The hot, humid days of mid-August were not the happiest of times for the women’s basketball program. Head coach Jane Albright saw her staff of three dwindle to one as fast as you could say chop-chop.

The departures of Yvette Harris and Lynnette Robinson left Albright with part-time assistant Debbie Patterson to share the Huskie offices with.

Albright’s first step was to elevate Patterson to full-time status. The second step was completed Wednesday when Kim Duppins signed as Albright’s second full-time assistant. A new part-timer will be named shortly.

Albright said Duppins’ path to DeKalb was paved by the coaching grapevine.

“Her name kept coming up with different coaches when I was calling around asking about assistants,” Albright said. “What finally happened was her old coach, Mary Lou Johns (an old friend of Albright’s from Memphis State), gave her an excellent recommendation.”

Duppins is fresh from a three-year head coaching stay at Francis Scott Key High School in Union Bridge, Md. In her college playing days, as a 6-foot-1 foward at Memphis State, she won spots in the top 10 of 10 career categories.

Among her achievements were 281 steals, placing her third on the MSU charts. In light of this, Albright said she expects Duppin to aid the post players on defensive skills.

“Her defensive game—if you look at her career, that was her strong point—will be beneficial,” Albright said. “She’ll be able to help the post players with their steals and blocks as well as the offensive fundamentals.”

“I’ll help them with their moves,” Duppin said of her plans for the centers and forwards, “and try to improve their speed and quickness, although they look pretty quick already.”