Michigan State University Athletics
Samantha Williams Joins Spartan Women's Basketball Staff
4/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 13, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie has announced that former Auburn standout and DePaul assistant coach Samantha Williams will join the coaching staff for the 2007-08 season. Williams comes to Michigan State after three seasons as the top assistant at Big East program DePaul.
"Sam and I go way back," McCallie said. "I recruited Sam to Auburn. She had an excellent career there, but I wasn't able to coach her for her whole career because I moved on to Maine. I've been following her career ever since she graduated from Auburn and began her coaching career. To me, she is a person with great experience. She's been a recruiting coordinator and top assistant at DePaul. She's coming in to provide us with new ideas and excitement regarding recruiting, and really anything else. It's always fun to get a new person, especially one who understands how I teach our system. I think her learning curve is very small, so she's a great fit for us. I'm thrilled."
"I'm very excited about being able to work with Coach P," Williams said. "We go back to our Auburn days together and she's full of excitement. She has a clear vision of winning a national championship and I want to be a part of a program that has a chance to win a national championship."
Williams will begin her first year on the Michigan State staff working primarily with the backcourt during practice. "I hope to bring some of my experience, first playing as a guard and then from DePaul, where it was an up-tempo, transition game," she said. "I'm hoping to bring that a little bit to Michigan State."
Williams, who comes to Michigan State having served as an assistant coach for six seasons, was DePaul's lead recruiter and in three seasons with the Blue Demons, she helped them through the most successful period in school history. DePaul was a combined 72-25 (.742) with three NCAA Tournament appearances during her three seasons in Chicago, plus the Blue Demons advanced to San Antonio in 2005-06 for the first Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
Williams came to DePaul after serving as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Auburn, in 2003-04, working with her former coach, Joe Ciampi. The Tigers posted a 22-9 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Williams worked with perimeter players and was also in charge of the strength and conditioning program.
She began her collegiate coaching career with Conference USA's Saint Louis University, serving as an assistant for one season in 2001-02 before moving on to Columbus State in 2002-03. Serving as the Division II school's recruiting coordinator and top assistant, Williams helped Columbus State to a 28-4 record.
As a student-athlete at Auburn, Williams was a four-year starter (1992-96) and two-time co-captain (1994-96) while leading the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament apperances and earning a bacholor of science degree in human sciences from Auburn in 1996. In those three NCAA appearances, Auburn reached the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight once. Individually, Williams set Auburn's career 3-point field goal record with 161 3-pointers. In 1993, she played for the U.S. Junior National Team that took the bronze medal at the R. William Jones Cup in Taipei, Taiwan.
Following her four-year collegiate career, she played for the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League in 1996-97. The Louisville, Ky., native attended Manual High School and was a first team Parade and Street and Smith All-American. She was also named to USA Today's Super 25.
Williams replaces Semeka Randall, who served under McCallie for three seasons. The Spartans are coming off a season in which they reached the postseason for the sixth straight year and the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight time, posting a 24-9 overall mark and a 13-3 record in the Big Ten.
