Lee-McNelis Completes Coaching Staff
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis |
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss Head Women?s Basketball Coach Joye-Lee McNelis completed her coaching staff, naming Kirk Crawford and Troy Howell as assistant coaches.
Crawford comes to Southern Miss with 25 years of coaching experience, including eight years of NCAA Division I experience as an assistant coach, with his last at Providence College. While at Providence, he was responsible for signing five athletes in the 2004 recruiting class.
Crawford began his coaching career in 1978 at Springfield High School in Springfield, Colo. He then coached for one season at Littleton High School in Littleton, Colo., before spending 12 years as a coach with the Colorado AAU from 1980-92. Crawford returned to the High School circuit for three more seasons at Park City High School in Park City, Utah (1992-94) and Olympus High School in Salt Lake City (1994-95).
Crawford entered the collegiate coaching ranks at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, as an assistant coach from 1995-99. In 1999, he moved on to the University of Portland in Portland, Ore., where he served as an assistant coach for two seasons (1999-01) and then spent the 2001-02 season as an assistant coach at Portland State University.
As an assistant coach at the collegiate level, Crawford was directly responsible for on and off campus recruiting, post and perimeter player development, opponent scouting, game plan and practice preparation, in-game defensive schemes, film breakdown and editing, summer camps and coaches' clinics, and strength and conditioning.
He also spent time as a mentor/volunteer for the Portland Fire of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Crawford, a 1978 graduate of Western State College (Colo.), earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. While at WSC, he lettered in basketball and baseball. He also is a competitive triathlete and cyclist and is currently ranked fifth nationally. He is married to the former Margie Rushing, and the couple has four-year old twin boys, Zachary Louis and Nolan Lee.
Howell, a native of Ingomar, Miss., joins the Southern Miss staff after spending nine years as a physical education teacher and basketball coach at Senatobia High School. He also was the manager for one season at Memphis under McNelis for the 2002-03 year, where he was responsible for equipment and assisting with practices on a daily basis.
Howell was an assistant girls? basketball coach for five years and a head boys? basketball coach for four years at Senatobia High School. While there, he coached the boys? team to a 3A division and district titles during the 2001-02 season. He also coached the girls? 3A slow pitch state championship in 1995 and the 3A boys? state championship in tennis in 1999. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for softball and tennis and Shannon High School in 1992-93.
Howell received his bachelor?s degree from the University of Memphis in 2003 in liberal studies. He also earned an associate?s degree in liberal arts from Northwest Community College and coached the Mississippi Lady Travelers AAU team from 1984-93.
He is married to the former Tammy S. Martin, and the couple has a daughter, Ashley Martin, who plays basketball at Delta State University.
