The Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis announced that the team had hired Nikki Fargas as the team’s president. Fargas coached at LSU for the past ten years. In her ten years as LSU coach, Fargas compiled a 176-128 and had five 20-win seasons. Fargas also led LSU to six NCAA Tournament appearances.
OFFICIAL: The Aces have hired Nikki Fargas as Team President.
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 12, 2021
Welcome to Las Vegas, Nikki!
Aces fans, join us in welcoming Nikki by showing her some love 💌📥#ALLIN ♦️♠️ pic.twitter.com/nctynbjJbl
Via press Mark Davis said Fargas checked all the boxes. “This was a very important step for the organization,” said Davis, “to find somebody who could help bring us into the future. Nikki definitely checked all the boxes.”
UCLA Years
Before coaching LSU, Fargas coached at UCLA for three years and posted a 75-26 record, posting two 20 plus wins seasons. Also, the former LSU coach led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. After the 2010 college basketball season, Fargas won Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The former head coach has a huge passion for the sport.
“When I made the decision to come here it was because I have a huge passion for the sport,” explained Fargas, “but more importantly I have a passion for our ability to be more than just a game. The impact that our players have had not just in the basketball community but society as a whole—I want to be a part of that. “We are going to do everything in our power to make our front office the best in the business, and provide our players with all the tools they need to bring a championship to Las Vegas.”
Coaching Start
The former UCLA head coach started her coaching career in 1998 when she worked for the late great Pat Summitt at Tennessee. Fargas also coached at Virginia before returning to back to Lady Vols in 2002. Fargas played her college basketball at Tennessee and was an outstanding defender and could shoot the three. In 1991 Fargas helped lead the Lady Vols to NCAA Championship.
This is a good move for the Aces; they get a president who knows the game of basketball and likes to do many things in the community. It also allows head coach Bill Laimbeer to coach the basketball team and not worry about front office work.
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