Oklahoma State’s Kristin Hernandez goes up for a basket next to LSU’s Allison Hightower during the New Orleans regional semi-final game of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship at New Orleans Arena.
By Ryan Steele
(MCT) — Shanice Stephens knew she was finally ready to climb the next rung on the coaching ladder.
The former Oklahoma State player just needed a program that would take a gamble on her — and North Texas was willing to roll the dice.
Stephens, 36, recently accepted her first head coaching position with the Mean Green after spending the last three seasons as an associate head coach at Clemson. She was also an assistant at Rice for nine years.
The Midwest City native replaced Tina Slinker — whose contract wasn’t renewed after 19 seasons at the helm in Denton — and became the youngest head women’s basketball coach in the Sun Belt Conference.
“The potential (at UNT) is incredible,” Stephens said Wednesday in a phone interview. “We can be a nationally prominent team if the recruiting I see comes about. I think we can really put North Texas on the map. We have all the tools it takes to get it done.”
Stephens was Clemson’s recruiting coordinator the past three years and helped bring in the nation’s 22nd-ranked class in 2006. During her tenure at Rice, she helped guide the Lady Owls to a pair of NCAA tourney appearances and four trips to the WNIT.
The former Shanice Bottoms earned the UNT job over three other candidates — Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Shaefer, former Texas-Arlington coach Donna Capps and Cowgirl assistant Kenya Larkin.
“What sets (Stephens) apart is she has the passion but also compassion, and that’s very rare that you see people combine both,” former Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said in a press release. “She is a tremendous teacher and an even better person.”
Stephens began her playing career at Austin Peay in 1989 and competed at O-State for two seasons. She was a member of the 1992-93 Cowgirl squad that finished 23-9 — the third-highest single-season win total in school history — and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
“She was always very positive and upbeat no matter how things were panning out,” said former OSU coach Dick Halterman, who guided the program from 1983-2002. “I think Shanice will be an outstanding head coach.
“It’s not surprising to me that somebody gave her this opportunity — she’s proven to a lot of people that she has the ability to do this. Her time is going to be really tight on her but she’ll find a way to make the commitment.”
Stephens, who graduated from OSU in 1993 and earned her master’s degree from Central Oklahoma in ‘96, will take over a Mean Green club that finished 14-18 a year ago and returns three starters.
UNT hosted the Cowgirls for a game last December, so Stephens will make her long-awaited return to Stillwater when the Mean Green makes a return trip to Stillwater next season.
“I hope it’s a nice reunion for me,” she said with a laugh. “However the chips may fall, you can’t beat the best until you play them. That kind of competition will really help us prepare for the Sun Belt. I’m really proud of how (O-State’s) program has grown.
“I knew Coach (Kurt) Budke would do great things, he just needed that support behind him. He’s done a great job and I plan to mimic his success by doing it (at UNT). Hopefully we can step into Gallagher-Iba and make a little noise.”
Stephens and her husband, Garrett, have two daughters — Sydney, 7, and Lauryn, 1 — and a son, Grayson, who was born last November. She also has two stepsons, Garrett, 13, and Grant, 8.
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