Gordon was most recently at Northern Illinois

 JUN@ 4, 2024

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Imani Gordon has joined the University of Evansville women’s basketball program as an assistant coach in an announcement by Purple Aces head coach Robyn Scherr.

In a coaching career that spans nearly a decade, Gordon has spent time at Northern Illinois, Notre Dame College (Ohio), and Cleveland State.  She was a player for the Vikings from 2011-2015.

“I am thrilled Imani has chosen to join our staff! She spent the last two seasons at Northern Illinois working under Lisa Carlsen and Adam Tandez, two coaches that I have tremendous respect for and have known for many years,” Scherr said. “Their recommendations carried a lot of weight with me, but it was the connection that she and I had right from the jump that made her the obvious choice.”

“From my first phone call with Imani, I knew she is someone that I will love working alongside every day,” Scherr continued. “Her experience in basketball is obviously phenomenal, but more than that, who she is as a person fits what we are about here at Evansville!”

Gordon has served as an assistant coach at NIU since September of 2023. She worked in all aspects of the Huskies program including recruiting, academic oversight, community engagement, and player development while working as the defensive coordinator.  Her recruiting region was the Midwest as she worked during the season and offseason to communicate with recruits.

She made a huge impact in the classroom, directing her student-athletes to a 3.8 GPA in the Fall of 2023, the highest in school and program history.  Gordon oversaw all community service opportunities for the program and was the liaison to players for on-campus events.  On the floor, she prepped the team on opponents’ offensive keys and was in charge of the opposition’s scout while prepping players for their foes’ offensive tendencies.

From June of 2020 through March of 2023, Gordon was the head coach at Notre Dame College in Ohio.  She oversaw all aspects of the program including recruiting, fundraising, budgeting, and program leadership.  This opportunity came up following a 3-year tenure as the Recruiting Coordinator and Player Personnel Director at Notre Dame College.  With her assistance, the program accomplished numerous feats between 2017 and 2020 including most points scored in NDC history (110), most field goals in NDC history (40), most 3’s made in a game (17), two single season 3-pointer records, and three First Team All-Conference Selections.

NDC won the most games in school history with 26 while accomplishing the first 20-win campaign the program had seen.  She helped the team to its first MEC Championship appearance in 2018 before going 26-5 in 2019-20.  The team made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance that season.

Prior to her tenure at NDC, Gordon was a graduate assistant coach at Cleveland State from 2015 through 2017.  She assisted in practice and individual drills and campus recruit visits.  Gordon worked with the recruiting coordinator on all needs within that process including weekly mailings, recruit tracking, and schedules.  She attended staff recruiting and practice meetings.

As a player at CSU, Gordon finished in the top ten in school history in scoring, rebounding (both offensive and defensive), and free throws.  A 2-time team MVP, Gordon was part of the winningest class in CSU history and led the school to its first WNIT berth.  Gordon earned First Team and Second Team All-Conference recognition.

“I am incredibly excited to join this staff. I want to thank Robyn for taking the time to get to know me and for believing in me,” Gordon exclaimed. “She is building something special here that I am grateful to contribute to and be a part of. I am ready to pour into the players and become a part of this community!”