Stafford-Odom settles in at NCCU

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Doing your job virtually might work in some professions, but it’s not ideal for a basketball coach.

That’s exactly what new N.C. Central women’s basketball coach Trisha Stafford-Odom had to do for a while. Stafford-Odom was hired in May to replace former coach Vanessa Taylor. At the time, Stafford-Odom was living in California, where she served as the head coach at Concordia. She made a quick trip east last month, the first time she got a chance to sit down with her new players as their head coach.

But then she was back to the west coast, where she did most of her work over the phone or, thanks to modern technology, a Skype session with her team. After she was hired, Stafford-Odom hit the ground running. Her first order of business was putting together her staff. Already having potential staff members in mind, Stafford-Odom made a quick splash, hiring former N.C. State standout Tynesha Lewis first, then adding NCCU alum, and former coach, A.G. Hall. Stafford-Odom proved she was good at multi-tasking, hunting down recruits while finalizing her staff, all of this from California.

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