Jacksonville State University Women's Basketball

Pietri When Rick Pietri, a coach with a reputation for turning programs around, came on-board as the new head womens basketball coach at Jacksonville State University in June of 2013, he began developing a new culture for the Gamecock womens basketball program.   Upon his arrival, it didnt take very long for Pietri to reverse the fortunes of JSU womens basketball. After inheriting a team that had gone 1-27 the year before his arrival, Pietri posted 14 wins in his first season in charge of the program.  The turnaround was one of the best in NCAA Womens Division I Basketball that year. After opening with four losses to start the 2013-14 OVC schedule, the Gamecocks put together a stretch that saw them win eight of their last 12 games to earn one of the eight spots in the 2014 OVC Womens Basketball Tournament.  Once in the field for the championship, JSU put together an improbable run in Nashville, Tenn. site of the tournament. Jax State, the No. 6 seed in the field, topped SIU Edwardsville in the opening round to set up the third meeting of the year with Tennessee Tech.  Having trailed TTU for most of the game, Briana Benson made a put back at the buzzer that sent the Jax State contingent into a frenzy and a spot in the semifinals against Belmont.  Bensons buzzer-beater made ESPNs Top-10 plays of the day on SportsCenter that night. JSUs run in the tournament fell short with a loss to Belmont in the semifinal round.  For his efforts in that first season at JSU, Pietri was named the 2013-14 OVC Coach of the Year by his colleagues.  In his second year in charge of the program, Pietri guided the Gamecocks to heights unseen in the programs NCAA Division I history.  JSU turned in a 19-10 overall mark the most wins in JSUs Division I era.  The Gamecocks started strong by winning nine of twelve games in the first two months of the season, the best start since the 1990-91 campaign.  The nine non-conference wins by JSU marked the most since moving to Division I.  One of those victories was the first ever JSU road win over a Power 5 conference school, when the Gamecocks beat SEC foe Alabama in Tuscaloosa by a final of 64-62.   Jax State finished the 2014-15 Ohio Valley Conference slate with a 10-6 record and placed in a tie for fourth in the league. The Gamecocks were among the best in the nation at handling the basketball that year. The team ranked fourth in NCAA Division I womens basketball in fewest turnovers committed with a per game average of 11.2. The success on the hardwood also translated into success in academics.  Jax State ranked 14th in the Womens Basketball Coaches Association 2015 Academic Top 25 Honor Roll presented by AT&T.  JSU posted a team grade point average of 3.511. The team GPA had soared from a 2.3 in 2012-13 before his arrival to a 3.5 in 2014-15.   A roster decimated by injuries in 2015-16 impacted JSU to a 10-18 overall mark and a 5-11 mark in conference play.  Jax States success at home under Pietri did continue with seven wins at the newly-renovated Pete Mathews Coliseum. Before his tenure at JSU, Pietri spent the previous 13 seasons as the head coach at South Alabama.  Prior to his arrival, South Alabama had posted 10-straight losing seasons.  He turned the Lady Jags into a contender in the Sun Belt Conference, capturing back-to-back Sun Belt West Division titles in 2003 and 2004.  South made consecutive WNIT Postseason appearances both in 2003 and 2004, and he is also the all-time winningest coach in Lady Jaguars history with a career record of 220-167.   Pietri's turnaround of the South Alabama program started with his first team, during the 2000-01 campaign as the Jags finished with a record of 13-16.  The thirteen victories were the most wins in a season for the program in over 10 years.   The turnaround continued the next season, as USA posted the first winning season since the 1989-90 season with a 17-11 record. Two years later, the Lady Jags finished 22-7 after opening the season with a 14-1 record and won the division crown for the second straight year.   During Pietri's tenure, the Jags posted a 130-54 (.707) record at home, including setting an arena record with 14 home wins during the 2008-09 season.  The Jags finished with a winning record in five of his last six years, including three straight years with a 17-13 record from 2010-11 through the 2012-13 season.    