In just five seasons in University City, Drexel women’s basketball Head Coach Denise Dillon has elevated the program to rarified air among the upper tier of teams in the competitive Colonial Athletic Association. Dillon’s system for coaching and developing student-athletes has produced success for her players on the court and in life after basketball. Already the second winningest coach in Drexel history, Dillon’s teams have posted winning records in three of the last four years and have finished among the top three in the conference twice during that time. After an 18-12 season in 2007-08 that included a best-ever 13-5 record in CAA play, the Drexel program is thriving under Dillon’s guidance and ready to take the next step this season.
“Last season was a testament to the team’s commitment to the program and belief in each other,” Dillon said. “We had a lot of questions to start the year and we hit some speed bumps early on, but this group of players came together and worked hard to produce our most successful season in the conference.”
Much of Dillon’s coaching philosophy is derived from lessons learned during her Hall-of-Fame playing career at Villanova and, following it, working alongside some of the top basketball minds in the Philadelphia area. The Dragons’ unique style of play, which focuses on efficient possession of the ball and unrelenting team defense, is not only a vestige of the system in which Dillon played at Villanova, but it is also a reflection of the coach herself. The tenacity and determination that glows in the eyes of today’s Dragons is the same fire that propelled Dillon to greatness in her playing days at Villanova. From 1993-96 Dillon started in the post for coaching legend Harry Perretta’s Villanova Wildcats. She was a unanimous pick for the Big East All-Rookie Team in 1993 and followed that up with three All-Big East and All-Big 5 seasons on the Main Line. She was just the 12th player in Villanova history to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark in her career and finished with 1,355 points and 677 rebounds, both totals are among the Wildcats’ all-time best. Perhaps her greatest honor as a player came on January 30, 2004 when the Philadelphia Big 5 inducted her into its Hall of Fame
“One of the things that I’m most proud of is that every student-athlete who comes through our program leaves with an appreciation for the amazing opportunity they have to get a quality education and continue playing basketball at the Division I level,” Dillon said. “I was fortunate enough to have this opportunity when I growing up. As a staff we strive to create an environment where our players can be successful on the court, as well as developing into successful individuals in life after basketball.”
Dillon graduated from Villanova in 1996 with a degree in elementary education. While transitioning from playing to coaching, Dillon assumed an assistant coaching role for Perretta at Villanova from 1997-2001. During this time Dillon learned the intricacies of teaching Perretta’s motion offense, many of which have become hallmarks of Drexel’s offense scheme. Dillon joined the Drexel coaching staff in 2001 as a top assistant responsible for recruiting and player development. She helped to sign and coach one of the best forwards in the program’s history, Catherine Scanlon, who was a four-year All-Conference selection and is currently playing professional basketball in Europe.
After six seasons as an assistant coach, Dillon seized her first opportunity to join the head coaching ranks. She took over as the fifth head coach in Drexel’s history in 2003 and has since proven her mettle as one of the brightest coaches in the CAA. With just one season –as an interim coach- under her belt and in her first year coaching her own recruits, Dillon was named the CAA Co-Coach of the Year in 2004-05. That year her Dragons posted 19 wins, placed third in the conference and achieved benchmark wins over, local rival Saint Joseph’s and CAA juggernaut Old Dominion. As Dillon’s squad fearlessly entered its conference tournament semifinal game against the Lady Monarchs and came within seconds of dismissing them from the tournament for the first time ever, it became evident that the Dillon-coached Drexel team would be an opponent to be reckoned with for years to come.
Since her break-through season, Dillon has gone on to amass 72 coaching victories, the second most in the history of the program. She has reached the 70-win mark faster than any coach in Drexel history and has also established a tradition of success in postseason play during her tenure.
Dillon’s success has not come without challenges, however, but the coach has met each one head on and learned from the process of perseverance. In the 2005-06 season the Dragons opened with a difficult schedule that included an invitation to the Preseason WNIT, a first for the program. Despite faltering early in the season, the Dragons were able to stem the tide and win nine of their final 14 games, including an opening-round contest in the CAA Tournament, to finish with a 15-14 record. Led by All-CAA players Catherine Scanlon and Narissa Suber, the Dragons took second-seeded James Madison to overtime in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before falling in dramatic fashion.
One of the team and the coach’s greatest obstacles came during the 2006-07 when the young squad learned that it would be without one of its top returners, Nicole Hester, who would miss the season while battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The young team plodded its way through the season as questions about their teammate’s health swirled around them. But the team found its rudder somewhere in the midst of an NCAA-record five-overtime victory against Northeastern. The victory was both symbolic of the team’s toils throughout the year and a sign of its emergence from them. Drexel went on to win three of its final four games and upset eighth-seeded Georgia State in the first round of the conference tournament. The Dragons’ gutty performance that season reflected not only on Dillon’s leadership, but also the resolve of the players who had matured in the Drexel system.
“This team and this program have become a very tight-knit family because of Nicole Hester,” Dillon said. “What she went through, fighting biggest battle of her life and winning, has truly been an inspiration to everyone around her. To see Nicole competing again and playing with the infectious joy that she’s brought to the court everyday has been a rallying point for the team as well as her peers.”
Dillon’s commitment to helping student-athletes improve as players and as people has been a central focus of the program during her tenure. Each season the Dragons participate in a variety of community outreach activities that welcome youngsters from the Philadelphia area to the DAC. In addition, the team visits the Ronald McDonald House and several day care centers during the holidays, as well as participating in a number of service projects on campus throughout the year.
“Working together for a common cause off the court helps the players gain perspective and realize the responsibility that they have as members of a community, as teammates and as role models,” Dillon said. “There are a lot of important lessons to be learned in college and many of them actually happen away from the court and the classroom.”
These lessons and the inner strength wrought from them is the common bond shared by all of Dillon’s players, past and present. When the Dragons take the court each season they play not only with a joy for the game, but also with the pride of representing Drexel University and the Philadelphia community.
