Itoro Coleman Named Assistant Coach

MILWAUKEE—Marquette University women's basketball head coach Megan Duffy has announced the addition of Itoro Coleman to her staff as assistant coach of the Golden Eagles.

Coleman brings an abundance of experience to Marquette, including a long tenure at Penn State and as head coach of Clemson from 2010-13.

"We are thrilled to welcome Itoro Coleman, her husband Harold and their family to Marquette," Duffy said. "I was blown away by her commitment to excellence both on and off the court. Itoro brings an incredible passion and competitiveness to the game of basketball and will make an immediate impact on both current and future Marquette student-athletes."

During Coleman's stint as a recruiting coordinator, she guided the signing of four top-25 classes, three while at Penn State.

"I am extremely excited to be a part of the Marquette family," Coleman said. "Megan is a well-respected coach in our profession. Her love for the student-athletes and her will to be the best is infectious. When you have a proven winner in your leader combined with winning tradition and winning culture great things happen. I am grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to getting started."

Coleman spent eight years in State College and was instrumental in various roles including on court guard development, opponent scouting, sport performance implementation, and leadership programs and community outreach.

With the Lady Lions, Coleman built multiple players into national threats in scoring and on the defensive end, while playing in the challenging Big Ten Conference.

At the helm of the Tigers, Coleman brought a pair of top-30 recruiting classes to Clemson with the No. 14 player in the country in the 2012 class and brought South Carolina's Player of the Year to Clemson, guiding her to All-ACC Rookie honors as well as All-American accolades in 2006-07.

Coleman spent time as an assistant coach at Clemson and was on the sidelines at fellow BIG EAST school, Butler from 2000-02.

Along with a heralded coaching career, Coleman also found success as a player and was a standout defensive player for Clemson. She was a three-time All-ACC performer, earned AP All-America honorable-mention accolades, defensive All-America honors, and was crowned the 1999 ACC Tournament MVP after leading the Tigers to the tournament title. She is etched in the Clemson record books with top-10 marks in scoring (1,409 points), assists (459) and steals (265). In 2008 Coleman was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.

Following her climb through the college ranks, Coleman enjoyed a long professional career and played in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever and the Houston Comets. She was a member of Team USA in the Pan American Games and at the FIBA World Championships. Coleman played for the Nigerian National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was captain of that team that gave Nigeria its first-ever Olympic victory.

"With Itoro's experience playing in the WNBA and the Olympics, and the enormous successes she has found in coaching, we couldn't be more excited to watch Itoro enhance our program," said Duffy.

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