Mercury Adds Charli Turner Thorne to Coaching Staff
June 30, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release
PHOENIX - The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury today announced the addition of legendary Arizona State University women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne as an assistant coach. Turner Thorne joins interim head coach Nikki Blue's staff, alongside assistant coaches Tully Bevilaqua and Taja Edwards.
"Charli is one of the top coaches in women's basketball - a proven winner - and I am excited to be able to coach alongside her again," said Blue. "She brings more than 28 years of experience to the Mercury, and will be invaluable in providing our players with every opportunity to improve individually and as a team."
Turner Thorne, who spent 25 seasons as head coach at Arizona State University before retiring in March 2022, is the winningest coach in program history and the second-winningest coach in Pac-12 women's basketball history, behind coaching icon Tara VanDerveer. A two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, she oversaw the establishment of Sun Devil Women's Basketball as a perennial national powerhouse, amassing a 488-294 record during her time. Turner Thorne led ASU to two Pac-12 regular season titles (2001, 2016), 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and the program's only two trips to the Elite Eight to date (2007, 2009).
Blue was a member of Turner Thorne's coaching staff at Arizona State from 2019-2022.
Prior to her time at ASU, Turner Thorne spent three seasons coaching at Northern Arizona and played collegiately at Stanford University under VanDerveer. Her coaching resume includes international experience and two gold medals, having served as an assistant coach on USA Basketball's U21 World Championship Team which won the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA U21 World Championship, and as head coach of the USA Women's World University Games Team which went undefeated (7-0) and captured the gold medal at the 2009 World University Games.
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