A veteran of Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s basketball, Terrell Coburn, gears up for his fifth season as an assistant coach of the Wagner women’s basketball team.
Coburn, who has been an instrumental part of the Seahawks’ recruiting efforts, helped guide the 2018-19 squad to its first postseason appearance in five years while doubling up its conference win total from the previous season.
Under Coach Coburn's efforts, the women's basketball team, collectively, were ranked among the top-three programs in the Northeast Conference (NEC) last season in several statistical categories: free-throw percentage (72.4%, third), field-goal percentage (41.5%, second), rebounding defense (35.9, third), assists (13.8, second).
In his four seasons on the Wagner sidelines, Coach Coburn has had a helping hand in the development of four Seahawk All-NEC players. Including in 2018-19, when Taylah Simmons and Emilija Krista Grava earned all-league honors, with Simmons being tabbed to the Second Team and Krista Grava earning all-rookie accolades.
Simmons went on to become just the fourth women's basketball player in league history to be named Most Improved Player of the Year, after increasing her scoring production nearly 6.3 points per game (8.9 in 2017-18 to 15.2 in 2018-19).
Krista Grava flourished in her inaugural season. In her first four collegiate games, she averaged 15.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg, highlighted by her first double-double (a then career-high 18 points and 14 rebound outing at Longwood). Krista Grava finsihed the year as the Seahawks second leading scorer.
Coach Coburn also was instrumental in the development of All-NEC players. Sierra Clark and Kerstie Phills.
Clark, who spent one season at Wagner, was nominated among 30 honorees for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year as well as signing a professional contract with Arxil Pontevedra of the European Basketball League. She was named the 2017-18 NEC Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team while collecting First Team All-NEC honors and Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association (MBWA) Second Team honors after ranking second in the NEC in scoring (18.6 ppg), and rebounding (9.7).
In Coach Coburn’s first season, he mentored in the development of Phills, who went on to claim the 2016-17 NEC Rookie of the Year as well as earning All-NEC Second Team honors. Phills became just the third Seahawk in program history to ever be named the league’s Rookie of the Year, joining former standouts Meredith Kearns (1998-99) and Jasmine Nwajei (2013-14). Phills was the conference leading freshman scorer at 16.2 points per game (in conference-only games), which ranked fourth among all-league players and 13.1 points per game overall, a figure that ranked seventh in the circuit. Phills went on to capture a program-record eight NEC Rookie of the Week honors, while finishing the season shooting 48.1 percent from the field (2nd in the NEC) and 42.9 overall (ranking among the top-10).
Prior to accepting the assistant coach position at Wagner before the start of the 2016-17 season, Coburn spent a season at ASA College in Downtown Brooklyn, where he helped guide the Avengers to a 22-4 record in 2015-16, in which ASA reached the Elite Eight of the NJCAA National tournament. Coburn was instrumental in the development of Cheridene Green. who recently completed her collegiate career at the University of Tennessee. Green is now a member of the Great Britain Women's National Basketball team.
Under Coach Coburn's tutledge at ASA, Green was a two-time NJCAA All-American at ASA, while earning First-Team All-America honors in 2015-16, after averaging 20.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 2.5 steals as a sophomore.
No stranger to women’s college basketball in Brooklyn, Coburn, spent five years at NEC-rival, LIU Brooklyn, from 2011-to-2015, where he was responsible for the development of the post players and guard while serving as a recruiting specialist.
While at the Flatbush Avenue-based school, Coburn helped develop three Blackbirds into All-NEC selections, which included Ashley Palmer (2011-12), who also was tabbed to the Second Team by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association (MBWA). Palmer is still among the top-10 in the NEC in scoring, finishing her career with 2,044 points. In addition to Palmer, Cleandra Roberts, who averaged 18.2 ppg in 2013-14, went on to play professional for Bursa BSB in Turkey. The third All-League player that Coburn helped develop was Sophie Bhasin, who was tabbed to the All-NEC Second Team after leading the Blackbirds in scoring that season at 15.5 points per game.
Back in 2011-12, his first season as part of the LIU Brooklyn staff, the Blackbirds recorded arguably the program’s biggest win, knocking off Big 12 member, Oklahoma State, 64-63 in Reno, NV at the Lawlor Events Center back on December 30, 2011. Palmer led the way with 18 points while Ebony Davis chipped in 11 points and a game-high ten rebounds in the victory. LIU Brooklyn finished the year with a 21-10 record.
Coburn’s recruiting efforts in 2013 & 2014 didn’t go unnoticed, as LIU Brooklyn was ranked among the nation’s top-50 recruiting class, according to Dan Olsen’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Coburn was recruiting players from California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey and New York.
The Chicago, IL native served began his coaching career serving as a graduate assistant and director of player development at his alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas, where he helped coordinate team travel, organize recruiting visits, assist with film breakdown and player development.
In his two season with the Sugar Bears, Central Arkansas went 42-22 over his two season. Coburn earned his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology as well as his Bachelor’s degree in Business & Marketing.
Coburn currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Geneen, and daughter, Taylor.
