Sports
Women's Basketball Announces Additions to Coaching Staff – Illinois … – Illinois State Athletics
Women’s Basketball Brian White
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State women’s basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie has announced the addition of Jordan Alford and Mannie Robinson to her staff, as assistant coaches, respectively.
“I am thrilled to welcome Jordan and Mannie to our Redbird family. They are both high character coaches who have a passion for serving student-athletes,” said Gillespie. “I am excited to see the impact that they will have on our program on and off the court.”
Alford comes to ISU after spending three years on staff at Southern Illinois. In her role with the Salukis, Alford held the duties of Video Coordinator and Director of Basketball External Operations. Prior to her time at Southern Illinois, Alford spent time at Columbia College, a NAIA program in Columbia, Mo., where she graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management and business administration.
The Thayer, Mo. native started 109 of 111 games during her four seasons and led the Cougars to the NAIA National Tournament in each of her three full seasons. A three-time All-American honoree, Alford left the program ranked in the top-10 in career three-pointers made (4th; 225), career assists (5th; 374), career steals (8th; 200) and career points (9th; 1,330).
Alford was a prep standout at Thayer High School, where she was named to both the MBCA and AP All-State teams and helped the Bobcats to a 63-37 overall varsity record.
Alford completed her graduate work at SIU in May 2022 with a degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in sports studies.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join Coach Gillespie and the rest of the staff here at Illinois State University. Illinois State has been a great competitor in the Missouri Valley Conference, including coming off back-to-back championships, and I am grateful for the opportunity to hopefully be a part of the next,” said Alford. “I am eager to bring my knowledge and passion for the game to this program and make an impact in any way possible for our team and our student-athletes. Go Birds!”
Robinson comes to Normal after spending a season as Assistant Coach at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (UHSP) in St. Louis where he helped the program reach a postseason conference berth. At UHSP, Robinson played a vital role in player development, recruiting, advanced analytics and game scouting. Under his direction, the Eutectics produced one All-Conference, Champions of character, and conference assist leader.
A highly touted baseball pitcher and basketball player out of Chicago, Robinson helped lead Morgan Park High School to two back-to-back IHSA state championships. From there, he accepted a basketball scholarship to play for Lincoln College where he became a JUCO All-American before transferring to Western Illinois University.
After a short stint at Western Illinois, Robinson transferred to Talladega College and led his team to a NAIA National tournament berth. Robinson graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in biology medical sciences in 2019 before moving on to play semi-pro for the Illinois Vipers.
After his playing days, he then began coaching at Rich Central High School in, Olympia Fields, IL as a player development coach. After coaching at Rich Central, Robinson then became an assistant coach for East St. Louis High School where he helped lead them to a 28-6 overall record and undefeated conference record (11-0).
“I’m excited to work alongside Coach Gillespie and the rest of the staff. Ready to get to work and help continue the winning culture,” said Robinson.
For all latest on Illinois State women’s basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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