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In her second season as head coach, Sharon Versyp showcased one of the finest coaching performances of her career. Overcoming two season-ending injuries to key starters, Versyp managed to post a 19-15 record including a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Versyp joins Carolyn Peck as the only other Purdue head coach to win the Big Ten Tournament in their first and second years as head coach. Versyp's 19 wins in 2007 gives her a 50-21 overall record at Purdue and a fourth best, 70.4 percent win percentage as a Boilermaker. Her 50th win as a Purdue head coach came against Utah in the NCAA tournament, giving her a 25 win per season average over her first two years at Purdue. Versyp also recorded her 150th career win in 2007-08, topping Butler on Nov. 17. In her first season as the head coach at her alma mater, Sharon Versyp led Purdue to a 31-6 record that included a Big Ten Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. The Boilermakers finished the year ranked No. 7 in the final USA Today/ESPN poll. Versyp was named the 2007 WBCA Region 6 Coach of the Year for her achievements on the season. Versyp's career record stands at 167-86 in her eighth year as a collegiate head coach. With her 24th win on Feb. 22, 2007 against Iowa, Versyp became Purdue's winningest first year head coach. The 24 wins passed Carolyn Peck (23-10) and Kristy Curry (23-8) for the most victories by a first year coach. Versyp's first year win percentage of 83.8 percent (31-6) is fifth best in a season at Purdue and tops for a first-year coach. Last season's 6-0 start was the best for a first year head coaching record. Versyp was hired April 10, 2006, as the eighth head coach of the Purdue women's basketball team. Versyp, who played point guard for the Boilermakers from 1984 to 1988, directed Indiana to a 19-14 record in 2005-06, the second-best turn-around in school history. Prior to Indiana, Versyp was the head coach at Maine for five seasons where she was named 2003 and 2005 America East Coach of the Year. At Maine, Versyp put together back-to-back 25-win seasons for the first time in school history. As a player, Versyp was one of only seven four-year starters in school history. A native of Mishawaka, Ind., she was the first Indiana Miss Basketball to play for Purdue. Versyp still has top 10 standings in nine statistical categories; career points (10th - 1,565), career points per game (8th - 13.8), career field goals made (8th - 653), career field goals attempted (6th - 1,404), free throws made in a game (3rd - 14), career free throw percentage (5th - 79.6), assists in a game (4th - 12), career assists (7th - 418) and career double-figure scoring games (7th - 87). In addition to her on-court success, Versyp excelled in the classroom. She earned Academic All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. Also as a senior, she was named a second team Academic All-American. She majored in speech communications education. As a player and coach, Versyp impressed Purdue Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Morgan Burke. "Sharon played a pivotal role in elevating the Purdue women's basketball program as a player, and it is only fitting that she should assume the leadership of the program as its head coach," Burke said. "She is well-prepared, confident and articulate, and is eager to come in and build upon our proud tradition of helping student-athletes better prepare themselves for success in the game of life. "Sharon's passion for her alma mater is clear and convincing. We have no doubt that that passion - coupled with her love and knowledge of the game - will attract the highest caliber of future Boilermaker student-athletes." Versyp began her coaching career in the high school ranks, starting at Lawrence North in Indianapolis from 1989 to 1993. She coached at Benton Central in Oxford, Ind., from 1993 to 1996. Versyp moved up to collegiate coaching in 1996-97, when she joined head coach Bud Childers' staff at the University of Louisville; the Cardinals went 20-9, won a share of the Conference USA regular-season title, and competed in the NCAA Tournament that year. After one season in Louisville, Versyp followed Childers to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., where she served as top assistant and recruiting coordinator. Versyp, who signed a six-year contract, brought her entire staff - assistant coaches Jody Benner, Martin Clapp and Nadine Morgan, along with supervisor of basketball operations Theresa Kix - to West Lafayette. |
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