Itoro Coleman

Itoro Coleman joined the Hokies as associate head coach in April of 2024.  A veteran of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Coleman has coached at North Carolina since May 2021 and as a player at Clemson, Coleman was a three-time All-ACC selection and earned All-America honorable mention accolades. A member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame, she led the Tigers to the 1999 ACC title and was named tournament MVP. She will be responsible for recruiting, scouting, game planning, guard and post player development, and various external operations projects associated with Coach Duffy.

In her first year in Blacksburg, the Hokies won 19 games, including defeating previously undefeated and thirteenth-ranked Georgia Tech. The Hokies earned the eight seed at the conference tournament in Greensboro and the season concluded with an appearance in the WBIT.

Coleman was instrumental in the progression of Carleigh Wenzel, who led the team at 14.0 points per game her redshirt sophomore season after just 4.2 points per game the year before. Wenzel scored 20 or more points four times throughout the season and recorded two double-doubles. She led the Hokies in assists with 117, including two double-digit assist performances. An athlete who excelled in ACC play, Wenzel’s numbers improved against the best competition, averaging 15.3 ppg throughout the 16-game conference slate.

Mackenzie Nelson also saw drastic improvement under the tutelage of former point guard, Duffy and Coleman. She finished her freshman season seventh in the conference in assist to turnover ratio, serving as a steady presence at the point for the Hokies.

In her three seasons in Chapel Hill, Coleman helped the Tar Heels to three NCAA appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2021-22. With Coleman on the sidelines, UNC went 67-31 (.683) and had a 35-19 (.648) record in ACC play.
 
Coleman has consistently helped her program recruit at a high level, assisting the Tar Heels in inking the No. 18 signing class for the 2024 class. Carolina has regularly had athletes earn All-ACC and national recognition for their play.
 
Prior to her time at UNC, Coleman spent one season at Marquette with Coach Duffy in 2020-21. That year, the Golden Eagles finished second in the BIG EAST and concluded the season with a 19-7 record.
 
She also has served as an assistant coach at Penn State, Butler and Liberty, and coached at her alma mater, Clemson as both an assistant and head coach.
 
Coleman enjoyed a long professional career and played in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever and the Houston Comets. She was a member of Team USA in the Pan American Games and at the FIBA World Championships. Coleman played for the Nigerian National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was captain of that team that gave Nigeria its first-ever Olympic victory.
 
She and her husband, Harold, have three daughters: Jada, Jordyn, Jasmine, and one son, Harold (Dutch) III.
 
She graduated from Clemson in 2000 with a degree in communications with her named etched in the Clemson record books with top-10 marks in scoring (1,409 points), assists (459) and steals (265). In 2008 Coleman was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.