Former WNBA and Division I college player Iasia Hemingway joined the NJCU women’s basketball coaching staff with an impressive resume in 2018-19 as the program’s top assistant under head coach Patrick Devaney. A former Syracuse University standout, Hemingway signed with the WNBA’s New York Liberty before the 2012 season.
Hemingway comes to NJCU having previously coached at her high school alma mater, Malcolm X Shabazz High School, as an assistant coach from 2014-15. She was the head coach at West Side High School in 2016, and she has been the head coach for multiple AAU programs. First, she coached the New Jersey Sparks in 2014, and she currently coaches the Lexcel AAU Girls’ Basketball Program, a position she took in 2018.
During her collegiate playing days, Hemingway began at Georgia Tech, where she averaged 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 steals her sophomore year. She was part of a NCAA Tournament team but transferred back closer to home to Syracuse University before her junior season.
While playing for the Orange, the 5-10 lefty collected numerous plaudits, highlighted by a Second Team All-Big East nod in her senior season. She was Honorable Mention in her junior year, and she averaged a combined 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in her 72 games with the program.
Hemingway hails from Newark, N.J., and she played her high school basketball at Malcolm X Shabazz High School. In her senior year, she was named to numerous All-America teams, including WBCA and EA Sports. She was a two-time first-team All-State selection, and the 2006 and 2007 New Jersey Player of the Year. She helped lead the program to back-to-back state titles in her final two seasons. She was a top-25 recruit who started her collegiate career with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
After her collegiate career wrapped up, Hemingway signed with the New York Liberty of the WNBA for a training camp contract.
“Coach I had an amazing high school career,” head coach Pat Devaney said. “She brings a great wealth of knowledge of basketball. A great knowledge of the area of New Jersey. Her name rings bells in New Jersey.”
