May 23, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - University of South Carolina-Aiken head coach Phil Stern has accepted a position as assistant women's basketball coach at Arizona State University, head coach Charli Turner Thorne announced Wednesday.
Stern comes to Arizona State after three seasons as the head coach at Division II South Carolina-Aiken where he turned in a 42-41 record. His 1999-2000 team finished with a 15-12 record and a third-place showing in the Peach Belt Conference North Division, the program's first winning season since 1993-94. For his efforts, Stern was selected as the 2000 Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year. He coached the 2000 Peach Belt Freshman of the Year and has recruited four USA Today honorable-mention All-Americans to come to USCA.
In 2000-01, Stern's Lady Pacers went 22-7 and won the Peach Belt Conference North Division title. In addition to their successes on the court, Stern and his team also succeeded in the classroom, improving the team grade-point average from 2.1 to 3.1 since his arrival at South Carolina-Aiken.
"We are obviously excited to have Phil Stern join our program. He really brings a lot to the table," Turner Thorne said. "Not only is he a proven recruiter, he also has the reputation of building strong relationships with his players. Phil is also an excellent coach as evidenced by his many coaching accomplishments."
Before coming to South Carolina-Aiken, Stern was the architect of a turnaround at Dowling College where he spent two seasons from 1996-98 as the head women's basketball coach. In the three seasons prior to his arrival, Dowling had won just 22 games, but, in just Stern's first season, he led the Lady Lions to a 16-12 record which marked the school's first winning season. His 1996-97 squad also earned the program's first regional ranking and was invited to participate in the school's first postseason tournament.
Stern began his coaching career at his alma mater, Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y., where he spent three seasons as an assistant with the men's basketball team. He got his first head coaching position at Holy Child High School where he completed his first rebuilding project. After taking over a women's basketball program that had won just six games in three years, Stern led Holy Child to a 52-14 record with three conference titles and three state tournament bids in his three seasons at the helm.
A native of Oceanside, N.Y., Stern played basketball and baseball at Concordia College and earned a bachelor of arts in business education in 1992.
"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Charli Turner Thorne and with one of premier women's basketball programs in the country," Stern said. "I am going to do my best to Charli win a national championship and to help Arizona State become one of the top 10 basketball programs in the country."