Sunday's game against Northwestern will be his 800th heading up the Blue Demon program
A veteran of the DePaul system, assistant coach Candis Blankson is entering her 12th season on the Blue Demon bench. A true champion of the DePaul program, Blankson wore the Blue Demon uniform in over 100 games from 1997-01 before moving into a coaching role prior to the 2001-02 campaign.
Cooresponding with the start of the 2011-12 season, Blankson was named on of the Top 25 High Major Women's College Basketball Assistants by Jason Belzer from CollegeInsider.com.
Eleven seasons ago, she added recruiting to her responsibilities as well as working with the players and day-to-day operations of the DePaul women's basketball program.
The Blue Demons have put together 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first Sweet 16 appearance in 2006-07 and its second in 2010-11 -- both with Blankson on the bench.
Since joining the staff, the Blue Demons have won an impressive 243 games while they have put together eight 20-win seasons. In the last nine seasons alone, the Blue Demons have posted a winning percentage of .719 (210-82). During Blankson's tenure on the bench, she has worked with 32 all-conference performers, including two Freshman of the Year and a three of Sixth Players of the Year.
As a student-athlete, Blankson etched her name in the DePaul record books during her four seasons. She finished her career ranked eighth all-time with 72 three-point field goals and 22nd with 104 games played. She registered 33 double-figure scoring games in her career, including 19 times as a senior.
In her senior season, the 5-9 guard was one of the most versatile players on the roster as she led the team with 28.3 minutes per game and 70 offensive rebounds, while her 85 assists were second on the squad. Blankson ranked in the top 25 in Conference USA in five different categories. She was 13th in assists and three-point field goal percentage, 14th in offensive rebounds, 15th in three-pointers made and 22nd in scoring.
As much as she excelled on the court, Blankson was just as good in the classroom. She was a three-time Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member and twice nominated as an Academic All-American. Her effort in the classroom helped DePaul to finish in the WBCA Academic Top 20 in two of her last three seasons.
The valedictorian at Hillcrest High School was a National Scholastic Coaches Association All-American Scholar Athlete. She was also named a Chicago Tribune Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a member of the National Honor Society. Basketball runs in the Blankson family as two of Candis' brothers played Division I college basketball. Ryan played at Loyola-Chicago while Odartey played at both Marquette and UNLV.
Blankson is a memer of the WBCA and resides in Chicago.
