New UNCW coach humbled to be joining basketball hall of fame

On Friday, former Prairie View A&M University coach and alumna Cynthia Cooper-Dyke will become the first former WNBA player to be inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I don't think it has completely sunk in yet. I still think I'm wavering on the edge and I don't really feel like a hall of famer, but I think when I get to Springfield (Mass.) and I start to do the different events I will start to feel like an inductee of the class of 2010," the first-year UNC-Wilmington women's basketball coach said earlier this week.

"It's an amazing feeling to know that you are being honored and rewarded for all of the sacrifices that you have made throughout the years."

Cooper-Dyke grew up as one of eight children being raised by a single mother. It's here where Cooper learned her best trait, hard work. "My mom was just a special woman," Cooper-Dyke said. "She raised eight kids by herself in the (Los Angeles) inner city of Watts. She worked her way from welfare to having a job and taking care of the eight kids by herself and she did a terrific job."

With that life, basketball wasn't something Cooper-Dyke grew up with. She didn't start playing competitively until she was a teenager, yet led her Locke High School team to its first state title as a senior. That was Cooper-Dyke's first taste of a championship, but it certainly wouldn't be her last.



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PVAMU recruit moves to UNC-Wimington

UNCW new head women's basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke has instantly put the Seahawks program on the map for star recruits.

If you don't believe having a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach (class of 2010) of the caliber of Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is worth its weight in gold for your athletic department, think again. Coach Cooper-Dyke left Prairie View A&M University on last Friday, and a less than a week later, highly regarded recruits that were committed to the Lady Panthers basketball program are following Coach Cooper-Dyke to her new job at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, a program with no history of winning.

Virgin Islands 6 foot-4 star center Aesha Peters has backed out of her PVAMU basketball scholarship, signed last month, to follow Coach Cooper-Dyke to UNC-W. Peters averaged 13 points/11 boards and 4 blocks per game, but defensively shuts down the paint area in games.

PVAMU initially won the recruiting battle for Peters services over Florida International, Nova Southeastern, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi and Radford. Peters, who has been the talk of the V.I. territory since she was in the tenth grade, had tons of schools interested in her services. Some of the schools that had shown serious interest were Howard University, Indiana University, Rutgers, Georgia, UCLA, Jackson State and Nova Southeastern.

PVAMU has made no decision on the replacement of Coach Cooper-Dyke. Top assistant coach Toyelle Wilson may be considered by the school as the interim head coach, appointed the head coach or may decide to following Cooper-Dyke to UNCW.

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CAHS star to join ex-WNBA standout in UNC-Wilmington‎

ST. THOMAS, VI — Charlotte Amalie High School senior standout Aesha Peters accepted a full scholarship last month to play basketball at Prairie View A&M University and one of the main attractions, she said, was the chance to play under coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. Cooper-Dyke, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player and one of the most decorated players in the history of women’s basketball, accepted the head coaching position at UNC-Wilmington last week. Peters announced Wednesday she plans to follow Cooper-Dyke to the Colonial Athletic Association school and hopefully become a member of her first Seahawk recruiting class.

“Coach Cooper has been through a lot and she brings that family atmosphere to the program,” said Peters, who tallied 13 points, 11.1 rebounds and four blocks a game during her senior year. “I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to playing for her.” Peters help lead the Lady Chickenhawks to an undefeated league record this past season and a third consecutive St. Thomas-St. John IAA title. She was named to the St. Thomas squad that competed at the 12th annual Sun Stroke All VI Hoop Classic on St. Croix last month. She is the only known player from the league so far to sign with a Division I school.

St. Croix Girls All-Stars' Veronique Llamos (L) has her shot stuffed by St. Thomas All-Stars' Aesha Peters, #2 blue. Peters is backing out of her national letter commitment to PVAMU to follow Cooper-Dyke to UNCW.

Cooper-Dyke, 47, turned around the program at Prairie View A&M in just five short years. She compiled an 85-72 overall record (64-26 mark in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) during her tenure and led the Panthers to the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2009. At UNCW, Cooper-Dyke and Peters will face a similar challenge. The Seahawks have not earned an NCAA Tournament bid in the 24 years since competing in Division I. Meanwhile, CAA juggernauts Old Dominion and James Madison have stood atop the league standings in recent years.

“I’m excited to get out in the community, to create, to mentor, to mother, to lead these young women down the academic path to their degrees and, of course, down the path to a winning season, not only in the Colonial Athletic Association, but also nationally,” Cooper-Dyke said during a press conference Monday introducing her as the program’s ninth head coach.

It’s not known how many players from Cooper-Dyke’s initial recruiting class at Prairie View will follow her to UNCW. “The reality is that kids go to schools to play for certain coaches,” said CAHS coach Myron Corbett, who has assisted Peters throughout the recruitment process. “At the moment, Aesha has to do some paperwork with the NCAA. But she has been offered a full scholarship from Wilmington and is looking forward to playing in a more competitive league.” Corbett said Peters was aware of the possibility that Cooper-Dyke may land another job when she signed with Prairie View on April 15.

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