Syracuse begins search for women's basketball coach

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse will begin a national search for a new women's basketball coach, athletic director John Wildhack announced Friday.

The announcement comes two days after the Orange (11-18, 4-14 Atlantic Coast Conference) concluded their season under acting head coach Vonn Read with a sixth straight loss, 88-69 to Clemson in the ACC Tournament, a team Syracuse defeated by 40 points in December.

Read, who guided the Orange to six straight convincing wins in December before things began to unravel, will continue to serve as acting head coach during the search, Wildhack said.

“This basketball team did some truly terrific things this season under very difficult circumstances,” Wildhack said in a statement. “I appreciate the team’s relentless work ethic — on and off the court — and I am grateful to Vonn for stepping up to provide such solid leadership during a time of transition.”

Read was placed in a difficult position three months before the season began. He was tabbed to replace Quentin Hillsman after his former boss resigned amid allegations by several former members of the program of bullying, threats and unwelcome physical contact.

Associate head coach since 2013, Read took over a program that was pretty much stripped bare after 11 players transferred after last season. Hillsman left in early August during an investigation into his coaching practices after 15 years of building the Orange into a nationally ranked program that had reached the national championship game in 2016.

“Our next head coach will be a person with a strong vision who can inspire and lead, recruit and retain exceptional student-athletes to build on the program’s prior success," Wildhack said. "This will be an expeditious, efficient and thoughtful search that I am confident will result in the appointment of a top-notch coach.”

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