Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/103171
2012-13 FURMAN PALADINS p BASKETBALL I t didn't take long for Jackie Carson and her staff to put their collective stamp on Furman women's basketball. In fact, it took less than a season. Now two years in, the template, molded by strong recruiting, commitment to overall excellence, and a renewed work ethic and sense of pride fired by improved mental and physical toughness, has Furman fans excited about the newest edition of Paladin women's basketball destined for the showroom floor in 2012-13. Now entering her third year as head coach at her alma mater, for which she once starred as a player, Carson is well along the path of revitalizing a program that had suffered through five straight losing seasons prior to her arrival, but one that is now very clearly an emerging force in the Southern Conference. In her first year the Paladins, bereft of any Carson recruiting additions and a SoCon coaches preseason No. 10 pick, started 6-3 in league play, highlighted by a home win over eventual league regular season champion Appalachian State. After overcoming a seven-game road losing skid by winning five of their final six games to finish with 14 victories, thereby doubling the program's win total from the year before, Furman leaped from 11th to fifth place in the standings and jumped from a 4-16 league mark to a 10-10 SoCon ledger, making the Paladins to league's most improved team in 2010-11. The strides continued this past year as Furman, with one of the SoCon's youngest squads sporting only one senior starter and a host of newcomers, again won 10 league games, including a 75-61 triumph over Chattanooga in Greenville that halted an embarrassing series losing skid to the Mocs. In addition, the Paladins defeated Conference USA member Marshall and picked up their first SoCon Tournament victory under Carson. 4 Head Coach Jackie Carson That Carson and her staff could quickly transform Furman's basketball fortunes may have surprised many but not those who know her and appreciate the young mentor's talent and commitment to recruiting, on-the-floor coaching, preparation, intensity, execution, and overall passion for the game. It is those same qualities, underscored by a deep and abiding dedication to her players and to their athletic and intellectual development, that has many fans of the purple and white sold on the future of Paladin women's basketball. After bringing in a solid recruiting class a year ago that included 2011-12 SoCon Freshman of the Year forward Brittany Hodges, Carson's latest recruiting haul promises to further stoke the embers of excitement. Among the additions are a pair of ESPN HoopGurlz 3-star recruits — 5-foot-11, two-time 1A first team all-state guard/forward Holli Wilkins of Atlanta, Ga. (Wesleyan School) and 6-foot-2 forward Patrice Butler of 5A power Norcross (Ga.) High School. In addition, Carson and her staff landed 5-foot-9, two-time all-state guard Kelsey Ellis from Pooler, Ga. (Calvary Day School), plus 6-foot-2 forward forward/center Kyra Gulledge of two-time 1A state champion Byers (Miss.) High School, and 6-foot-3 center Shianne Goodwin from Potomac (Va.) Senior High School. Carson, a Woodbridge, Va., native, and 2000 Furman graduate who served as an assistant coach at James Madison University for five seasons (200610), including the final two as associate head coach and last four as recruiting coordinator, was named Furman's ninth head coach in April of 2010. "It's an honor to return to Furman as head women's basketball coach," she said at the time of her hiring. "As a graduate, I know the value of a Furman education and what it takes to be a successful student-athlete." During Carson's five-year tenure at James Madison, the Dukes posted a 125-40 record (.758), including a 74-16 mark (.822) in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and advanced to postseason tournament play each year. The string of postseason berths included NCAA Tournaments in 2007 and '10, as well as Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) appearances in 2006, '08, and '09. In 2009-10 the Dukes went 26-7 overall and 16-2 in CAA action en route to league regular season and tournament championships. Among the noteworthy wins were triumphs over nationally 13th-ranked Virginia (75-73), Georgetown (79-76), and Virginia Tech (66-59). In 2007, in her second season on staff, James Madison posted a 27-6 slate and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after a regular season that featured wins over Clemson and Wake Forest. That same year she was among a select number of coaches chosen to participate in the Black Coaches Association's "Achieving Coaching Excellence" program. The program, for ethnic minority male and female basketball coaches, is a collaborative effort of the BCA, the NCAA Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, and the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics. It was during her time at James Madison that Carson gained notoriety on the national level with a "Rising Star" Award, presented to five associate or assistant coaches by BasketballScoop.com and ONS Performance in recognition of recruiting, player development, team development/scouting, leadership, and administration. Prior to going to James Madison, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bucknell (2004-05). In her short tenure there she played a key role in recruiting Patriot League All-Rookie Team honorees Hope Foster and Kesha Champion, who went on to garner league player of the year and defensive player of the year honors, respectively, while leading the Bison to a 20-11 campaign and Patriot League crown in 2007. Carson began her coaching career as an assistant with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Fairfax (Va.) Stars, helping the squad, which featured future collegiate stars Marissa Coleman (Maryland), Brittany Mitch (Duke), Abby Robertson (Virginia), and Laura Haskins (Virginia Tech), to the 2003 15-Under AAU National Championship. One of the finest players in Furman women's basketball history, she led the Paladins in scoring and rebounding and earned first team All-Southern Conference honors and team MVP accolades as a sophomore, junior, and senior. The standout forward was named SoCon Player of the Year in 1998 & '99 and served as team captain her final two seasons. She also garnered three SoCon Academic Honor Roll