The Missouri State Lady Bears were 26-4 overall, 16-2 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play, and named MVC regular season champions. The team finished the season ranked 19th in the nation, but dreams of a MVC Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament were cut short when collegiate sports ground to a halt due to coronavirus.
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association did announce its postseason honors, and Missouri State University coach Amaka “Coach Mox” Agugua-Hamilton was named the 2020 Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year. Agugua-Hamilton has considerable ties to New York, including being a graduate of Hofstra University, where she was a four-year captain of the women’s basketball team, and her sister lives in Harlem.
“This year was any first-year head coach’s dream,” said Agugua-Hamilton, whose coaching philosophy is built on FAB (family, academics and basketball). “To come in and have the players buy in from day one and be able to control the environment and instill a family atmosphere like I wanted…it’s what we’re built on. So we really excelled on and off the court.”
The Lady Bears broke some school and conference basketball records during the season. Agugua-Hamilton is equally proud that her players had an overall 3.5 grade point average and that the players, coaches and staff came together like a family.
“It was important for me to spend some team bonding time,” she said. “I had them over at the house and we’d go out and do different activities, especially when we were on the road. We really enjoyed the journey and that was the biggest thing I wanted to get out of this year. All the accolades are great, but if kids aren’t happy, I’m not going to be happy.”
Agugua-Hamilton relishes being a role model for her players the way former Hofstra coach Felisha Legette-Jack was for her. During her college playing days, Agugua-Hamilton realized, “It was cool to see someone who looked like me in a position of authority and carrying herself in a professional way,” she said.
Legette-Jack was a working mom, just as Agugua-Hamilton is today. She saw a Black woman lead a program and make an impact in the community.
“Throughout my coaching career, I had multiple stops [including Indiana, where she was an assistant coach under Legette-Jack for two seasons], but getting here, I’m the first African-American female head coach in any sport,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I want our players to look at me as an example, a mentor and a confidante…I’m really passionate about setting them up for life.”