President welcomes new head coach
Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis officially introduced the new women’s basketball head coach, Queen Smith, to the campus community Thursday during a press conference and reception. “I’m excited, enthusiastic and encouraged,” Davis said. “Athletics on the campus of Livingstone College is very important. On our campus, they are students first. We wanted someone to come who would have the capacity to work with young women using the game of basketball to get them ready and prepared for life.” Smith is a five-time Hall of Famer, who served as assistant coach for Yale University’s Women’s Basketball Team. She catapulted one team’s record from a 0-19 record to a 20-0 regular season within five years. Winning is important, but Davis said it was more crucial to hire a coach who was a worker; a coach who was willing; and a coach who was a winner. Livingstone’s women’s basketball team has made some great strides, “but we play in a competitive conference (CIAA),” he said. Livingstone needed someone willing to take on the challenge of coming to an institution that doesn’t have the resources that others have. Davis was aware of Smith’s athletic prowess. She was a student at the high school where his mother, the late Wanda Gibbs, served as assistant principal in Connecticut. “She was a high school standout and a collegiate standout. In Division I basketball, she was a great coach and recruiter,” Davis said. While attending his mother’s funeral last year, Davis ran into Smith at a …