BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s basketball program has hired Carla Berry to fill the assistant coaching vacancy on its staff, it was announced Thursday.
Berry, a former LSU player, fills the void left by Paula Lee, who resigned last month. Berry’s main focus will be on helping associate head coach Pokey Chatman with recruiting.
Before taking the past two years off from coaching, Berry was the top assistant at St. John’s for three years under Charlene Thomas, who is now an assistant for the Orlando Miracle of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Prior to that, she worked as the recruiting coordinator at Cal Poly for a year. She began her coaching career at South Alabama where she was a graduate assistant for one season.
“I think in the coaching profession, if you had a great college experience, then you’re ultimate goal is to return to your alma mater and coach there,” said Berry of returning to LSU. “You have the mind set that you are not just a coach on the staff but also an alum. It makes that commitment to that school that much greater.”
In her four years as a player, Berry helped LSU to three NCAA Tournament appearances and she was part of the Lady Tigers 1991 SEC Tournament Championship team. She also shined off the court as she earned Academic All-SEC honors in her senior season.
“Her priority on the staff will be recruiting. It will be her primary function with us,” said head coach Sue Gunter. “She is one of those people who knows no limit to her work. Her work ethic is unbelievable. And she is one of ours, she played here and we are excited about her being here.”