This past summer, Jhasmin Monk, assistant coach from Western Kentucky University, was announced as the Girls’ Basketball Head Coach for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Monk has seven years of experience coaching the Division 1 basketball level at Western Kentucky; she spent two seasons as a graduate assistant, and the next five as an assistant coach. Now for the Raiders, she has the opportunity to help young girls advance their skills.
“Getting the school and the young women in the school excited about girls basketball is my goal so anytime a player joins the team, experience or not it’s great,” Coach Jhasmin Monk said. “I get to teach the basics of the game and that’s why I came to high school,” Monk added.
Another addition to the girls’ squad is hiring Dr. Torey Chatman as the assistant coach. Chatman is known around the school as one of the DEI officers, however, before joining the school, she was an assistant coach for various college basketball programs for over a decade. She coached at schools from St. John’s University (Divison 1) to Binghamton University (Divison 1), and Caldwell University (Division 2).
The new coaching staff will have a daunting task ahead of them this year due to many key players from last year’s team graduating with only a few returning members on the team. This presents an opportunity for the team and a chance to kick-start a new era for the program. With many new members, the leaders on the team have helped the younger players get a hang of the ropes and the returning players ease into bigger roles.
“Starting with a clean slate has inspired and motivated us to push and give our best every practice, and soon to be, every game. The passion for the sport is contagious, inspiring us to strive for excellence,” senior center Caitlen Dauphin said.
Along with Dauphin who averaged 8.8 points and 11 rebounds per game, sophomore lead guard, Mikayla Brown looks to build off a strong freshman season averaging 16.7 points and 4.2 assists a game while shooting 37% from the field. Due to the duo’s experience, they’re going to be looked at as the two to help teach and lead the team.
“I was able to learn a lot from last year by being a leader on the team then so I think Caitlen [Dauphin] and I will be able to lead the team by staying disciplined and supporting our teammates,” sophomore guard Mikayla Brown said.
As the girls near the beginning of the season, Coach Monk continues to encourage her team and help them get better at basketball and create memories along the way.
“My expectations for the first year at Gulliver are not wins and losses but to get the girls to play for the person next to them in return creating a high school basketball experience they can remember after they have graduated and gone from Gulliver,” said Coach Monk. “When we do that the benefits will show up on the scoreboard,” Coach Monk said.
