The New York Liberty’s roster makeover continues, as the team hired a pair of assistant coaches on Wednesday.
The New York Liberty announced on Wednesday that Kelly Schumacher-Raimon and Dustin Gray have been added to the team as assistant coaches. They will be joined by Shelley Patterson under first-year head coach Walt Hopkins.
“We are extremely excited about the diversity of experiences, skills, and ideas that Kelly and Dustin bring to the Liberty organization,” said Hopkins in a team statement. “Between Dustin’s elite understanding of player development and team ‘X’s and O’s,’ and Kelly’s valuable perspective as both a coach and former player, we’re rounding out our coaching staff with a pair of very talented, high-character people.
Schumacher-Raimon has made a name for herself as a multi-sport athlete (professional basketball and volleyball). Her most recent endeavors saw her serve as an assistant coach under Bill Laimbeer with the Las Vegas Aces, a position she held for two seasons. Las Vegas reached the WNBA semifinals in last year’s postseason.
On the court, Schumacher-Raimon is perhaps best known for a nine-block performance in the University of Connecticut’s 71-52 win over Tennessee in the 2000 NCAA Championship Game. She would go on to become a first-round pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft and then spend a single season with the Liberty (2006).
Gray has worked primarily through player development. He designed and conducted performance enhancement programs for NBA stars Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan, among others, in the lead-up to their respective drafts. Gray later found his own player development and training organization, known as Playmakers Basketball Club. Clients include Rudy Gay, Quincy Pondexter, Ish Smith, and Kendall Marshall.
These additions are just the latest developments in the New York upheaval. The team has bid farewell to veterans like Tina Charles and Brittany Boyd. Nonetheless, they welcomed in six rookies during last Friday’s WNBA Draft, including Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu with the top overall selection.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
