Michigan State University Athletics
Suzy Merchant Adds Four To Women's Basketball Staff
5/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
May 15, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant announced Tuesday that she has filled four more positions on her staff. Merchant hired Mike Geary as an assistant coach, Julie Pagel as Director of Basketball Operations, Monique Govan as video coordinator and Patrice McKinney as Director of Basketball Operations intern. The four join Shane Clipfell, who was named an assistant coach May 11.
Julie Pagel, a four-year letterwinner at Michigan State from 2001-04, comes back to her alma mater as the Director of Basketball Operations after spending three seasons at Detroit. Pagel served as the Titans' graduate assistant in 2004-05 and was promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2005. While at Detroit, she worked with all aspects of the Titan program, including recruiting, travel plans and on-floor coaching.
A 2004 graduate of MSU, Pagel concluded her four-year Spartan career as one of only three players in school history to rank in the top 20 in career points and top 10 in career rebounds and steals. Pagel sits 25th in the MSU annals with 952 career points and is seventh all-time in free throws made with 282. She is also seventh in games played (120), ninth in steals (185) and 10th in rebounds (667).
As a freshman in 2000-01, Pagel led the Spartans in rebounds, collecting 219 for a 7.9 per-game average. She also led the team in steals with 54. In the freshman record book, Pagel is third in free throws (78), fifth in points (313) and steals (54), sixth in rebounds (219), eighth in field goals (116) and ninth in field-goal percentage (.487).
Prior to her time in East Lansing, Pagel starred at Utica High School, where she earned first-team all-state accolades en route to claiming a Class A State Championship in 1999.
"Julie Pagel was a fan favorite when she played here and helped build this program to where it is today," said Merchant. "I really recruited her hard out of high school, but she ended up a Spartan, and it was really important to get that MSU element back on our staff. Julie is one of the most outgoing, likeable and personable people you're ever going to meet. She certainly has the experience to do a great job as our Director of Basketball Operations. She'll not only be a positive role model for our players, she'll also be a positive in the community."
Mike Geary is a veteran coach who has been in the collegiate ranks since 1982. Geary has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Ball State, helping the Cardinals to a 41-19 record, including a 24-7 mark in 2006-07 and a berth in the WNIT. Prior to arriving at Ball State, Geary served as head women's basketball coach at Northern Michigan (1988-2005), where he compiled an overall record of 370-123.
In Geary's two years as a head coach at Lake Superior State (1986-88), the Lakers went 47-10 and made a Sweet 16 appearance in the 1988 NCAA Division II Tournament. Geary was an assistant at LSSU for three seasons (1982-85) for the men's and women's teams.
Geary owns an overall collegiate record of 417-133 in 19 years as a head coach, good for a .758 winning percentage. Fourteen of his teams posted 20-plus win seasons, 12 garnered NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and seven earned NCAA Regional Championship berths. He led his 1996 and 1998 squads to NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances with his 1998 team advancing to the Final Four.
Geary-led teams captured seven GLIAC tournament championships and two GLIAC North Division Crowns. He was honored as the WBCA Coach of the Year in 1997 and was selected as GLIAC Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1997. In addition, he was Michigan's Women's Coach of the Year in 1997. Geary tutored five players to All-America status and five more to Academic All-America laurels. A total of six of his players were selected as GLIAC Most Valuable Players.
Besides having extensive camp/clinician experience, Geary established youth basketball leagues in the greater Marquette community plus was a spokesperson for the "Put the You in Youth" program.
A 1979 graduate of Aquinas College, Geary is a native of South Bend, Ind. He has two sons Sean (20) and Tyler (16). Sean is a sophomore member of the Michigan Tech basketball team.
"Mike has tremendous experience and has won everywhere he's been," Merchant said. "He is one of the best teachers of the game that I've been around, particularly post play. He is also a great X's-and-O's coach, not to mention a great recruiter. He brings incredible enthusiasm and is a basketball fanatic. I can't wait to start working with Mike instead of coaching against him like I've done for so many years."
Merchant also hired Monique Govan from Ball State to be the video coordinator for the Spartan program. Govan spent two seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Ball State University and also worked with assistant coach Mike Geary. Govan's responsibilities at BSU included assisting in all aspects of recruiting, film breakdown, and travel. She also served as the liaison for the student managers. Govan will oversee all aspects of Michigan State's video system, supervise undergraduate managers, coordinate film exchange, and edit game film for coaches.
Govan was a four-year letterwinner at Massachusetts-Amherst, where she was a tri-captain in 2004-05. A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council at UMass, she was a two-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Cup Honor Roll.
Govan participated in the WBCA `So You Want to be a Coach' program and served as an assistant coach for the Springfield Pro-Am Women's League in 2003.
The Chicago, Ill., native earned her bachelor's degree in sport management from Massachusetts-Amherst in 2005 and earned her master's degree in sports administration from Ball State in 2007.
"Monique has a lot of playing experience and also has administrative experience after serving as Director of Basketball Operations at Ball State," said Merchant. "I think she is going to be a great fit to our staff. She's really excited about this opportunity and eager to learn from our staff."
Rounding out Merchant's support staff is Director of Basketball Operations intern Patrice McKinney. McKinney played one season at Michigan State (2003-04) before transferring to play two seasons for Coach Merchant at Eastern Michigan. The Lansing, Mich., native scored 660 points in her EMU career, ranking among the top-40 all-time in EMU history, including a career-best 392 points (13.9 avg.) in 2006-07. She was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, becoming the first player from Eastern Michigan to ever win the award. A third-team All-MAC selection, McKinney led the team and ranked third in the conference with 67 steals. She also earned second-team All-MAC honors as a junior.
"Patrice wants to be a college coach one day, so I thought this would be a great experience for her," said Merchant. "She can learn all aspects of the job, and this will help her in pursuing her ultimate goal. I think she's a wonderful addition to the Spartan family."
McKinney graduated from Eastern Michigan in May of 2007 with a bachelor's degree in communications.
