Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/53155
2011-12 Furman Paladins Head Coach Jackie Carson It didn't take long for Jackie Carson and her staff to put her stamp on Furman's women's basketball program. In fact, it took less than a season. Now entering her second year as head coach at her alma mater, for which she once starred as a play- er, Carson, without the benefit of a recruiting class of her own, took over a moribund Furman hoops program that had suffered through five straight losing seasons and turned it into an emerging force in the Southern Conference. After a 6-3 start that included a home court win over eventual league regular season champion Ap- palachian State, Carson's charges suffered seven consecutive losses — all on the road — before com- ing together for an impressive finish that sent a mes- sage around the league. In winning five of its final six regular season games, including three straight away from Timmons Arena, Furman, a SoCon coaches preseason No. 10 pick, vaulted from 11th place in 2009-10 to a fifth place finish last year, making the Paladins the most improved team in the league. All told Furman doubled its overall win total, going from seven to 14 victories under Carson's guidance and jumping from a 4-16 league mark to 10-10 SoCon ledger. That Carson and her staff could quickly trans- form Furman's basketball fortunes may have sur- prised many but not those who know her and appre- ciate the young mentor's talent and commitment to recruiting, on-the-floor coaching, preparation, inten- sity, 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 Furman fans genuinely excited about the future of women's bas- ketball. The next peek into that bright future will likely come this year following the addition of Carson's first recruiting class, a five-member group that includes ESPN 3-star forward and Cobb County (Ga.) Female Athlete of the Year, Sarah Durdaller; ESPN 2-star forward Brittany Hodges of McEachern (Ga.) High School; Savonia Bryan, a forward and key contribu- tor on two 4-A state championship teams at Spring Valley (S.C.) High School; all-state forward Alexis Peterson from highly successful nearby Hillcrest (S.C.) High School; and Teisha Griswold, a NJCAA All-America guard at Seminole (Okla.) State College. Carson, a Woodbridge, Va., native, and 2000 Furman graduate who served as an assistant coach at James Madison University for five seasons (2006- 10), 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 wom- en's basketball coach," said Carson at the time of her hiring. "As a graduate, I know the value of a Fur- man 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 Ath- letic 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), George- town (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 For- est. That same year she was among a select number of coaches cho- sen to participate in the Black Coaches Associa- tion's "Achieving Coach- ing 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, 4 the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Com- mittee, and the NCAA Committee on Women's Athlet- ics. 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 de- velopment, team development/scouting, leadership, and administration. Prior to going to James Madison, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordi- nator 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 cam- paign and Patriot League crown in 2007. Carson began her coaching career as an assis- tant with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Fairfax (Va.) Stars, helping the squad, which featured future collegiate stars Marissa Coleman (Maryland), Brit- tany 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 tabs. As a freshman, she helped Furman to a SoCon regular season championship and as a senior keyed the Paladins to a 20-11 season, SoCon Tournament championship, and the program's second NCAA Southern Conference Champion — 1990, '92, '93, '97