By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BROCKTON, Mass. -- Barbara Stevens, a 1976 graduate of Bridgewater State College, has secured a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Bentley University women’s basketball coach for the past 34 seasons, a five-time Division 2 national coach of the year, will be inducted as part of a class of nine people in ceremonies Aug. 28-30 in Springfield.
Stevens, who is 1,058-291 during 43 years as a coach at Bentley, Clark University and the University of Massachusetts, will be joining the late Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, who headline the impressive class.
“I am so honored, I am so humbled to be included in this unbelievable class of inductees into the Hall of Fame,″ said Stevens in a statement Saturday. “This is something that is overwhelming. The incredible emotions that I felt after receiving the call from the Hall of Fame Friday afternoon, I can’t even put into words.″
Stevens was a guard at Bridgewater State from 1972-76, playing at the Kelly Gym. She is a member of the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I was interested in the coaching aspect of the game while I was a player at Bridgewater,″ said Stevens two years ago. “That was something I distinctly remember.
“I did, through playing, discover I was really interested in the Xs and Os part of the game. I would go out to coaches’ clinics when I was a player at Bridgewater. Maybe it was because I wasn’t such a great player, but I had a real interest in coaching.″
Stevens took a job as an assistant coach at Clark after graduating from Bridgewater State, then became the head coach a year later, spending six seasons in that position. She moved on to UMass for three seasons and eventually Bentley in 1986.
The highlight of Stevens’ career was the 2013-14 team, led by Lauren Battista of Easton, which won the national championship and finished with a 35-0 record.
Other local players who have been part of Stevens’ successful run at Bentley include Kim Cummings, Chante Bonds and LaToya Thomas of Brockton and Keri Flynn of Rockland.
