PORTSMOUTH — Shawnee State Athletics has named former Coppin State (Md.) head coach DeWayne Burroughs as the newest head coach of the nationally-renown SSU women’s basketball program, as announced by SSU Athletic Director Jeff Hamilton Thursday.
Burroughs becomes the third person to lead the unit into action in what will be the program’s 34th season of competition.
“We are extremely excited to be bringing DeWayne to Shawnee State University,” Hamilton said.
“His energy, passion, and experience are an ideal fit for our women’s basketball program and will allow the program to continue growing upon the milestones that have already been reached.
“His commitment to his athletes and his meaningful relationships will help ensure the continued success or our program. Our athletes will naturally gravitate to his engaging personality. He has a great track record recruiting and coaching top level talent to excel in the game of basketball, which will continue to bring stability and consistency to our fantastic program. We are really looking forward to having the opportunity to work with DeWayne.”
“I’m grateful to (Shawnee State Athletic Director) Jeff Hamilton,” Burroughs said. “He’s been fantastic throughout this entire process. I’m really appreciative of him and (Shawnee State President) Jeff Bauer giving me the opportunity.
“I talked to our young women Wednesday afternoon and told them, ‘We have to work hard. We have to work hard during the offseason. We have to work hard during practice. One of my goals was that we need to get better each and every day. They are very good kids. They understand the fact that we need to work hard. They understand the fact that it’s going to take some time. It’s going to take hard work – on the court and off the court – to make sure that we are ready for every game that we participate in.”
Burroughs, a veteran with 25 years of coaching experience, is a former graduate of Coppin State who turned an opportunity to play baseball with the Eagles into a coaching career in the game of basketball.