Barbara J. Burgess is entering her sixth season as an assistant coach for the Hampton University women’s basketball program. She came to Hampton after a year as an assistant at Norfolk State, where she was responsible for coaching the guards, in-state recruiting, film exchange and team academics.
Burgess was a part of yet another championship effort in 2013-14, as the Lady Pirates again won 28 games and took their fifth straight MEAC Tournament title – an unprecedented feat in the history of the conference. Along the way, senior guard Nicole Hamilton was a First Team All-MEAC selection, and freshman Malia Tate-DeFreitas earned MEAC Rookie of the Year honors.
Tate-DeFreitas averaged 18.1 points per game in 2013-14, while Hamilton averaged 13.1 points and 4.7 assists per contest. Hamilton also led the team in steals (63) and blocked shots (73).
The Lady Pirates’ backcourt in 2012-13 featured the junior Hamilton – who converted from shooting guard to point guard – and senior Olivia Allen, who played herself into the starting lineup as the season wore on. Hamilton, who played for Burgess at Phoebus High School, was named First Team All-MEAC after ranking third in the MEAC with 5.3 assists per game.
Both Hamilton and Allen also averaged double figures in scoring that season.
Burgess oversaw a senior backcourt in 2011-12 that included Jericka Jenkins and Choicetta McMillian, both of whom averaged more than 13 points a game, while Jenkins – a First Team All-MEAC selection – was fifth in the nation with just over seven assists a contest.
McMillian, who led the MEAC with 82 3-pointers, was named Second Team All-MEAC.
Burgess oversaw a talented backcourt in 2010-11, one that included First Team All-MEAC selection Jenkins – who led the team in scoring and finished the season second in the nation in assists per game (7.0). She also coached McMillian and Hamilton.
In her first year with the Lady Pirates, Burgess was reunited with senior guard Whitney Hill, who also played for Burgess at Phoebus. Burgess helped guide Hill to her lone MEAC Tournament crown, as the Lady Pirates went 20-12 and 12-4 in conference play. Sophomore guard Bernadette Fortune averaged 9.5 points a game last season, earning Second Team All-MEAC honors.
Prior to coming to Norfolk State, Burgess spent six years (2002-08) as the head girls basketball coach at Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va. The Phantoms were 73-67 in her tenure, making three trips to the Eastern Region tournament. During her tenure at Phoebus, Burgess coached against David Six, who was the head girls basketball coach at Peninsula District rival Hampton High School.
Before coming to Phoebus, Burgess was the first woman to lead the women’s basketball program at Virginia Union University. She coached at VUU from 1999 through 2001, going 13-39 in that span.
From 1992-99, Burgess was the head girls basketball coach at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Va. She was named Dominion District Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading Huguenot to a 14-9 record. The following year, the Lady Falcons were runners-up in the Dominion District Tournament.
In her 14 years as a high school head coach, Burgess mentored several players who have gone on to play at the collegiate level, including former Howard University standout Essence Coggins (Huguenot) and former Lady Pirate Hill (Phoebus).
From 2005-08, Burgess served as the head coach for the 16-and-under team of the Boo Williams Summer League. Her team won the Christopher Newport University Team Camp championship in 2005 and had a runner-up finish in 2008.
Burgess was a four-year Black College All-American at Delaware State University from 1985-89. She was named to the MEAC All-Rookie team and ended her career with the Lady Hornets as the school’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 1,807 points. As a sophomore, she led the team in scoring (17.9 points a game) and rebounding (7.3 rebounds a contest) and was named to the All-MEAC First Team.
She also led Delaware State in scoring as a junior with 17.1 points per game and earned All-MEAC First Team honors. She was Delaware State’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1988-89 and led the Lady Hornets to the 1989 MEAC Tournament Championship Game. Burgess graduated from Delaware State in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and was inducted to the Delaware State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. She also received her master’s degree in sports management from California (Pa.) University.
Burgess is a native of Richmond, Va. and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
