New women’s assistant basketball returns to Winthrop
Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 9:59AM By Devonne Good
Special to the Johnsonian
Winthrop women’s basketball coach, Bud Childers, added a familar face to his coaching staff.
Childers announced on Aug. 18 the hiring of Tuonisia Turner-Lewis, who played for him at the University of Louisville, as the team’s new assistant coach.
Prior to coming to Winthrop, Turner-Lewis was the head coach of California State University-Los Angeles for the past three seasons.
She was Childers’ assistant coach at Winthrop until 2005 when she left to become head coach at JSerra Catholic School.
She left JSerra in 2007 to coach at California State-Los Angeles.
Although she said California was a beautiful place and California State University-Los Angeles was a good school, it wasn’t a good fit for her.
Childers and Turner-Lewis remained in contact while she was at CSU-Los Angeles. When a position on his staff came open, Turner-Lewis interviewed for the position.
Assistant coaches have multiple roles on the team. Turner-Lewis will be in charge of recruiting the mid-west for the Eagles, and also will watch the academic status of certain players.
The new assistant coach has high expectations for the team this season.
Although the team is young, with five freshmen joining the roster, Turner-Lewis is excited about their potential.
“They’re young but they’re energized and eager to learn the skills needed to make the team successful,” Turner-Lewis said.
She believes motivation and energy will be key to the Eagles’ success this year.
With her 17 years of experience, love for the game, and dedication to her players, Turner-Lewis should be a positive addition to the team.
