Connecticut Sun hire Abi Olajuwon, daughter of Hakeem, as first assistant coach under Stephanie White
The Connecticut Sun announced the first assistant coaching hire under new head coach Stephanie White on Tuesday.
Abi Olajuwon, a former star at Oklahoma and WNBA player with nearly a decade of experience coaching in the college ranks, will be joining the Sun’s coaching staff for the 2023 season. She will work with a talented group of forwards highlighted by 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones.
“I’m excited to add Abi Olajuwon to our staff,” White said. “Abi has a wealth of college coaching experience, and we are thrilled she will be back in the WNBA. She is an incredibly hard worker, has great energy and will be a terrific addition to our franchise. She was a player in the W, so she understands the demands of our players and will be a great asset to our post group.”
Olajuwon is the daughter of NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon. She most recently served as an assistant for TCU from 2018-2022, where she served as a recruiting coordinator and worked with the posts. She helped coach two players to All-Big 12 First Team honors, two players to All-Big 12 Second Team honors and three players to Big 12 All-Defensive team honors.
Prior to her time at TCU, Olajuwon was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Eastern Michigan from 2016-2018. Before that, she was an assistant coach at California State University, Fullerton from 2015-2017.
As a player, Ojajuwon had an impressive career at Oklahoma University from 2006-10. She helped the Sooners win Big 12 championships in 2007 and 2009, but the highlight of her collegiate career was reaching the Final Four in 2009 and 2010, where the Sooners fell just short of the championship game.
UConn won the national championship in each of those seasons, but never faced Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament. Ojajuwon did face the Huskies twice during the regular season throughout her college career: a 106-78 win for UConn in Storrs on Nov. 30, 2008 and a 76-60 win for UConn in Norman, Oklahoma on Feb. 15, 2010.
Ojajuwon was selected in the third round of the 2010 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. She played her rookie season with the Sky and then played one year with the Tulsa Shock before finishing her playing career overseas with clubs in Romania, Hungary, Israel, Croatia, France, Brazil, China and Spain.
All these years later, Ojajuwon finds herself back in the WNBA, this time as an assistant coach as the Sun start a new era under White.
“To be hired by the Connecticut Sun is simply put, a dream,” Olajuwon said. “To reach the pinnacle of women’s basketball and coach some of the best players in the world is such an honor and a privilege. I jumped at the opportunity to work with my former coach, Stephanie White, because I know her energy to win from the perspective of a player and now, as a coach.
“If there is one thing that is true about the Connecticut Sun, it’s that the organization is putting the idea into action that once you are a part of the WNBA family, you will be taken care of. There is an investment in your success not only during your time in this league, but after your playing career is over. I am excited to be a part of this special organization and hope to facilitate great guidance to these amazing professional athletes.”
The Connecticut Sun open the 2023 season with a road game against the Indiana Fever on May 19.
