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Phoenix Mercury adds legendary ASU women's coach to coaching staff

Former ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne is set to join the Phoenix Mercury staff as an assistant coach.

PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.

The Phoenix Mercury coaching staff will soon have a familiar face for Valley sports fans.

The team announced Friday that Arizona State University coaching legend Charli Turner Thorne will be joining the team as an assistant coach. She joins interim head coach Nikki Blue’s staff, alongside assistant coaches Tully Bevilaqua and Taja Edwards.

“Charli is one of the top coaches in women’s basketball – a proven winner – and I am excited to be able to coach alongside her again,” Blue said.  “She brings more than 28 years of experience to the Mercury, and will be invaluable in providing our players with every opportunity to improve individually and as a team.”

Turner Thorne recently spent 25 seasons as the head coach at ASU before retiring in March 2022. She is the winningest coach in ASU program history and the second-winningest coach in Pac-12 women’s basketball history.

Blue already has a familiarity with the ASU legend because she was also a member of Turner Thorne’s coaching staff at Arizona State from 2019-2022.

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