Women's hoops hires coach

IU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan introduced Felisha Legette-Jack as the new IU's women's basketball coach Wednesday, less than two weeks after the position opened up. Legette-Jack signed a five-year deal with the University, with a first-year base salary of $175,000 plus incentives.\n"Everyone I talked to said she is one of the rising superstars (in college basketball)," Greenspan said. "She took over a Hofstra program that historically struggled mightily -- the record will indicate that. She'll be a great recruiter for us, a great representative, and I think she can coach pretty dang well too."\nLegette-Jack comes to IU after spending the last four years as the head coach at Hofstra University. This past season, she led the Pride to the WNIT where they lost to Villanova. The postseason tourney was the first in school history for the women's basketball program.\nOn April 7, Sharon Versyp resigned as head coach of the Hoosiers to take a similar position at Purdue, forcing Greenspan to start another nationwide search for a new head coach.\nThe process began last Tuesday, April 11, when Hofstra's Athletics Director Jack Hayes gave Greenspan permission to talk to Legette-Jack about the possibility of taking the IU coaching job.\n"Rick put the full-court press on me, just like we're going to run here," she said jokingly during the press conference. "I thought he had moved in at some point."\nAfter a whirlwind week, Legette-Jack told Hofstra Tuesday of her decision to resign and take the IU job. \n"Indiana is where basketball rocks," Legette-Jack said. "I didn't have dreams this big. Rick (Greenspan) gave me an opportunity to coach in the Mecca of basketball."\nIn Legette-Jack, IU gets a coach with 15 years of Division I college coaching experience, including stints as an assistant at Michigan State, Syracuse and Boston College, as well as the last four years at Hofstra.\nThe newly-named coach will bring a fast-paced style of offense and a "slap the court" type defense to the Hoosier squad. Legette-Jack's Hofstra team averaged 69.5 points per game in the 2005-06 season in the Colonial Athletic Association, good for third in conference. \nShe realizes, though, that her style may need to be adjusted for her new team.\n"I want to run the floor, score 80 points a game, slap the floor," Legette-Jack said. "But I have to find out what style these girls want to play and how hard they're willing to work. I want to run and score a lot of points, but the bottom line is winning games."\nThe returning players from this year's team are looking forward to playing a new, faster style of offense.\n"I think (the style) is going to be a lot different than what IU has had in the past," said freshman forward Whitney Thomas. "I think it will be a good different. With a different tempo, I think it will be a good change."\nFor some members of the IU squad, this will be their third head coach in as many years. After going through two tough weeks after Versyp's resignation, the Hoosiers are excited to have a coach again.\n"From what I've talked to her, she's extremely excited to be here," said sophomore guard Nikki Smith. "(She is) very dedicated, passionate, everything you'd want in a coach. Coach Jack is such a breath of fresh air for us. It was rough for a couple weeks, but that's in the past. We've got to move on. I think things are going to be really great with her"