Edniesha Curry returns to Orono for her first season as an assistant coach with Maine men’s basketball team in 2018-19. Curry joins the Black Bears as the only woman currently serving as a full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.
She previously served as a player development and assistant coach for the UMaine women’s basketball team from July 2015 to May 2017 under Coach Barron. Since leaving UMaine, she worked with the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program and worked with the Atlanta Classical Academy as the Women’s Athletic Program Manager.
With the NBA ACP, she gained experience working at the NBA Draft Combine and the NBA G League Showcase which included player development and scouting duties.
“I am really blessed to have the opportunity to work the sidelines with Coach Barron,” said Curry. “He has always believed in my abilities as a coach and I am grateful for him bringing me back to UMaine to coach alongside him with the men’s basketball program.”
Before coming to UMaine, Curry was the head basketball coach across Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. She developed skills for players from ages 6-18, focusing on rebuilding the sport in the Vietnam. Prior to that, she was the head coach for the WCBA’s Shanxi Flames Women’s Profession Club in Taiyuan, China. Overall, Coach Eddie has held various positions in Vietnam, China, Israel and Palestine.
After her professional basketball career, she was a marketing assistant with NBA and WNBA Global Basketball with Adidas.
A graduate of the University of Oregon in 2002, Curry was drafted by the Charlotte Sting with the 41st overall pick in the WNBA draft. She played in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks along with teams overseas in Greece, Poland, Israel, and Hungary from 2002 to 2009.
Curry stared in her collegiate career at Cal State Northridge, becoming the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers with 168. She led the Matadors in scoring for three-consecutive seasons, averaging 15.3 points per game as a junior for the Matadors. She transferred to Oregon in 2000, earning All-Pac 10 honorable mention as a senior. She led the Ducks to a WNIT Championship, averaging 9.8 points per game while dishing out a total of 104 assists.
“Eddie was an easy choice as an assistant coach,” said Barron “She is extremely talented at developing players - especially within the context of defensive and offensive systems. Eddie teaches skills that can be utilized with frequency in a game. Eddie is also great at scouting opponents as well as “self-scouts” - breaking down video to find areas of improvement. She knows Maine, knows many of our players, and knows me and my style of play. She has great connections around the world from her extensive playing and coaching background. Our players will be very fortunate to have someone as gifted and enthusiastic as Eddie coaching them.”
Curry holds a bachelor science degree in sociology from the University of Oregon, and earned an MBA from American InterContinental University in 2006.
