Cal Poly Adds to Coaching Staff
Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball head coach Danelle Bishop recently announced the hiring of Reyana Colson as the program's new assistant coach.
For new Bronco student-athletes and fans, an introduction to Colson's achievements could start in a few different ways. One could point you toward the
CPP record book, where the 2011 graduate is featured across almost every statistical leaderboard.
Another possible introduction would be hearing the story of the 2010-11 Broncos' women's basketball squad, which included Colson as the leading scorer among a "team-first" group of players that captured the NCAA Division II West Region title in front of their home crowd at Kellogg Gym.
"I spent the best four years of my life on this campus, and I'm ecstatic to be back at home," Colson said. "I was lucky enough to leave a small mark in the remarkable history of the women's basketball program as a player, and I'm excited to share this tradition and be a part of history for years to come as part of the coaching staff."
Now Colson joins Bishop and assistant coach Kevin Adams in completing the coaching staff as the program looks forward to an exciting 2012-13 campaign. When Bishop reflects on the 2010-11 season, she remembers seeing a lot of coaching potential in Colson.
"In the rare instance where Reyana missed a game due to injury," Bishop said, "she was coaching from the bench. She relates to the players and understands the game better than most. There have been several former Broncos that have become successful coaches. I know 'Rey' will be right in that category. She is a huge part of the tradition that CPP women's basketball is all about. She has lived it and will be a tremendous model to what is expected both on and off the court of our student-athletes."
Through Colson's four-year career as a Bronco, she totaled 1,931 points to rank fourth all-time in program history. She also set a new CPP record in free throws made for a career with 552. Colson became the 31st student-athlete in the history of Broncos' women's basketball to become an All-American. She excelled in the classroom as well, receiving Academic All-American recognition on her way to earning her degree in Accounting.
"After graduating last year," Colson said, "I made it up in my mind that I wanted to have a career where I could give other athletes the same experience that I was privileged to as a student-athlete here at Cal Poly Pomona. To actually be fortunate enough to find my way back with the Broncos is astonishing to me. This university has given so much to me and I'm anxious to share my experience as a student and player to the next group of young women."
The CPP assistant coaching position became available when Metro State hired Ciara Carl in late June to be the top assistant under head coach Tanya Haave.
Men’s Basketball
Ever since he stepped onto campus as a Cal Poly Pomona student-athlete in 1998, Damion Hill has delivered immeasurable contributions to the university community.
His leadership as assistant coach helped the Broncos' men's basketball team capture the program's first-ever national title in 2010. His abilities as a mentor have helped CPP student-athletes graduate and move on to successful careers. With the guidance of Hill and the rest of the coaching staff, several Broncos are playing basketball professionally overseas.
Head coach Greg Kamansky recently announced the promotion of Hill as the program's associate head coach. The 2012-13 season will mark the 11th for Hill as a CPP coach and the Broncos' achievements during that span are certainly substantial. CPP has reached the Elite Eight four times and along the way, Hill has coached two All-Americans: Jeff Bonds and Larry Gordon.
"Damion has obviously played a key role in the success of our program," Kamansky said. "Our assistants have always gotten a lot of experience in different areas of the game and Damion does it all, working with the offense, defense, posts and guards. As a committed and loyal assistant, he's definitely earned this promotion."
When Hill moved into the assistant coaching role at CPP, the men's basketball program possessed an all-time record of 732-731. Ten years and 17 NCAA postseason victories later, the Broncos hold a 939-819 all-time mark. During Hill's tenure, the team has captured three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be the associate head coach at the university that I graduated from," Hill said. "We'll continue to work hard to build off the accomplishments that our program has achieved over the last 10 years."
Hill graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in advertising and has his master's degree in education. He is a graduate of Palm Springs High School and also played basketball for two seasons at Sacramento City College, where he earned All-Conference Second Team honors and was his team's Most Valuable Player as a sophomore. Hill then played one season at Cal Poly Pomona.
