April 1, 2009

KASSAB NAMED SEMI-FINALIST FOR RISING STAR AWARD BY BASKETBALLSCOOP.COM
Associate Head Coach has helped Rams to 52 wins in two seasons
Cast your vote here!

RICHMOND, Va. – Two years ago, Head Coach Beth Cunningham made one of her best recruiting pitches, but oddly enough it wasn’t to a recruit.

The pitch was to bring current Associate Head Coach Curt Kassab to be a part of the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball program after coaching Atlee High School for eight seasons.

Kassab has helped the Rams to 52 wins in his two seasons on the bench besides Cunningham.

For his hard work, he is being recognized by BasketballScoop.com as one of the rising stars in the profession being named a finalist for the Rising Star award recently.

“Curt is a fantastic coach, a real high energy guy that has great ties to the Richmond area,” Cunningham said. “He’s done a tremendous job of coming in and working with our players on the defensive side of the court.”

BasketballScoop.com announced a list of 20 semifinalists that fans can vote on from now until April 15th. The 10 coaches with the most votes will then be evaluated by BasketballScoop's panel of coaches who will select the five finalists. The winners will be announced on or about May 4.

The list, from BasketballScoop.com and ONS Performance, focuses on the 'rising stars' of the college basketball coaching profession. According to the BasketballScoop.com site, each semifinalist was nominated by at least one of his or her peers, and many were nominated by multiple coaches.

"This is the only national set of awards being presented to assistant coaches," said Scott Roussel, President of BasketballScoop. "The winners will represent the best and brightest of the profession."