[size=15pt]Women's Basketball Names Amaka Agugua Assistant Coach

Agugua replaces Tempie Brown who took an assistant coach position at Stanford.[/size]


EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the hiring of Amaka 'Mox' Agugua (Uh-mah-kuh Uh-goo-gwa) as an assistant coach on Monday. Agugua spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Old Dominion University.

"I am truly grateful for the opportunity afforded to me at ODU by Karen Barefoot and Athletic Director (Dr. Camden) Wood Selig," said Agugua. "I enjoyed my time while there and am honored to be a part of the rebuilding process. I am enthused and eager to start my journey with Coach Merchant and the Spartan Family. I have always had tremendous respect for her as a person and a coach, as I have watched her success from afar. Not only is she a proven winner with a high basketball IQ, she is an even better person. I am proud to work for such a prestigious university in Michigan State!"

"We are thrilled to have Amaka join our coaching staff," said Merchant. "She has tremendous recruiting contacts that will help us to build on our current recruiting base, as well as expand to other regions throughout the country. She also brings a wealth of coaching and student-athlete development experience, and knowledge of the Big Ten Conference, that will allow her to impact our program immediately. We are looking forward to having her as part of the Spartan Family."

At Michigan State, Agugua will assist with the Spartan post players, while also acting as a key component in recruiting and opponent scouting.

"I would like to personally thank Amaka for her recruiting efforts and commitment to developing our student-athletes over the past two years," said Old Dominion head coach Karen Barefoot. "She's done a great job here and I wish her all the best in her new position at Michigan State."

Agugua's primary responsibility at Old Dominion was the program's recruiting coordinator, but in addition she was integral in the team's opponent scouting, practice and game preparation, and student-athlete development. The Monarchs improved from 11-21 to 19-12 and a WNIT berth in her two seasons, a turnaround that was guided by the recruiting classes that Agugua brought in to Norfolk.




Prior to ODU, Agugua coached at Indiana University for two seasons (2009-11) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, and at Virginia Commonwealth University for three years, as a graduate assistant (2006-07) and assistant coach (2007-09).
Agugua was a four-year letterwinner and three-year captain at Hofstra University. She played in 95 games, including 82 starts, averaging 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in her career. Agugua is the Pride's leader in career field goal percentage (55.1%) and owns three of the top-five single-season field goal percentage marks. She ended her collegiate career 12th on the Hofstra career rebounding list with 568. Also in her time at Hofstra, she was a second-team All-CAA selection in 2003-04 and helped the team to its first postseason berth (WNIT) in 2005-06.

Agugua earned her bachelor's degree in business management from Hofstra in 2005 and received her master's degree in sport leadership and administration through VCU's SportsCenter in 2007.

Former Spartan associate head coach Tempie Brown was hired as an assistant coach at Stanford University on June 25.

http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/070113aaa.html