prospects moving forward.
ASSISTANT COACHES
John Hampton (3rd Season)
Hampton, known as the team's defensive specialist, returns for his third season alongside Washington on the bench. He works with the team's wings this season after working more with the bigs last season.
He has always been a quick riser in the basketball ranks, going from a walk-on at Division II Mansfield University to becoming the team's MVP in his junior and senior seasons. He became a graduate assistant at Division III Clarkson University after his playing career, before becoming the team's head coach three years later.
After four seasons leading the Golden Knights and one season as an assistant coach at Rider, Hampton then spent seven years as an assistant coach at St. Joseph's, working with the Hawks' defense and bigs.
Hampton is a rising coach with his energy, proficiency with post players, and defensive work. Despite the offense struggling, the Scarlet Knights consistently stayed in games with tough defense and rebounding. If the team takes a jump this year with more strong play at the rim, Hampton could get some eyeballs from higher-level programs.
"It feels really good to have - what we consider - a full roster, because it makes practice a little more competitive. It gives our kids a chance every single day to compete, us not being so concerned about if I'm gonna be practicing that day, do I need to suit up? I think for us we're looking forward to - again - having numbers. It makes you a little bit more flexible, it doesn't put you in a box.
Tasha Pointer (3rd Season consecutively, 11th overall)
Pointer has made her mark on the program as both a player and a coach, becoming one of the top guards in program history. She still holds the team's all-time assist record and is the runner-up in steals, as well as becoming the first person in the history of the Big East Conference to record more than 1,000 points, 700 assists, 500 rebounds, and 250 steals, along with the first triple-double in program history. Pointer led the team to the 2000 Final Four in her junior season.
She went into coaching after a three-year professional career, spending two seasons as an assistant with Columbia and another with Xavier - where the Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 - before returning to Rutgers as an assistant under former head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
With Pointer on staff the team made the postseason seven times, including an Elite Eight appearance and WNIT championship, becoming a key recruiter and defensive coach on the staff.
She left Rutgers in 2015 to become an assistant at St. John's for two seasons, leading the Red Storm to a top-three defensive team before returning to her hometown of Chicago to join Joe McKeown's staff at Northwestern. After only a season with the Wildcats, she earned her first head coaching job at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where the led the Flames for four years, compiling a record of 11-94 in the Horizon League.
Pointer has continued her work with the team's point guards in her return, and she also brings a energy day in and day out. She has the pedigree as a player and coach at Rutgers, and also serves as the team's offensive specialist.
"It starts with Destiny Adams and Kiyomi McMiller. We have two players who are in their own right 'superstars', so whenever you're building a team you obviously need a strong foundation, and those two certainly are foundational pieces. They are impact players who are really good with playing with other talented people. I think it starts with those two individuals, and any time you're rebuilding or rejuvenating a program, you need core pillars, core foundation, and those two are just that for us."
Nneka Enemkpali (2nd Season)
Enemkpali enters her second season on the east coast after joining the program from USC, where she was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Previously, she was also an assistant coach at UNLV, UC Santa Barbara, and a video coordinator for Gonzaga.
She was a star at Texas, earning All-Big 12 honors three times and was selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft, though her career was ended prematurely by a knee injury in her senior year as a Longhorn.
Primarily working with the forwards in her first season with the Scarlet Knights, she led arguably the team's best position, with Destiny Adams' breakout year and Chyna Cornwell's continued dominance on the boards. She "brought new energy and ideas" during her first season and now will continue to work on the post players at the rim.
Enemkpali made her biggest impact for the Trojans on the recruiting trail, where she was able to bring several high-level talents to Los Angeles, including helping Lindsey Gottlieb and staff bring in breakout star JuJu Watkins. She also helped develop 2023 first-round WNBA Draft pick Kadi Sissoko and All-Pac 12 nominee Rayah Marshall.
Enemkpali excels in coaching post play and rebounding, evidenced by her work at UNLV and UC Santa Barbara. In her lone season in Las Vegas, she helped develop Desi-Rae Young, who won the Mountain West Freshman of the Year award and has since become one of the best players in the Mountain West. With the Gauchos, she coached Ila Lane, who was one of the top rebounders in the nation in her career.
Enemkpali also has some local connections: her brother IK was drafted by and played for the New York Jets in the 2014 season.
In 2021, she was named by Silver Waves Media as one of the 50 most impactful Division I assistants in the country with UNLV. She has a high ceiling as a coach and it appears she is still just getting started in her career.
"It's been really enlightening. I've enjoyed the level of competition we face in the Big Ten, but I'm even more excited for us going into this season to showcase not only Rutgers, but the Big Ten is a conference you should be playing in if you want to be an elite athlete. Day in and day out, you're playing against the best, and with the addition of the LA schools, Oregon, and Washington, now we're truly bi-coastal. When it comes to us being able to continue to hone in on the recruiting landscape, we're going to be able to recruit kids all across the country, with the understanding that you're all coming to play in the best conference, and every single day is going to be a dogfight. So it's really exciting."
Jeanine Wasielewski (2nd Season)
Entering her second season, Wasielewski is another veteran coach, one with close ties to Washington as well. She works with the team's shooting guards, an area which she excels.
Prior to joining the Scarlet Knights, Wasielewski embarked on a reclamation project at the JUCO level, coaching Southwestern Michigan College. She brought the Roadrunners back to competition after a 25-year hiatus, finishing third in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association’s (MCCAA) Western division and making it to the NJCAA Great Lakes District A semifinal, with a team comprised of all freshmen.
She played at Northwestern and was a key contributor on the Wildcat squad that won the Big Ten in 1990. Later on, she was a part of Washington’s coaching staff at Penn State from 2017-2019, including helping sign a top-15 recruiting class for the Lady Lions. She brings a proven track record working with guards, holds strong academic standards, and overall has a very versatile skillset, even spending time in the corporate world holding executive positions at Molson Coors Brewing Company and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Wasielewski is known as well for her work with analytics, helping bring advanced analytics to Penn State, and Washington has also noted her impact in utilizing and taking advantage of analytics in her time at Rutgers. Especially working with guards, it is an important aspect of the game to embrace when so much of the sport has revolved around three-point shooting and maximizing scoring opportunities.
"This staff is incredible. The way we complement each other on the floor, it's something where, a lot of people say 'oh, there's too many voices on the floor', it doesn't feel like that at all. We're pretty focused on complementing each other, working in our space that we're assigned and our responsibilities, making the team better every day. So I think it's been pretty seamless."
Johnetta Hayes (1st Season)
The newest member of the Scarlet Knights' coaching staff, Hayes joins the program after four seasons as the head coach at UMBC. She will work with the team's centers, as each assistant gets one of the five posiiton groups.
As the coach of the Retrievers, Hayes made significant strides with the program, including an 11-win improvement in the 2022-23 season. She coached multiple award winners in the America East, including Defensive Player of the Year Kiara Bell, as well as All-Conference honorees KK White and Ashia McCalla.
Prior to UMBC, Hayes also served as the head coach at Texas Southern, compiling a 115-73 record in six seasons. She brought plenty of success to the Tigers, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017 and two WNIT appearances. She also earned SWAC Coach of the Year honors in her second season in 2014-15, and went 20-13 during her debut season. She also served as the associate head coach in 2012-13, helping lead the team to the WNIT.
Hayes has a proven track record of working with bigs and having success at the low and mid-major levels, and brings that experience and enthusiasm to the Scarlet Knights. Hayes and Enemkpali will work to continue to build a strong presence around the rim on offense, defense, and in rebounding.
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