St. John's University Athletics
Coco Hart Signs Professional Contract With Finland's Kerava Energia
8/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 25, 2011
- Inside The Paint Video Blog: Alumni Edition - '11 Grad Hart Goes To Finland
- Kerava Energia's Homepage
QUEENS, N.Y. - When St. John's women's basketball alumna Centhya "Coco" Hart first made the decision to come play for the Red Storm, she knew she was making a move that would put her more than 1,100 miles from her hometown of Memphis, Tenn. Four years later, Hart has made the decision to move more than 3,800 miles further away, this time to Kerava, Finland, where she signed a professional contract to play for FIBA Europe's Kerava Energia.
Hart, who signed her agreement with Kerava in late-July, will leave Memphis on Aug. 31. Her journey will take her from Memphis to Chicago to Stockholm then finally to Helskinki, which is still 23 miles from her final destination of Kerava, Etelä-Suomi. Hart, who will play for head coach Jarkko Ronnholm, signed a four-month contract from September through December.
"Playing overseas will be a tremendous opportunity for Coco," remarked St. John's head coach Kim Barnes Arico. "She was an integral part of the program's success during the past four years as she was not only a dedicated player, but she was a our leader on and off the court. Coco's toughness and competitive spirit were second to none. Her ability to take charges and get big rebounds in addition to the intangibles she brought to our team helped us win big games throughout her career. Coco will be a great representative of St. John's women's basketball in Finland as her hard work and development during her career is a testament to her character and drive. The St. John's women's basketball family wishes her the best."
The 2011 alumna will have company in Finland as she reunites with former teammate Tiina Sten, Class of 2008, who came to St. John's from Finland and returned after graduation. Sten will be Hart's tour guide for her first few weeks in Finland. Sten played for Finland's national team in 2011, where she averaged 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds per game. She has been playing overseas since her graduation from St. John's.
Hart was part of a remarkable run of success in her four years at St. John's, a career that included back-to-back runs to the NCAA Tournament, two years of national rankings and two trips to the WNIT postseason tournament. Hart had 11 double-digit scoring efforts as a senior, to rack up a career-best 281 points and finish her career with 807. Hart went from reserve to consistent starter during her four years under Barnes Arico. The Memphis native was third on the team in scoring this past season, even while suffering through a nagging shoulder injury. Hart also had a career-best 187 rebounds this season, finishing her collegiate-career with 617. Hart played in 132 career games, the most of any player in St. John's program history. She was also presented the 2011 Victoria Porter MVP award at the annual St. John's awards celebration in May.
Hart is the fourth player in three years to play professional basketball overseas. In addition to Hart and Sten, Joy McCorvey (Class of 2010) played in Germany and Monique McLean (Class of 2009) played for the Greek franchise, Olympiakos. With the DBBL's TUS Jena Burgaupark Lady Baskets, McCorvey played 20 games as a power forward, averaging 16.7 points, 13.3 rebounds and shooting .480 from the field in her season abroad.
The 2010-11 St. John's women's basketball squad, under ninth-year head coach Barnes Arico, continued to pave the way for the program's success as the Red Storm returned to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Round of 32 for the second-consecutive season, and was ranked for 16-straight weeks in the Associated Press Poll and 18-consecutive weeks in the ESPN/Coaches Poll (including the 2009-10 season). STJ celebrated its second-straight 20-win season and fourth of Barnes Arico's tenure. The excitement showed as St. John's had the 15th-largest increase in attendance per game in the nation in 2010-11. The Red Storm has come a long way during the Barnes Arico Era, as she took over a team that was 3-24 and winless in BIG EAST play and restored life and energy into a nationally competitive team every year. Under Barnes Arico, the Red Storm has made the BIG EAST tournament eight-straight seasons and has qualified for a postseason berth six out of the last seven years, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament.
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