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Heather Zurich

Heather Zurich in 2010
Personal information
Born	(1987-10-23) October 23, 1987 (age 37)
Nationality	American
Career information
High school	Pascack Valley (Hillsdale, New Jersey)
College	Rutgers (2005–2009)
Playing career	2009–2010
Coaching career	2010–2017
Career history
As player:
2009–2010	Leidsche Rijn
As coach:
2010–2011	Wagner (assistant)
2011–2015	UC Santa Barbara (assistant)
2015–2017	LIU Brooklyn (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Dutch League All-Star (2010)

Heather N. Zurich (born October 23, 1987) is an American former basketball player and coach. She played college basketball for Rutgers University from 2005 to 2009 before playing professionally for one season in the Netherlands. Following her playing career, she became a college basketball coach.

Early life and education

Heather Zurich is the daughter of George and Lorrie Zurich of Montvale, N.J. and is the oldest of three children. She has a sister, Monica and a brother, Stephen. Zurich started playing basketball through Heather Miles-Pascack Valley Basketball and coach Jeff Jasper. Before deciding to focus solely on hoops as she got older, Zurich also played soccer and softball.

In spring 2009, Zurich graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Sport Management and Exercise Science. Zurich completed two semesters towards her Master's of Business Administration during her time as a graduate assistant coach at Wagner College.

High school career

A native of Montvale, New Jersey, Zurich attended Pascack Valley High School located in northern Bergen County. As a senior, Zurich earned a spot on the Star-Ledger, The Record and Associated Press All-State First Teams. She finished her high school career with 1,798 career points and led Pascack Valley to a four-year record of 106–9 and four league titles. In her senior year in 2005, she led Pascack Valley to a 29–2 mark, winning the Group 2 state title and advancing to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.

Collegiate career

Heather Zurich helped lead the Scarlet Knights to 102 victories over four seasons. Rutgers reached the NCAA Sweet 16 all four years of Zurich's tenure, making a National Championship appearance in 2007. In the 2009 playoffs, Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer cited Zurich as the "'X' factor" in defeating number 2-ranked Auburn and advancing to the regional semifinals.

Professional career

In 2009 at the conclusion of her collegiate career, Heather Zurich signed a professional contract with Autocad Amazone Leidsche Rijn of the Dames Eredivisie in The Netherlands.

During the regular season, Zurich was second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rpg), steals (85) and blocked shots (18), propelling the AutoCAD Amazone Leidsche Rijn team to a 16–13 record and a fourth-place finish in the Dames Eredivisie with a 15–11 divisional record.

In the post-season, Zurich helped lead the team to a 2–3 post-season record and a position in the semi-finals where the team lost to the ProBuild Lions. She finished first in scoring (72) and second in rebounding (37) while recording 2 games with double-digit scoring and rebounding.

Coaching career

Wagner

Zurich's first coaching assignment was as a graduate assistant coach at Wagner on Staten Island, New York. She worked primarily with assistant coach Brett Self on individual post player development and assisted on perimeter instruction. Zurich assisted Coach Mikalauskas in leading the Wagner Seahawks in the 2010–11 season to a 12–17 overall record and 5–13 record in the Northeast Conference.

UC Santa Barbara

In May 2011, Zurich hired on as a full-time assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara in California.

Zurich assisted Coach Mitchell in leading the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the 2011–12 season to a 17–16 overall record (8–8 in Big West Conference play) with a 6th-place finish in conference play and a Big West Conference Tournament Championship. The Gauchos earned an automatic bid to the post-season NCAA Tournament where they lost in the first round to the eventual national champion, Baylor University.

In her second season at UC Santa Barbara, Zurich assisted Coach Mitchell in leading the Gauchos in the 2012–13 season to a 16–17 overall record (11–7 in Big West Conference play) with a fourth-place finish in conference play. The Gauchos earned an invitation to the WNIT post-season tournament where they lost in the first round to San Diego State University.

Zurich's third season assisting at UC Santa Barbara was a tough one for the Gauchos, falling to an 8–22 overall record (3–14 in Big West Conference play) with an 8th-place finish in conference play.

In her fourth and final season assisting at UC Santa Barbara, the Gauchos had a difficult and disappointing season with a 2–27 overall record (2–14 in Big West Conference play) with a 9th-place finish in conference play.

LIU Brooklyn

In June 2015, Zurich joined the staff of Stephanie Oliver as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for LIU Brooklyn in New York.

Zurich assisted Coach Oliver in leading the Long Island University-Brooklyn Blackbirds in the 2015–16 season to a 9–21 overall record (7–11 in Northeast Conference play) with a 7th-place finish in conference play.

In her second season and last season assisting at Long Island University-Brooklyn, the Blackbirds had a 6–23 overall record (5–13 in Northeast Conference play) with a 9th-place finish in conference play. Following the season, Zurich left the ranks of coaching and pursued a professional career in the private sector.

Statistics

College

Professional statistics

Legend

References

1. Tara Sullivan (December 26, 2007). "Zurich maturing into a starring role". The Record. pp. S1–S4. Retrieved January 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Making It Happen";Kate Burkholder; www.scarletknights.com
   
3. "Zurich Accepts Position on University of California-Santa Barbara Women's Basketball Staff";Wagner College Athletics
   
4. "As her career at Rutgers draws to a close, senior Heather Zurich has no regrets", Fensom, Michael J., Inside Jersey, March 2, 2009.
5. Zach Miller (June 9, 2020). "Heather Zurich voted North Jersey's greatest athlete". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
6. Tim Leonard (March 23, 2005). "Fundamentally good". The Record. p. X8. Retrieved January 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Former Rutgers Standout Zurich Named Assistant Coach"; May 18, 2010; Wagner College Athletics
8. Bridget Wentworth (March 25, 2009). "Scrappy Heather Zurich key to Rutgers women moving on in NCAA Tournament". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
9. Michael J. Fensom (August 24, 2009). "Former Rutgers forward Heather Zurich signs to play in the Netherlands". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
10. "Basketball Agents". eurobasket.com. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
11. Danny Colvin (May 18, 2010). "Wagner women's basketball tabs Heather Zurich as graduate assistant". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
12. "Zurich aan de slag bij Wagner Seahawks". RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). June 18, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
13. "Mitchell starts putting staff together, hires 2 former Rutgers players"; Barry Punzal; Presidio Sports; May 26, 2011
14. "Wagner's Zurich accepts California position";Danny Colvin; SILive.com; June 7, 2011
    
15. LIU Brooklyn Athletics, ""Gardner and Zurich Join Women’s Basketball Staff Archived June 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine"
16. "Heather Zurich College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
17. "2009–10 AutoCAD Amazone Leidsche Rijn Dames Eredivisie Basketball"; Luc Reuvers; Team Scout
    

External links

• Dutch league statistics at Basketball Nederland

• 1987 births
• Living people
• American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands
• American women's basketball coaches
• American women's basketball players
• Basketball coaches from New Jersey
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball players
• Pascack Valley High School alumni
• People from Montvale, New Jersey
• Basketball players from Bergen County, New Jersey
• UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's basketball coaches