Hey folks,
The Hoosiers have themselves a new assistant coach: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. She comes to IU from Washington, and she's compiled a pretty impressive record as a head coach at Missouri State. She also worked with coach Jack under Joanne P. McCallie at Duke.
Abrahamson-Henderson replaces Cherie Hogg, whose four years with the team ended this year. To my knowledge, Hogg left on good terms. I'll double check, but I think her work visa just expired, and she had to return home to Australia.
Check out the press release below, and tell us what you think of the Hoosiers' newest coach. Take it easy until then.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack has announced the addition of Katie Abrahamson-Henderson as the associate head coach on the Hoosier staff on Wednesday, May 14. Abrahamson-Henderson's start date at IU is June 1. She joins the women's basketball staff after spending last season as an assistant coach at the University of Washington.
"We are blessed to get such a high-caliber coach on staff in Katie Abrahamson-Henderson," Legette-Jack said. "Katie brings national recognition, championships, character, high academic standards and a familiarity with our system. She is a hard worker, very enthusiastic, has a high IQ for X's and O's and has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to recruiting at the AAU and high school level across the nation. The addition of Katie to our staff will help our program continue to reach new heights. We are very excited to welcome Katie, her husband Michael and daughters Brooklyn and Savannah to our Hoosier family."
Prior to her time with the Huskies, Abrahamson-Henderson compiled a 95-61 (.609) record in five seasons as the head coach at Missouri State and led the Lady Bears to two regular season Missouri Valley Conference championships, three postseason MVC Tournament championships, three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and a WNIT championship. She tutored two MVC Players of the Year, 11 MVC all-conference honorees and 13 players who earned MVC scholar- athlete honors. The former Lady Bears coach is the third-winningest women's basketball coach in Missouri State history.
"I am really excited to work with Coach Jack again," said Abrahamson-Henderson. "I love her passion for the game and she is by far one of the best motivators I have ever been associated with. Indiana is a great academic University and has a top-notch administration. I am blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to get back to the Midwest. Being from Iowa, I have a lot of ties to the area from family to recruiting and I'm thrilled to be back."
"Coach Jack has done a tremendous job with this team and after getting a glimpse of them during the WNIT, these players embody championships," Abrahamson continued. "I hope to bring my NCAA experience to a team that has the ability and talent to continue to win and add to Coach Jack 's desires to continue building on their success to win championships."
Prior to her stint at Missouri State, Abrahamson-Henderson served as associate head coach under (now Duke University head coach) Joanne P. McCallie at Michigan State from 2000-2002. She, along with Legette-Jack, helped lead a resurgence of the Spartan program as the team went from 10-10 in 2000-01 to 19-13 and the WNIT semifinals the next season.
A 1990 graduate of the University of Iowa, Abrahamson-Henderson began her coaching career as an assistant at Duquesne for two seasons before moving to the University of Maine under McCallie from 1992-94. From 1994-2000 Abrahamson-Henderson served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for head coach Bill Fennelly at Iowa State. During her tenure at ISU, she was a significant contributor to three-straight 20-win campaigns, and helped guide the Cyclones to a 94-34 record and four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
An accomplished student-athlete, Abrahamson-Henderson played two seasons at the University of Georgia before transferring to Iowa to compete for coach C. Vivian Stringer. While at Iowa, she was a member of two Big Ten Conference championships teams and played in the NCAA Sweet 16. While a freshman at Georgia, she helped lead the Bulldogs to a Southeastern Conference title in 1986. Following her collegiate career, Abrahamson-Henderson played one season professionally in New Zealand.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she was listed as one of the top players in the country as a prep, Abrahamson-Henderson and her husband, Michael, have two daughters, Savannah and Brooklyn.
