Angie (Potthoff) Barber Staff

Women's Basketball Assistant Coach


phone 631-0326
Email apotthof@nd.edu
Angie (Potthoff) Barber
Bio

Angie (Potthoff) Barber, a former All-America forward at Penn State University and three-year pro basketball veteran, is in her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Irish, having arrived at Notre Dame in May 2005.

With the Irish, Barber focuses her attention on the post game and coordinates game scheduling and team equipment/apparel needs, while also contributing to Notre Dame[apos]s nationally-ranked recruiting efforts and assisting with scouting and practice planning.

[quote]Angie spent her entire playing career at the highest level, both in college and the pros,[quote] Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said. [quote]Having a former post player with that kind of experience only makes us better. She[apos]s a hard-nosed, driven competitor who has a great desire to be successful, and that[apos]s what makes a great coach. I[apos]m thrilled to have her on our staff because she helps us across the board in so many ways.[quote]

It hasn[apos]t taken long for Barber to put her stamp on the Notre Dame post game. After successfully tutoring center Melissa D[apos]Amico to MVP honors at the 2005 Las Vegas Duel in the Desert, and subsequently, her selection as BIG EAST Player of the Week, Barber has made big strides in the development of center Erica Williamson. An unheralded rookie out of Charlotte, N.C., Williamson was a highly-productive reserve in her first season at Notre Dame, averaging 6.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the way to a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Williamson also led the Irish with 39 blocked shots (1.26 per game), which ranked ninth in the BIG EAST and was the third-highest block total by a freshman in school history.

Last season, Williamson moved into the starting lineup for 21 games, while experiencing increases in her scoring average (6.4 ppg.), her field goal percentage (.468) and her free throw percentage (.683) while scoring in double figures seven times.

Prior to joining the Irish, Barber spent six years in the high school and college coaching ranks (1999-2005). Most recently, she concluded a three-year stint at Beaver (Pa.) Area High School, the first two as an assistant girls[apos] basketball coach before elevating to the head coaching post for the 2004-05 season. In her three years at the school, the Bobcats logged a 38-36 record and twice advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 3A playoffs, finishing as one of the top 32 teams in the state.

Prior to arriving at BAHS, Barber spent two seasons (2000-02) as an assistant coach at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pa. While there, she worked primarily with the Colonials[apos] post players, and also helped coordinate the team[apos]s recruiting, scouting and game scheduling efforts. Barber began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana (Pa.) University in 1999-2000, aiding the Indians to a 24-5 record (the second-highest win total in school history), a school-record No. 4 national ranking during the season, and a trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs, where only a double-overtime loss kept IUP from advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight. That season, Barber worked closely with the Indians[apos] 6-foot-5 center, Melissa McGill, who led the team in scoring (13.6 ppg.), rebounding (8.2 rpg.) and blocked shots (a school-record 69) en route to earning WBCA all-district honors.

Under her maiden name, Barber is perhaps best known as a standout post player at Penn State, where she led the Nittany Lions to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16 trips and a berth in the 1994 regional final. While at PSU,

Barber was a two-time Kodak/WBCA honorable mention All-American (1996, 1997), while also garnering three All-America nods from the Associated Press (third team in 1996; honorable mention in 1995 & 1997). She was a three-time first-team all-Big Ten Conference selection (1995-97) and was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team in 1995 and 1996, picking up Most Valuable Player honors in the latter season after sparking Penn State to its second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title.

In each of her final three seasons at Penn State, Barber led the Nittany Lions in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, winning a share of the Big Ten scoring title and finishing second in rebounding in 1997. To this day, she still remains among the top six on PSU[apos]s career lists for scoring (1,725 points/15.5 ppg.), rebounding (918/8.3 rpg.), field goal percentage (.574/709-1,235) and double-doubles (47). Barber graduated from Penn State in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science.

Following her stellar college career, Barber spent three seasons playing professionally in the United States. In 1997, she was a second-round draft pick (No. 12 overall) by the Columbus Quest of the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL). There, she averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as the Quest won their second consecutive ABL championship in 1998 before the league folded midway through the 1998-99 campaign. The following summer, Barber was selected in the fourth round (49th overall) of the WNBA Draft by the expansion Minnesota Lynx. She cracked the starting lineup for the first game in franchise history, going on to average 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game that season before electing to retire as an active player and begin her coaching career.

In addition to her college and professional experience, Barber also competed on an international level. In 1997, she was named to the U.S. World University Games, where she averaged 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and helped Team USA win the gold medal with a perfect 6-0 record. Ironically, one of her teammates on the squad was former Notre Dame All-America standout and the school[apos]s all-time leading scorer, Beth Morgan (now the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth).

Born June 12, 1974 in Erie, Pa., Barber and her husband, Luke, live in South Bend.