UNIVERSITY CENTER -- Saginaw Valley State University Women's Basketball Head Coach Jenny Pruett has announced the hiring of Shonda Long as the team's assistant coach, with Long joining the Cardinals in late April.
"I would like to thank Coach Pruett for this amazing opportunity," said Long. "Being born and raised in Saginaw and having the opportunity to do something I am 100% passionate about and love in my hometown is a dream come true. Coach Pruett has a great vision for the future of the program and a great set of core values for us. I'm ready to get started and work diligently towards that vision. Go Cardinals!"
Long comes to Saginaw Valley after serving as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Delta College the past two seasons. During her time at Delta, the team had a pair of conference quarterfinals appearances and was successful in the classroom with a 3.19 GPA.
"I am so excited to have Coach Shonda a part of our staff here at SVSU," added Pruett. "Shonda was a tough, hard-nosed player at Central Michigan with a high basketball IQ. She understands the game and brings that same passion and enthusiasm to her coaching. As a Saginaw native, we are happy she is coming home to help lead our program."
Long got her coaching career started with her alma mater, Central Michigan University, in 2015 when she served as a video coordinator for the Chippewas. Her responsibilities consisted of film work for both practices and games, helped put together the scouting reports and playbooks, on-campus recruiting and the Director of the Hoops for Hunger event. In the 2016-17 season, the Chippewas claimed their first regular-season MAC Championship since 1985, achieved the second highest win total in program history and made their sixth postseason appearance in their last seven years.
Shonda played for the Chippewas from 2008-2011 tallying 1,439 points which is good for ninth all time at CMU. Also, she finished fourth in career-3 pointers with 230 and her 510 points during her senior campaign ranks ninth all time for a single season. Long became the 19th player in CMU history to score 1,000 career points on December 11, 2010 against Northwestern. Soon thereafter, she broke the career 3-pointers record in a game against Eastern Michigan on January 12, 2011. She also went on to finish 12th in the Mid American Conference in career 3-pointers and is the only player to have 50+ triples in three seasons. On March 3, 2011, Long scored a CMU program record 40 points in a MAC Tournament Quarterfinal game against Buffalo while also equaling her career high with 7 3-pointers. After both of her Junior and Senior seasons she was named to the All-MAC Third Team. After CMU, Shonda went on to play professionally in Poland for one season.
After her season in Poland, Shonda returned to Michigan to join the staff at Alma College for three seasons. Over the course of those three seasons, Shonda held a lot of different hats including serving the Head Coach for the JV team. She also worked as the recruiting coordinator, worked specifically with guards working on both offensive and defensive game planning, director of summer camps and also travel arrangements.
Long earned her Bachelor's Degree in Health Administration with a Minor in Athletic Coaching, graduating from CMU in 2012 & a Masters in Sports Administration.