Women’s Basketball: Brodhead Announces Coaching Staff

Contact: Cory Weigel

LAFAYETTE, La. – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns womens basketball program has filled their coaching staff for the 2012-13 season after the hiring of three assistant coaches, Sallie Guillory, Jennifer Sullivan and Deacon Jones, announced first year head coach Garry Brodhead on Thursday.
 
“When I was putting together the staff I knew who I was looking for and how hard it is to get what you want,” Brodhead said. “I feel we got exactly the staff we needed to take this program to the next step. Their coaching, recruiting and character is great and they bring excitement and extreme work ethic to the program.”
 
The announcement comes just two days after the first signings of the Brodhead era, junior college transfers, Byronesha Santiago and Ashley Benjamin.
 
The hirings are pending approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
 
Guillory just completed her third season with the Cowgirls where she served as the recruiting coordinator as well as marketing and promotions director from.
 
While at McNeese State, Guillory aided the Cowgirls to back-to-back NCAA appearances where they compiled a record of 70-21 (.769), including the first two NCAA bids in school history (2010-11, 2011-12). McNeese also won their first regular season Southland Conference Championship (2010-11) in program history and consecutive conference tournament championships (2010-11, 2011-12).
 
The 2005 University of Louisiana graduate helped sign one of the best classes in McNeese history in 2011-12 that included the Louisiana High School All-Star game MVP, five all-state selections and two district MVP’s.
 
Guillory served as Teurlings assistant coach from 2001-2006 before becoming the head coach at Teurlings in 2007 after Brodhead joined McNeese. Guillory helped the Rebels to four district championships, three semifinals and a state runner-up as an assistant.
 
As head coach, Guillory led Teurlings to two district titles, bi-district and regional finalist from 2007-2009. Guillory was also named the District 5-4A Coach of the Year both seasons. She served as the Acadiana Stars AAU coach from 2001-2009 and was named the Louisiana AAU state championship coach in 2005 and 2006.
 
“I’ve always worked with Sallie, beginning with high school and have seen her grow as a coach,” Brodhead stated. “Working at McNeese with her was an excellent experience because she is such a great recruiter and hard worker. Being a UL graduate, I believe this is a very special hire who will be exactly what we need to recruit here.”
 
Sullivan joins the program after serving as an assistant coach at Arkansas State for three years.
 
A native of Jonesboro, Ark., Sullivan was as an assistant coach with Brodhead at McNeese for one season, before her move to ASU.  Prior to her time at McNeese State, Sullivan was an assistant on the Memphis staff during the 2007-08 season.  She began her coaching career at Rhodes College, serving as an assistant during the 2005-07 seasons.
 
Sullivan’s responsibilities as part of the ASU staff included recruiting Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee, with an emphasis on the Memphis area.  She also served as the director for the Red Wolves’ summer camps and assisted with opponent scouting and monitoring the academic progess of the student-athletes. 
 
A standout for the Lady Hurricane at Jonesboro High School, Sullivan finished her career with 800 points, 310 rebounds and 99 steals, earning all-state honors. She continued her playing career at the University of Memphis, where she earned her degree in communications in 2005.
 
“I had an opportunity to work with Jennifer before at McNeese,” Brodhead said. “She was a tremendous player and knows the game very well. She is a great X’s and O’s coach and a recruiter, having proven she can bring in talented kids at two different universities. She has experience recruiting in Louisiana and several contacts in the South, which will help bring in the best players to fit our program.”
 
Jones, a native of Lafayette, brings his coaching philosophies to UL after a four-year stint at St. Thomas More High School, where he served as an assistant coach of the girl’s basketball team.
 
A 1999 University of Louisiana graduate, Jones helped guide the Cougars to back-to-back State Championships in 2011 and 2012, while posting a 140-13 (.915) record from 2008-12. He assisted in the daily operations of the girls’ basketball program, which included coaching, practicing, scheduling, fundraising and scouting.
 
Jones served as the head coach of the Acadiana Stars AAU team, where he instructed the team from 2009-11.
 
In 2005, he founded and served as the director and coach for the Acadiana Lady Hoops, where he won three consecutive state titles with Louisiana 14U (2009), Louisiana 15U (2010) and Louisiana 16U (2011).
 
Jones co-founded the Acadiana Hoops Boys AAU team where they qualified and appeared in the Division I National Tournament every year from 1998-2005.
 
“Deacon has always impressed me with his coaching abilities,” Brodhead said. “He’s done AAU for several years and, watching how he handles kids, it was a no brainer to bring him in. Recruiting will be new to him but he is such a people’s person, it will come naturally to him. The girls love him and watching him coach with my daughter at St. Thomas More and winning back-to-back titles, I could tell that he was a guy we had to have in order to take us to the next level.”
 
Brodhead and the staff will lead a Cajuns squad that finished 7-23 a year ago and lost to FIU in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.