NDC women's basketball head coach Imani Gordon and assistant coach Chanel Green have taken the college basketball world by storm. "First time Imani and I met we had an instant connection, "Green stated. "We had a lot of similar values and similar ways we thought about the game of basketball. We laughed a lot and clicked instantly. We played against each other in college (Green at East Carolina and Gordon at Cleveland State.) We pulled out the box score not that long ago. Imani mentioned to me that she scored 20 points, but I reminder her that we won the game." The biggest takeaway after meeting each other Green told me was we have similar mindsets and think similarly. Gordon had this to say about Green being selected for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 30 under 30: "I am very proud of Chanel, she is going to be tremendous in this field. She is a really hard worker and it is great to see her get noticed by her counterparts."
Gordon was named the NDC head coach in late April after four years as an assistant. Green became an NDC assistant in June. Green worked for Nike in public relations when she was in college through their grassroots program but she also wanted to be involved in the on court preparation. This checked two boxes for Green as she mentioned:
"I've always wanted to impact student athletes and stay around the game, coaching does both for me."
Gordon spoke about when she knew she wanted to be a coach:
"I realized I wanted to be a coach my sophomore year in college. My coach at the time (Kate Peterson Abiad) really persuaded me to get into coaching. She really encouraged me to do it and saved the graduate assistant job for me once I graduated." She also talked about how important relationships are in this field:
" I have learned a lot from my past coaches. I have learned how important relationships are with both my players as well as the other coaches."
Green chimed in with her thoughts:
"I've learned everything from my coaches. I've taken a little from each of them and applied those methods when needed. I learned discipline, the importance of work ethic, and many more skills that are used in coaching and everyday life. I am so thankful to have so many great coaches in my life. I still learn from them to this day."
Gordon talked about building off getting the honor:
"I am grateful to get this honor for the third consecutive year. I am grateful to be nominated. I hope we can get it again next year. Continued success and getting even better next year is the goal as a team. I am looking forward to seeing how hungry the girls are next season. We did not have the season that we wanted. It sucks sitting out and watching all the other teams play in the tournament when we could still be playing."
Senior Theresa Parr played for both Gordon as well as Green and said this:
"I think this is a testament to the work they both put in, "Parr mentioned. "I know this is just the beginning. They will come back next season even more driven and I look forward to hearing about more of their successes."
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