Delaware State officially hires Jazmone Turner as women's basketball coach

03/25/2024 07:03 PM

The Delaware State Hornets are officially removing Jazone Turner’s interim tag, naming her as their head women’s basketball coach. They hope Turner will establish some stability within the program as the school turns to its third head coach in four years. Turner will fully replace former coach E.C. Hill.

“To God be the glory,” Turner said after finding out the news. “I am grateful and humbled to earn this opportunity. I want to thank President Allen and Dr. Gadson for believing in me to lead this program back to the success it has had.”

“We are excited to have Coach Jazmone continue to lead the women’s basketball team, and we look forward to her success with our women’s basketball program,” said Delaware State’s athletic director Dr. Alecia Shields-Gadson.

Interim Tag Removed, Jazmone Turner has been named Head Women's Basketball Coach! #GoHornets#MakeAStatement#LegacyandPridepic.twitter.com/roLqPDMTe0

— Delaware St. Hornets (@DSUHornets) March 23, 2024

Turner took over for the Hornets as the interim coach in February after Hill stepped away. The school released an official statement on Feb. 17. From then on, Delaware State won two more games for the rest of the season. They defeated North Carolina Central in a 75-64 overtime battle, followed immediately by a 57-53 victory over Morgan State. The Hornets had troubles for the rest of the season, but that was a trend that spanned over the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign. By the end of the year, Delaware State had gone 8-20. They had substantial difficulty in the MEAC, going 4-10 within the conference. New coach Jazmone Turner, however, refutes the concept of a program rebuild.

“We are not rebuilding, we are restructuring and transforming the program,” she said. “Delaware State’s women’s basketball program has had success. My staff and I are working tirelessly to get us back to where we once were.”

The women’s basketball program has had significant problems for over a decade. They haven’t hit the .500 record mark since 2008-2009 when they went 15-15 overall. That same season, though, they went 11-5 in the conference. The last time they went .500 in the conference was a bit more recently in 2019-2020 when they went 8-8. Despite those two outliers, many of Delaware State’s seasons in the 2010s are filled with significantly more losses, including a completely winless season in 2021-2022.

Turner’s job will be difficult, but is a challenge she is ready for. The Dayton, OH, native started her coaching career at Trotwood Madison High School, her alma mater, after graduating from Muskingum University. She played college basketball at Muskingum for three seasons and was a team captain the second she stepped on the floor as a freshman. After a year of coaching at Trotwood Madison, Turner got the junior vrasity coaching job at Northmont High School.

In 2014, Turner started her collegiate coaching career at Ohio Valley University in 2014. The next year, she received the interim head coaching tag and led the program to its first Greater Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament. She spent three seasons with Ohio Valley until accepting a role at Coppin State. Turner served as the associate head coach, among multiple other positions, at Coppin State before becoming an assistant at Indiana State in 2020. Soon after, she joined Delaware State’s coaching staff in 2021.

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