Gophers Promote Nikita Lowry Dawkins To Associate Head Coach
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- University of Minnesota women's basketball coach Marlene Stollings announced Tuesday that Nikita Lowry Dawkins was promoted to be the team's associate head coach.
Dawkins, a 24-year coaching veteran, was an assistant under Stollings for the Gophers last year and has coached with her since 2010. Dawkins helped with the recruitment of Shae Kelley and assisted with the development of Kelley and Amanda Zahui B., which ended up being one of the top front-court duos in the history of the program.
They combined to score 1,199 points last season, which accounted for 48 percent of the team's scoring. They also combined for half the team's rebounds last year.
Dawkins was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Stollings at VCU. She's also been a part of five NCAA Tournament teams, five conference titles and has coached six players who went on to the WNBA. Before joining Stollings at VCU, she was an assistant at Old Dominion for seven seasons. She helped lead the program to a 158-67 record and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
"It is an absolute pleasure to work in arguably the best women's basketball conference in the country with one of the smartest young minds in the game," Dawkins said in a statement. "To have an opportunity to represent a prestigious university while working to make Coach Marlene's vision of turning the Golden Gophers into an elite powerhouse is truly a pleasure. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work alongside a great visionary and be a part of our quest for National Championships."