WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women's basketball head coach Katie Gearlds welcomed Lakan Hasser-Smith to the Boilermaker family this week as the program's new Director of Video and Recruiting Assistant.
After a standout playing career at McCutcheon High School and Marian, Hasser-Smith moved into the coaching ranks as an assistant for five seasons under Gearlds with the Knights.
"I'm so jacked to have Lake join our program here and have her back on my team," Gearlds said. "She is a local legend turned college All-American at Marian. She was one of our best players and hardest workers and became a loyal assistant to me. We were a part of a lot of wins and championships together. I've ready to have her help bring back that championship pedigree to Purdue. We got better today."
Over nine seasons at Marian as a player and a coach, Hasser-Smith won 244 games, two NAIA National Championships, 10 Crossroads League titles and made seven appearances in the NAIA Tournament.
"I cannot thank Coach KG enough for this opportunity," Hasser-Smith said. "I had an incredible experience when I played for and worked on her staff. She has an amazing ability to impact the lives of her players to win basketball games on the court and make them even better people off it. I look forward to joining this staff and help this program take the next steps."
During her five campaigns as an assistant coach on Gearlds' staff, Hasser-Smith helped guide the team to a 2017 NAIA National Championship and eight league titles. Ten Knights garnered All-America honors while she was on staff, as well as 22 All-Crossroads League selections. She also served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for three seasons.
Hasser-Smith's jump to the coaching ranks came on the heels of one of the best careers in Marian history. The program's all-time leading scorer with 2,000 points, she averaged 15 points, 3.9 rebounds 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Hasser-Smith led Marian to a Crossroads League Tournament title in 2014-15, before leading the Knights to the 2016 NAIA National Championship, the first in program history.
Hasser-Smith was named an All-American and Crossroads League Player of the Year in 2016 and garnered three All-Crossroad League nods. She still owns the records for most points scored and field goals made in a career and single season.
She graduated with a degree in sports performance in 2016.
Prior to playing at Marian, Hasser-Smith broke the McCutcheon school record with 1,416 and was tabbed the All-Area Player of the Year, three-time all-conference and an IBCA First Team All-State.