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AU Women's Basketball Welcomes Two Assistants
Shann Hart Completes Staff With the Addition of Nicosia and Hillsman

June 20, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. --The American University women's basketball program completed the restructuring of its coaching staff with the recent additions of Ina Nicosia and Quentin Hillsman as assistant coaches to second-year head coach Shann Hart.

Nicosia and Hillsman replace the departed David Layman and Waynetta Veney on Hart's staff.

Nicosia comes to AU from Central Michigan University where she served as the interim head coach from December 2000 until her departure. Prior to being elevated to interim head coach, she had served as the first assistant coach since 1999. Nicosia will serve as the Eagles' recruiting coordinator and will work primarily with the post players.

As the assistant coach at CMU, Nicosia's responsibilities also included post player development and recruiting coordination while directing all of the program's individual camps. Prior to her stint with the Chippewas, she was an assistant coach at James Madison for two seasons.

A native of Vineland, N.J., Nicosia played and coached professional basketball in Belgium for two years. She led her team -- which included Ann Wauters, the 2000 Women's National Basktetball Association (WNBA) No. 1 draft pick -- in both scoring and rebounding each of those years. She also coached several youth teams while she was abroad, including the FIBA Cadets, a Belgian Junior National Team, in 1995-96.

Nicosia is a 1994 graduate of the University of Richmond where she was a standout on the basketball court, with Hart as an assistant coach, and on the track. A First-Team All-CAA selection and two-time team captain, she averaged 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a senior and broke the school's offensive rebounding record. She also held the conference record for rebounds in a single game with 22.

On the track, Nicosia set school records in the shot put, discus and javelin while earning the CAA championship title in the javelin. She departed Richmond as the track and field program's all-time leading point scorer.

Nicosia earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications while at Richmond and went on to earn her master's degree in athletic administration at CMU.

"Having played at both the collegiate and professional levels and having had various coaching positions, Ina brings a wealth of knowledge that will be a valuable asset to the program," said Hart. "Having experienced my coaching system first hand (at Richmond), she has a better understanding of what it is I'm trying to do with this program and she will be relied on heavily for her experience."

Hillsman joins the AU staff after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., and will oversee film exchange and work with the point guards.

A 1993 graduate of St. Mary's College, Hillsman coached the girl's varsity team at the Newport School in Kensington, Md., prior to his arrival at Siena. Named the 1998-99 Montgomery County Gazette Coach of the Year, Hillsman led the Newport program to the most wins in school history and its first-ever ranking in all the local area polls, including the Washington Post, Montgomery Journal and AP Maryland State.

Hillsman was a four-year starter at St. Mary's while earning his bachelor's degree in sociology. He remains the school's all-time leader in assists and steals and holds both the single-game and single-season assists records.

Upon graduation from St. Mary's, Hillsman competed internationally before going on to earn his master's degree in sports management at the United States Academy (Daphne, Ala.).

"Quentin also brings along a vast knowledge to our program, not only of the game, but also of the (Metro) area, which will help us with recruiting," Hart said. "He was very successful as a high school coach in the area and his contacts and familiarity of the local scene will enhance our recruiting and help change the image of AU basketball."

The Eagles completed its final season of membership in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with an overall record of 4-23 and a conference mark of 2-13 last year in Hart's first season at the helm. Her first win at AU came against future Patriot League foe Navy on Nov. 29, 2000.

The 2001-2002 AU women's basketball team will debut on Nov. 4 in an exhibition game against MI Express at 2:00 p.m. at Bender Arena.The Eagles open their season by hosting the AU Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 16-17.

American University, founded in 1893, fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program, featuring 10 women's sports and nine for men. American will become a full member of the Patriot League with the start of the coming 2001-02 academic calendar.