One of USAs best defensive clubs was the 2003-04 squad, which finished the campaign ranked eighth in the nation in scoring defense (55.0 ppg) and led the Sun Belt in that category for the third straight year. In 2011-12, South Alabama once again led the league and ranked 11th nationally while allowing a school-record low 52.8 ppg.   Pietri brought in an established pattern of winning and success to the South Alabama program in the spring of 2000. In only his second season at St. Pauls High School in Mobile, his 1999-2000 boys team finished with the schools best record, 26-5, and first playoff win in the history of the program. After that season, he was voted Mobile County Private School Coach of the Year by local coaches, his fifth county Coach of the Year award in six years.    The boys teams Pietri coached at Mobiles B.C. Rain High School from 1995-98 each garnered a winning percentage at or above 75 percent. He led his B.C. Rain teams to four consecutive appearances in Alabamas  Final Four. His 1997 squad finished 28-7 and won the 5A State Championship, while his teams finished as runners-up in 1996 and 1998.  Pietri was named 1998 5A State Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and was also named Coach of the Year for Southwest Alabama each season he coached at B.C. Rain.   Pietri began his collegiate coaching career as a men's assistant at Spring Hill College for four seasons (1989-93), before joining Duane Reboul's staff at Birmingham Southern in 1993-94.   Before he gained his degree from South Alabama, Pietri was a 1983 graduate of De La Salle High School in New Orleans, La.   Pietri is married to the former Suzanne Odom, a Mobile native. They have two sons, Wesley (22) and Jordan (20).  

Wise begins his fourth season with the Jacksonville State womens basketball program.  Wise was Rick Pietris first additions at JSU as the two worked together for eight seasons at South Alabama.  Wise mentors the Jax State post players along with steering the programs recruiting efforts along with travel logistics for the club.  He helped former Gamecock Miranda Cantrell become one of the Ohio Valley Conferences top post players as she finished her career in 2015 with over 600 rebounds and a viable scoring threat in the paint.  Under Wise JSUs post presence has ranked among the leaders in the league.  The 2014-15 squad ranked third in the OVC in rebounding margin with 40. 5 rebounds per game.  In 2015-16, Jax State was listed fourth in rebounding percentage and third in defensive rebounding percentage.  After posting a 14-win season in 2013-14 the Gamecocks soared to heights unseen in the programs NCAA Division I history.  JSU turned in a 19-10 overall mark the most wins in JSUs Division I era.  The Gamecocks started strong by winning nine of the games in the first two months of the season and the best start since the 1990-91 campaign.  The nine non-conference wins by JSU marked the most since moving to Division I.  Pietris club made back-to-back appearances in the OVC Tournament for the first time since the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He helped the Gamecocks to a 14-18 overall mark, but induced a 13-win turnaround from the 1-27 season in 2012-13.  The turnaround was one of the best in NCAA Womens Division I Basketball. Wise was instrumental in the success of the USA program in Mobile, Ala.  Along side Pietri, the Jaguars were a contender in the Sun Belt Conference, capturing back-to-back Sun Belt West Division titles in 2003 and 2004.  South also made consecutive WNIT postseason appearances in 2003 and 2004. The Jags finished with a winning record in five of his last six years, including three straight years with a 17-13 record from 2010-11 through the 2012-13 season. Prior to his stint in Mobile, he has coached at McNeese State and at Bethune-Cookman University.  While at UL-Monroe, Wise was a staff member of one of the programs all-time great teams, as the 2000-01 squad finished 20-9 overall and 17-3 in Southland Conference play. Before entering the college ranks, Wise spent four years (1996-2000) as the head girls coach at West Feliciana High. He led his teams to the playoffs every year and won three district titles and was named Coach of the Year three times. He began his coaching career as the boys basketball head coach at Opelousas Catholic. There, he produced one co-district championship team in his four-year stint (1992-96). His 1993-94 and 1994-95 teams advanced to the playoffs. Wise has two daughters, Jerilyn and Imani.