Graceann Bennett announces Georgetown is removing interim coach title for Darnell Haney in press conference
The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team did not have the ending to the Big East tournament they would have liked after coming up short in the championship game against the UConn Huskies. Still, there was plenty to celebrate after the game, as the program received some huge news in the locker room, which led to a touching moment between Interim head coach Darnell Haney and star forward Graceann Bennett.
After the game, in the postgame press conference, Bennett became overwhelmed with emotion as she revealed to everyone in attendance that the university was in talks with Haney to strip away the interim label and make him the next head coach of Hoyas women’s basketball. You can check out the touching moment from the Georgetown forward as she sat next to her head coach in the video below.
Haney took over the reins of the program following the untimely death of former head coach Tasha Butts. Butts passed away after losing her two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 41 at the time of her passing.
The likely next head coach of Georgetown women’s basketball also addressed the news, becoming emotional himself in the process. Haney acknowledged and gave credit to butts for the staff she put together along with the Hoyas roster.
“These young women and this staff, they just wanted to find a way to win,” said Haney. “They wanted to see success. And they listened, and they persevered and they got to the next thing. And when we would lose a game, I couldn’t be mad at them because they gave everything they got.”
“Just to know that I’m going to be the head coach in a situation to even walk the halls of the great John Thompson. I’m just so thankful and so proud to be able to do that.”
As Georgetown’s interim head coach, Haney led them to a 22-11 overall record and a 9-9 mark and Big East play, which was good enough for sixth in the conference. Unfortunately, that performance does not appear to be good enough to have the hoyas punch a ticket to the women’s championship tournament.
Current projections only have three teams out of the Big East qualifying for the field of 68, and Georgetown is not one of them. Still, with Haney set to take over the program, it is a beautiful ending to what started out as a tragic story for Georgetown women’s basketball.