| Charli Turner Thorne | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Women's college basketball |
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Arizona State University |
| Playing career | |
| 1984–1988 | Stanford |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1996–current | Arizona State University |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 291-194 (60.00%) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Pac-10 Championship 2001 Pac-10 Tournament Championship 2002 |
|
| Awards | |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year 2001 | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| FIBA Under-21 World Championship for Women | ||
| Gold | 2007 Russia | Team Competition |
| World University Games | ||
| Gold | 2009 Serbia | Team Competition |
Charli Turner Thorne is the Arizona State Sun Devils head women's basketball coach. She is the winningest Sun Devil coach since the team was established (251-154) and, in 2009, stood as No. 4 in the Pac-10 in terms of most career wins.[1]
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Turner Thorne studied psychology at Stanford University where she played basketball under Tara VanDerveer. She graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree and later studied for a master's degree in education at the University of Washington, graduating in 1990. She is married to Will Thorne and they have three children.[2]
Turner Thorne began her coaching career at Northern Arizona University, winning consecutive seasons in 1994-95 and 1995–96, the first time the school had accomplished this. She then transferred to the Arizona State University Sun Devils team for the start of the 1996 season, where she has led the Arizona State women's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament seven times. This achievement is four more than in the 15 years prior to her arrival as coach.
In the 2004-05 season, the Sun Devils under Turner Thorne gained a 24-10 overall record and its first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 22 years. The team also gained a record of 25-9, which met the single-season school record for most wins at that time. ASU shared the Pac-10 title in 2001 and the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament title in 2002, the first league championships the school had achieved.
In the 2006-07 season, the Sun Devils achieved 31 wins, including a school record 16 Pac-10 wins, which brought them to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. At the end of the 2006-07 season, the Sun Devils ranked No. 8 in the final USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 10 in the final Associated Press poll, the highest final rankings in each poll the school had achieved. In the summer of 2007 Turner Thorne served as an assistant coach on USA Basketball's U-21 World Championship Team which won the gold medal at the U-21 FIBA World Championship in Moscow, Russia.[3]
In 2009 the Sun Devils rejoined the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons under Turner Thorne's leadership. Having achieved 26 wins in the 2008-09 season, Turner Thorne became one of three Pac-10 coaches alongside University of Washington head coach Chris Gobrecht and Stanford University head coach Tara VanDerveer to have led their respective schools to five or more consecutive 20-win seasons.
During the summer of 2009, Turner Thorne served as the head coach of the USA Women's World University Games Team which won the gold medal at the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, having won all seven of their games. It was Turner Thorne's second time working with USA Basketball.[4][5]
In July 2009, Turner Thorne became vice president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Executive Committee.[6]
For the 2011–12 basketball season, Turner Thorne is taking a leave of absence from her coaching duties and plans to return for the 2012–13 season.[7]
Career Record: 291-194
| Season | School | Overall | Conf. | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1994 | Northern Arizona | 12-15 | 6-8 | Fourth in Big Sky | |
| 1994–1995 | Northern Arizona | 14-12 | 6-8 | First winning season at NAU in seven years | |
| 1995–1996 | Northern Arizona | 14-13 | 6-8 | Second straight winning season | |
| 1996–1997 | Arizona State | 9-19 | 3-15 | Most wins in four years | |
| 1997–1998 | Arizona State | 10-17 | 6-12 | First double-digit win season at ASU since 1992-1993 | |
| 1998–1999 | Arizona State | 12-15 | 6-12 | Best Pac-10 finish (sixth) since 1993 | |
| 1999–2000 | Arizona State | 14-15 | 7-11 | WNIT bid, ASU first post-season invite since 1992 | |
| 2000–2001 | Arizona State | 20-11 | 12-6 | First ever Pac-10 title, NCAA First Round | |
| 2001–2002 | Arizona State | 25-9 | 12-6 | Pac-10 Tournament title; NCAA Second Round; Tied school record for most wins | |
| 2002–2003 | Arizona State | 16-14 | 7-11 | Advanced to second round of WNIT | |
| 2003–2004 | Arizona State | 17-12 | 11-7 | WNIT bid | |
| 2004–2005 | Arizona State | 24-10 | 12-6 | First time in NCAA Sweet Sixteen since 1982-1983 | |
| 2005–2006 | Arizona State | 25-7 | 14-4 | Fourth NCAA appearance; school record 10 game win streak | |
| 2006–2007 | Arizona State | 31-5 | 16-2 | First appearance in NCAA Elite Eight in school history; Set school single-season records for most overall (31), Pac-10 (16), and road wins (10); Final No. 8 ranking. | |
| 2007–2008 | Arizona State | 22-11 | 14-4 | First time ASU has qualified for NCAA Tournament four straight years and first time winning 20 or more games four straight years. | |
| 2008–2009 | Arizona State | 26-9 | 15-3 | Second Elite Eight appearance in three years. |
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