Original article (Tom Garrick Joins Women’s Basketball Staff) on the Boston College’s athletic website bceagles.com.
Boston College head coach Erik Johnson announced the addition of Tom Garrick to the women’s basketball staff. Garrick will replace longtime assistant coach Shelley Sheetz.
Sheetz has been one of Johnson’s trusted assistants for the last seven seasons and one of the top guard development coaches in the women’s game. Sheetz has chosen to take a time out from coaching after 15 years as a Division 1 coach.
“Through eleven years of working together every day, Shelley has had a huge positive influence on my development as a coach and as a person. Shelley has made huge contributions to every facet of our program, has been integral in the development of our players’ lives on and off the court, and will always remain a trusted friend and confidant to me, my family, and our players and staff. We will miss her presence here at BC every day, but she will always be a huge part of our lives,” said BC head coach Erik Johnson.
Garrick arrives at The Heights after working for the Vanderbilt women’s basketball program since the summer of 2009.
A native of Rhode Island, Garrick was an assistant at Vanderbilt and was promoted to associate head coach in 2013. He was instrumental in the development of some of the top guards in the SEC, as well as in Vanderbilt’s national recruiting efforts.
“We are incredibly fortunate to be able to attract a coach of Tom’s caliber to join our staff. Tom brings a wealth of high level experience to BC and is a perfect fit for our values and philosophy. He is well known as one of the great human beings in our business and will be a great positive influence on our players and staff,” said Coach Johnson of the Eagles new staff member.
Prior to his work at Vanderbilt, Garrick was the head coach at his alma mater, Rhode Island from 2005-09. He began coaching in 1998 as an assistant with the men’s program at Rhode Island. In 2001, he moved to the women’s program as an assistant. After a brief stint as an assistant at Virginia, Garrick was hired back as the head women’s basketball coach at URI in 2005.
Garrick brings his wealth of knowledge to the Heights after playing four seasons in the NBA, three with the LA Clippers, followed by short stints with San Antonio, Minnesota and Dallas. He also played overseas in Germany, Turkey and Spain over a five-year span.
A four-year letter winner at URI, Garrick was the captain of the 1988 team which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and compiled a program-best 28-7 record. Garrick, who was inducted into the URI Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, ranks 12th in the program’s all-time scoring list (1,573 points), fifth in assists (189) and third in, steals (189).