18 Aug 2021 Banks hired as assistant coach
CONWAY – Allie Banks has been hired as a Hendrix assistant, head coach Drew Gaeng announced.
“I am thrilled to have Coach Banks in our program,” Gaeng said. “She is a great person and an extremely hard worker. She will make a huge impact on this program, and we are fortunate to have her.”
Prior to Hendrix, Banks served as an assistant coach during the 2020-21 season for Division II Mississippi College.
“I would like to thank Coach Gaeng and director of athletics Amy Weaver for the opportunity to work at Hendrix,” Banks commented. “I am excited to work for Coach Gaeng and help continue to push this program to be its best. I am looking forward to meeting each of our players and helping them grow throughout their time at Hendrix.”
Prior to working for the Lady Choctaws, Banks was an assistant coach for Division II Arkansas-Monticello in 2019-20, helping the Blossoms to a 20-11 overall record, their first 20-win season since 1997-98. Picked to finish 12th in the Great American Conference (GAC) preseason coaches’ poll, Arkansas-Monticello made its first appearance in the league’s tournament championship game in program history.
Banks helped Arkansas-Monticello become one of the top defenses in the country, as the Blossoms ranked in per game averages 24th in steals, 34th in forced turnovers and 45th in scoring defense.
Banks helped oversee the development of Berniezha Tidwell, a Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Central Region and All-GAC first team guard and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Tidwell ranked fifth nationally in steals per game and steals. Her 95 total steals were the second highest in a single season in GAC history. Tidwell also ranked third in the conference in per game averages for scoring, eighth in assists and 12th in rebounds.
Banks was a student assistant at NAIA Central Baptist (Ark.) for two seasons with the men’s basketball team (2017-19) and one season (2017-18) with the women’s basketball program.
In the 2018-19 campaign, Banks helped the Mustangs men’s basketball team win their first American Midwest Conference Championship (AMC) title and reach the NAIA National Championship Round of 16 for a second-consecutive season after going 22-11 overall.
Banks helped Percell Washington become a second team All-America and first team All-AMC guard. The AMC All-Defensive Team selection finished fourth in the nation in field goal percentage, sixth in rebounds and seventh in rebounds per game. Washington became the second player to earn All-America recognition after Da’Jon Streeter earned honorable mention honors a season before.
In 2017-18, Banks helped the Central Baptist men’s basketball squad to a 21-9 overall mark, including 16-6 in league play and 12-2 at home, and its first appearance in the Round of 16 in program history. The Mustangs earned their first Top 25 ranking ever after winning 14-straight games, checking in as high as No. 18. Central Baptist defeated three Top 25 teams, including the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
Two players were named to the All-AMC second team, one to the third team and one to the All-Defensive Team.
Banks played forward during the 2016-17 season for NAIA Crowley’s Ridge.
Banks earned a Bachelor of Science as a double major in kinesiology and sports management from Central Baptist in 2019 and Master of Science in sports management from Central Arkansas in 2021. The Beebe, Ark. native attended Rose Bud High School.
Hendrix returns three starters and 11 letter winners from a season ago, headlined by Kennedi Burns, the D3hoops.com South Region Rookie of the Year, Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Newcomer of the Year and All-SAA honorable mention guard.
