ATLANTA, Ga. -- Norfolk State University head women's basketball coach Larry Vickers will appear as the guest speaker of the 2023 HBCU Coaches Retreat hosted in Atlanta from June 1-3.
The event, hosted by Athletes in Action in collaboration with HBCU All-Stars, will help coaches learn how to deal with the unique pressures and responsibilities facing todays coaches, and aims to encourage, enrich and equip coaches to effectively influence this generation of athletes.
This year's theme is "Running the Race with Perseverance." Other topics will include self and team leadership, life principles and gameplay strategies.
Other speakers joining Vickers at the retreat include Vanessa Blair-Lewis, head women's basketball coach at George Mason, Murray Garvin, Athletic Director at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Michael Grant, Vice President for Athletics at Talladega College, Laura Harper, head women's basketball coach at Towson University, Dr. Jamaal Jackson, Deputy AD for External Operations/head men's basketball coach at Kentucky State, and Emcee's Donnie Marsh (Assistant Coach, Detroit Mercy) and Audra Smith (Vice President of Play4Kay).
Under Vickers' guidance, the Spartans finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-7 record, culminating in a trip to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament and a final ranking of No. 24. The program achieved new heights with the most victories in the NCAA Division I era. In addition, Norfolk State ended a 21-year drought by winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Championship and claimed the regular-season crown for the second consecutive season.
Several Spartans garnered several post season accolades including Coach Vickers, who was selected the MEAC Coach of the Year and the HBCU National Coach of the Year by BOXTOROW. Spartans, Camille Downs and Deja Francis, were both named HBCU BOXTOROW All-Americans, while Downs was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Vickers' Norfolk State team ended the 22-23 season ranked top-5 in the country in five different statistical categories recorded by the NCAA. NSU was first in scoring defense allowing an average of 50.7 points per game and first in field goal percentage defense holding teams to 31.5% shooting percentage. The Spartans ranked fifth in steals per game making 12.1 steals, fifth in three-point percentage defense, holding teams to 25.2% from beyond the arch, and fifth in turnovers forced per game, making teams turn the ball over 21.97 times a game.