Coquese Washington
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Coquese Makebra Washington (born January 17, 1971, in Flint, Michigan, USA) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at Notre Dame University.
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[edit] Notre Dame University
Washington played for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish women's basketball team from 1989 to 1993.
[edit] Professional playing career
After completing her athletic eligibility with the Irish in 1993, began a professional career by joining the American Basketball League 1996-98 (ABL). She began her pro career in 1997-98 as the starting point guard with the ABL's Portland Power,joined
Washington went on to enjoy a stellar seven-year professional basketball career in the WNBA and the now-defunct before departing the next season to begin a two-year stint with the WNBA's New York Liberty. Washington capped off her tenure with the Liberty by helping her team reach the '99 WNBA Finals. A year later, she joined the Houston Comets and aided that squad to the 2000 WNBA Championship. That title, coupled with Notre Dame's NCAA crown eight months later, made Washington the first person ever to be a member of both championship teams simultaneously.
She followed the Comets' championship season with another strong campaign in 2001, ranking among the top 10 in the WNBA in assists (ninth) and steals (fourth) as the Comets made their fifth consecutive playoff appearance. Midway through the 2002 season, she was traded to the Indiana Fever, where she guided that club to its first-ever playoff berth and became the first player in WNBA history to lead three different squads to the postseason.
Washington also was particularly active with the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) during her playing career. She was a central figure in helping WNBA players unionize initially, and she subsequently served as the first-ever president of the WNBA Players Association, leading the negotiations for the association's first collective bargaining agreement. Later on, as the group's executive vice president, she helped spearhead negotiations for the league's current collective bargaining agreement, a pact that ushered in the first free agency system in women's professional sports.
[edit] Coaching career
Washington began her coaching career in 1999, when she returned to her alma mater, Notre Dame University, and worked as an assistant coach under Head Coach Muffet McGraw. She was part of the coaching staff that helped the team win the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship in 2001, by defeating Purdue University.
In August 2005, Washington was promoted to an Associate Head Coach, which includes the responsibility of coordinating Notre Dame's recruiting efforts on promising young players.
