Keani Albanez

[ZAG65]

Former Gonzaga women’s player Keani Albanez becomes assistant coach for SBCC men’s basketball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Keani Albanez has been playing basketball with and against males for most of her life in youth leagues and in pick-up games.

Now she is excited to get to coach men's players as she accepted an assistant coaching job for the Santa Barbara City College men's basketball team.

She joins the staff of new head coach Devin Engebretsen.

[sittingon50]

[ZagDad84]

Nice article in today's Spokesman-Review on Keani Albanez:

Former Gonzaga player Keani Albanez hired as assistant for Santa Barbara City College men’s team
By Jim Meehan
jimm@spokesman.com
(208) 659-3791

Basketball helped Santa Barbara native Keani Albanez see a lot of the U.S. and the world.

Now the sport has brought the former Gonzaga women’s basketball player back home. Not to play hoops, but to coach. She’s been hired as an assistant coach for the Santa Barbara City College men’s team, adding her name to an extremely short list of women coaching for a men’s college basketball program.

“It’s come full circle,” the upbeat Albanez said in a phone interview. “It’s the best thing ever. I was always waiting for a reason to stay at home and the opportunity presented itself.”

Albanez has played professionally in China, Greece, Switzerland, Germany and most recently Egypt since her Gonzaga career (2012-15) ended with a second-team All-WCC selection as a senior. She returned to Santa Barbara when her pro seasons finished, usually for a month or two before flying back overseas, but the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted her season in Egypt last spring.

Albanez delayed her trip home to California attempting to secure money she’d earned playing for the team. She was mostly successful in that endeavor. She declined months later when the Egyptian team asked her to return to complete the season at a lower pay scale.

“I was sad,” said Albanez, who turned 27 on Wednesday. “They wanted me back to finish the season because we were in three different playoff championships but at that point it would only be for a month and they didn’t want to pay full salary.”

You can read the entire article here: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...ired-as-assis/

ZagDad

[Fonebone]

She was one of my favorites always. She played with such joy and passion and intensity.


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[SkipZag]

Keaui was heart...

Had all three of my granddaughters in GU WBB summer camps with Keaui. She was great with them.
We took the girls to a Portland game in Portland and after the game the girls met with the players... Keaui introduced them to CV who was at the game with her parents and also made sure all of the the players signed the girls GU tee shirts.

Says a lot....

Go Zags!!