Girls Basketball Welcomes a New Coach With the Retirement of Coach Cosgriff

With the departure of Superstar Point Guard Paige Bueckers and the recent retirement of Head Coach Brain Cosgriff, there are lots of question marks surrounding the Royals Girls Basketball team this upcoming season. 

Mrs. Tara Starks, head coach, is up for the challenge. Starks was hired for the job back in Aug., and has 25 years of coaching experience at Minneapolis North and as an AAU coach. 

“I’ve worked directly with Cosgriff for the last seven years, so I’m really familiar with some of the things that he did and worked with the kids on some of their offseason workouts as well,” said Starks.

This calls for an easy transition between coaches, as seven Hopkins players were on Stark’s AAU team this past summer as well. 

“I think I’m going to be a little more vocal than Cosgriff was in practice, but I’ve taken a lot of what we did and implemented into my coaching style,” said Starks. “I also like to leave it open to the players sometimes and let let them figure it out themselves which will be a little different.” 

Under Cosgriff, the Royals had a 569-67 record and won seven state championships. They were on the way to number eight as well as completing back-to-back undefeated seasons before their season was cut one game short because of the pandemic.

Starks plans to continue the winning ways at Hopkins and thinks that the Royals won’t skip a beat. 

“The winning culture will continue with hard work and commitment and I think that things will fall in line like they have in the past,” said Starks. 

Even with the departure of superstar point guard Paige Bueckers, as she continues her career at the University of Connecticut, the Royals are still a powerhouse and the favorites to win yet another state championship. 

“I’m so excited that there’s all this talent and high level players. They play together and none of them play selfishly,” said Starks. 

The Royals have a nearly unstoppable young core with Maya Nnaji, junior, Amaya Battle, junior, and Nunu Agara, sophomore.

“I’m really excited for this season and I can tell early on watching these ladies that they are going to accomplish big things this year,” said Starks. 

There may be some differences in the Royals lineup and Coaching Staff this upcoming season, but still expect them to be a dominant force across the state.