Colgate

HAMILTON, N.Y. (8/10/10) - Colgate women’s basketball head coach, Pam Bass announced the hiring of assistant coaches Janell Crayton and Ben Kantor.

Coach Crayton is joining the Raiders staff from Oberlin College, where she most recently served as the associate head coach, while coach Kantor has spent the last three seasons at SMU.

An all-conference player at Davidson College, coach Crayton thoroughly understands the demands of competing in the classroom and on the court. As a two-time captain at Davidson she has an understanding of team dynamics and what is needed for a team to achieve at its peak performance. She joined the Oberlin program in June 2007 as an Assistant Coach. Prior to her time in Ohio, she was an assistant coach at Oglethorpe University, which was, at the time, a NCAA Division III Top 25 Program. In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, she was an AAU Coach with the Georgia Stars. Basketball has helped her travel the world. She has participated in international tours and internships in the Czech Republic, Ghana and Turkey.

“Coach Crayton brings a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm to our program. She has walked in the footsteps of our student-athletes having been a standout student-athlete at Davidson. Her belief in the student-athlete experience and appreciation of the time management needed to balance both successfully will be a huge asset for our student-athletes,” said coach Bass. “I am excited to work with her.”

On the court, Crayton will be primarily working with the Raiders inside game and focus her attention on the team’s offensive and defensive rebounding. Off the court, she will be actively involved in parts of recruiting, team travel, equipment, conditioning, and serving as an academic coach.

“I am extremely excited to join the staff at Colgate and become a member of Raider Nation,” stated coach Crayton. “Colgate is a wonderful academic institution with an up and coming program and I look forward to being part of the success at the University. I am excited to be under the tutelage of coach Bass because she is clearly a knowledgeable coach and I believe she will be a great mentor as well. I cannot wait to get started working so we can continue to climb our way to the top of the Patriot League.”

Coach Kantor is a student of the game, and even more importantly, a student of women’s basketball. For the past three season’s coach Kantor served as the video coordinator at SMU in Dallas, Texas. In that capacity he broke down and studied practice and game film, worked on scouting reports and evaluated player performance. In addition to his video expertise, he has also been actively involved in the daily operations of the SMU women’s basketball program. Prior to SMU he served as a practice player for three years at the University of Illinois under Hall of Fame and former Olympic Coach Theresa Grentz. After graduating from the University of Illinois he served for a season as a volunteer video coordinator for the Fighting Illini.

“I’m excited to get right to work to help our program reach that next step, to get to that championship level,” stated coach Kantor. “But more importantly, I’m excited to get the opportunity to develop relationships with the staff and players, because this game is all about developing relationships, enabling us to rise to another realm of basketball and life.”

In addition to overseeing the video efforts of the program, coach Kantor will work with both the guards and posts while assisting coach Bass with the Colgate offensive. He will be involved in all aspects of recruiting. Off the court he will assist the program in utilizing technology better for networking with alumni and prospects, while also serving as an academic coach.

“Coach Kantor will bring a great work ethic, personality, and passion to our program,” said coach Bass. “His love of the game and hunger to be the best coach that he can be for Colgate is what separates coach Kantor from others.”

Also on staff is veteran coach Karen Blair who is beginning her second season with the Raiders. She serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator, defensive coordinator, and guard coach.

“Coach Blair and I are very excited to have coach Crayton and coach Kantor join the Colgate family,” stated Bass. “The four of us complement each other well. Their energy and desire to succeed and, most importantly, drive to enhance the experience of our student-athletes is priceless. We all share the daily passion that our student-athletes and athletic program has to achieve our goal of putting championship banners up in the gym a reality.”