May 16, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina Head Women’s Basketball Coach Susan Walvius announced the hiring of Ronald Hughey as an assistant coach today. A Columbia native, Hughey spent the last three seasons as an assistant on Tonya Mackey’s staff at South Carolina State University and has nine years of basketball coaching experience at various levels.

“I got to know Ron on the recruiting trail and what stood out to me was his tremendous work ethic,” Walvius said. “He was always the last coach to leave the gym. A lot of times, tournaments can turn into social events where coaches spend the whole time small-talking with each other, but Ron isn’t like that. He is very diligent in what he does and will be an asset to our program. He has a lot of regional contacts we need in recruiting and he knows the high school coaches well. He will work closely with Michelle Marciniak with recruiting. On the court, he will work with our post players. He attends every clinic he can get to and I really like a lot of his philosophies when it comes to working with players. He has tremendous knowledge of the game and will be very helpful in developing our post players.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me as a coach,” Hughey said. “For Coach Walvius to bring me into a program like this is a great honor. This is an opportunity to be at home. I grew up here always going to games hoping to get a chance and an opportunity like this.”

Hughey served as South Carolina State’s recruiting coordinator, handled the bulk of the Bulldogs’ scouting reports and was a key figure in player development from 2004-07. In only three years at South Carolina State, a trio of Bulldogs earned all conference recognition under Hughey’s guidance, as Brittany Baity was a 2007 all-league selection, Melanie Denson was a 2006 honoree and Evena Morency secured the recognition in 2005.

Prior to his time at South Carolina State, Hughey served as the assistant coach for the boys varsity basketball team at W.J. Keenan HS in Columbia from 2001-04. Keenan participated in the playoffs in each of his three years on the staff and was one of the more powerful teams in the state during his time there. At Keenan, Hughey helped develop Thurman Zimmerman and Brandon Trapp, both of whom went on to play at South Carolina State and Alexander Harper, who went on to play at Virginia Commonwealth.

Hughey came to Keenan after spending one season as assistant boys varsity basketball coach at Columbia’s C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy in 2000-01.

His first coaching job came at Alcorn Middle School, where he served as head boys basketball coach from 1996-98. He then got out of coaching and into the concrete business before returning to the coaching ranks at C.A. Johnson in 2000.

Born November 7, 1970, Hughey attended C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy and was a three-year letterwinner as a forward on the basketball team. C.A. Johnson won the state championship in 1989 during his senior year. He was also a three-year letterwinner at quarterback for the football team and was a three-year letterwinner for the cross-country squad as well. Immediately after graduating from high school, Hughey attended South Carolina State for three years. He went back to school to earn a degree in liberal arts from Limestone College in December of 2006. His wife, the former Alethea Barnes, is a 1994 South Carolina graduate. Hughey has two daughters, Rhonda (7) and Sanabarabara (14).

Hughey joins a South Carolina team that is fresh off back-to-back trips to the postseason in 2006 and 2007. The Gamecocks were recently recognized as having a top-20 recruiting class nationally, as The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report ranked Carolina’s six-player incoming class 18th in the country. Hughey replaces Ken Griffin, who recently took a job as the recruiting coordinator at the University of Charlotte.

Hughey’s Coaching Timeline
2007-present: South Carolina Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
2004-07: South Carolina State Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
2001-04: W.J. Keenan High School Assistant Boys Varsity Basketball Coach
2000-01: C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy Assistant Boys Varsity Basketball Coach
1996-98: Alcorn Middle School Head Boys Basketball Coach