2010-11 DePaul Women’s Basketball
CANDIS BLANKSON
ASSISTANT COACH |10TH SEASON AT DEPAUL A veteran of the DePaul system, assistant coach Candis Blankson is entering her 10th season on the Blue Demon bench. A true champion of the DePaul program, Blankson wore the Blue Demon uniform in over 100 games from 1997-01 before moving into a coaching role prior to the 2001-02 campaign. Eight seasons ago, she added recruiting to her responsibilities as well as working with the players and day-to-day operations of the DePaul women’s basketball program.
double-figure scoring games in her career, including 19 times as a senior.
The Blue Demons have put together eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance in 2006-07, with Blankson on the bench. Since joining the staff, the Blue Demons have won an impressive 191 games while they have put together six 20-win seasons. In the last seven seasons alone, the Blue Demons have posted a winning percentage of .712 (158-64). During Blankson’s tenure on the bench, she has worked with 26 all-conference performers, including two Freshman of the Year and a pair of Sixth Players of the Year.
As much as she excelled on the court, Blankson was just as good in the classroom. She was a three-time Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll member and twice nominated as an Academic All-American. Her effort in the classroom helped DePaul to finish in the WBCA Academic Top 20 in two of her last three seasons.
As a student-athlete, Blankson etched her name in the DePaul record books during her four seasons. She finished her career ranked eighth all-time with 72 three-point field goals and 22nd with 104 games played. She registered 33
In her senior season, the 5-9 guard was one of the most versatile players on the roster as she led the team with 28.3 minutes per game and 70 offensive rebounds, while her 85 assists were second on the squad. Blankson ranked in the top 25 in Conference USA in five different categories. She was 13th in assists and three-point field goal percentage, 14th in offensive rebounds, 15th in three-pointers made and 22nd in scoring.
The valedictorian at Hillcrest High School was a National Scholastic Coaches Association All-American Scholar Athlete. She was also named a Chicago Tribune ScholarAthlete of the Year and a member of the National Honor Society. Basketball runs in the Blankson family as two of Candis’ brothers played Division I college basketball. Ryan played at Loyola-Chicago while Odartey played at both Marquette and UNLV. Blankson is also a member of the WBCA.
BART BROOKS
ASSISTANT COACH | FIFTH SEASON AT DEPAUL Bart Brooks begins his fifth season with the Blue Demons in 2010-11. Brooks originally joined the DePaul staff as Director of Basketball Operations prior to the 2006-07 season and was promoted to his current role as an assistant coach in May of 2007. Brooks is involved in all aspects of the Blue Demon basketball program while he specifically aids in the development of post players. In his first year on the Blue Demon bench, Brooks began to mentor then-junior transfer forward Natasha Williams. Williams (2007-09) finished her senior season as a second-team All-BIG EAST performer and she recorded a league-best and DePaul single-season record .620 field goal percentage. With 88 blocks in two seasons, Williams ranks seventh all-time in DePaul’s annuals. During his four seasons as an assistant coach, Brooks helped the Blue Demons to four NCAA Tournaments and DePaul has combined for an 83-47 record. Brooks has tutored eigth all-BIG EAST performers as an assistant coach and 10 have earned the recognition since he joined program’s staff. In three of his four seasons the Blue Demons have eclipsed the 20 win mark, while the 2007-08 team registered 19 wins.
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Prior to his move to Chicago, Brooks was an assistant coach at Barry University for two seasons under current DePaul assistant coach Nicci Hays-Fort. During his tenure at Barry, Brooks worked with 2005 Sunshine State Conference all-conference players, Princess Bailey and Karla Mast. While coaching at Barry, Brooks earned his M.S. in sport management and taught two semesters of basketball for the College of Human Performance and Leisure Sciences. Brooks graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2004 with a B.S. in kinesiology and health. As an undergraduate student, he served as a student intern with the women’s basketball program assisting with practice, films and scouting. He started his collegiate career at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. Brooks played two seasons for the Blue Hawks and helped his squad capture a pair of Dakota Athletic Conference titles and NAIA Sweet Sixteen appearances in 1999. His 2000 team advanced one step further with an Elite Eight showing. Brooks also served as an assistant camp director for the North Dakota State men’s basketball team in the summer of 2004 and coached local youth teams in the Buffalo, Wyo., area from 2001-03.