Jan Jensen Adds Two Assistants to WBB Staff
The Iowa women's basketball team announced the hire of two assistant coaches to round out new head coach Jan Jensen's staff Wednesday: Randi Henderson, most recently the head coach of D-III Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), and Sean Sullivan, most recently an assistant coach at North Carolina.
Jensen ascended to the head coach role after Lisa Bluder retired in May, ending a 40-year head coaching career and 24 years leading the Hawkeyes.
Henderson led WashU to four NCAA tournament appearances in seven years running the program; the Cedar Falls, Iowa native's career also includes two years at D-I Charlotte as an assistant and nine years as head coach of D-III Coe College.
Henderson's coaching gifts especially extend to the offensive side of the court, as noted by the University of Iowa in its announcement of the hires:
During 2017-18, WashU's offense finished in the top-10 nationally in six categories including second in 3-point field goal percentage (40.8), fourth in assists per game (19.0), fifth in field-goal percentage (46.0), ninth in scoring offense (78.2), ninth in assists (514) and 10th in free-throw percentage (76.7). The Bears also ranked in the top-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22) and assists (517) in 2018-19.
Henderson (née Randi Peterson) was a three-year starter for the Hawkeyes as a forward-center, and she averaged 13.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a senior, when Bluder and Jensen joined the Iowa staff.
Henderson is also the wife of former Iowa men's basketball forward Duez Henderson; Duez averaged 5.1 points per game from 1998-2002 for the Hawkeyes.
Sullivan is a former video coordinator and team manager for the Hawkeyes as an undergraduate; he was director of player personnel, development, and recruiting operations at North Carolina for his first two seasons and was named an assistant coach for the Tar Heels in his third year. Sullivan's career also includes stints at Pitt, Penn State, and video coordinator work for USA Basketball at the 2015 Pan-Am Games.