Southmoreland grad Vanessa Abel promoted to Duquesne basketball associate head coach

She once talked about becoming an FBI agent or working for the secret service. But the magnetism of basketball kept pulling Vanessa Abel back to the bench.

Abel’s calling appears to be coaching, and her ascent in the profession continued Monday with a promotion.

The Southmoreland graduate was named associate head coach of the Duquesne women’s basketball team.

An assistant for the last five years, Abel, 35, returned to her alma mater in 2019 and quickly moved up to offensive coordinator. The Dukes led the Atlantic 10 Conference in 3-pointers per game after she took control of the play-calling.

Last season, six players from Duquesne scored more than 1,000 points.

As players matured around her, Abel saw her coaching skills begin to sharpen. So did her boss.

“Vanessa has worked very hard in all areas of our program to earn this position,” Dukes coach Dan Burt said in a news release.

“From the first moments of Vanessa’s career as a player at Duquesne, to today, I’ve always known that no one will outwork or care more for Duquesne. I’m incredibly proud that Vanessa has been a part of our program for more than half of her adult life. Vanessa is family.”

Abel scored 2,327 points to set the all-time record for points at Southmoreland.

After her college career ended at Duquesne, she played professionally in Europe for five years.

Abel has made it known she wants to be a head coach.

“I am honored and humbled,” Abel said of her promotion. “I am extremely grateful for this new position and excited to continue to build on the foundation we’ve laid together as a program.”

Abel was one of three Atlantic 10 coaches to be selected to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Next Generation Institute last season.

Before returning to Duquesne, Abel also coached briefly as an assistant at Western Michigan and St. Francis (Pa.).

When she played, Abel helped the Dukes to four 20-win seasons and ranked in the program top 10 for career assists, steals and 3-point shooting percentage.