Last Monday, Penn State named Coquese Washington head coach of the Lady Lions, making her the first black female varsity head coach at Penn State.

For a program that has come under heavy scrutiny lately with controversial figure Rene Portland, the move is a leap in the right direction for the Lady Lions -- and that's not just because Washington is the first minority coach to lead the program.

During her introductory press conference last week, Washington enthusiastically answered all questions, displaying a warmth that has been missing lately around the program under Portland.

At that press conference, Washington said her main objective is to provide a "world-class" experience for her players. She wants to them to grow as players on the court and people off the court, she said. That's an excellent plan for a program that has seen a former player file a lawsuit against Portland and watched as the entire 2004 recruiting class left the school for opportunities they deemed more fruitful.

At 36, Washington is a young head coach, even by rookie standards. She's never led a program before, but she said she's ready for the challenge. Her resume does nothing to discount that claim.

She started at point guard at Notre Dame for four years, played in the WNBA for a number of years, winning a title with Houston in 2000 under Hall of Fame coach Van Chancellor, and she was the founding president of the WNBA's Players' Association.

In 1999, she took an assistant coaching job at Notre Dame under Muffet McGraw, serving at that position for six years before being promoted to associate head coach, a position she held until last Monday.

At Notre Dame, Washington had a hand in recruiting eight straight classes ranked in the Top 10 nationally, so landing Pennsylvania's top talent shouldn't be a challenge for her.

Despite all that, fans should expect some growing pains. One player has already transferred and an assistant coach turnover is inevitable -- Susan Robinson-Fruchtl has already left to take the St. Francis head coaching job. But that's to be expected in the wake of a coaching change.

Given time, it seems that Washington should be able to succeed at Penn State. Her players said they were excited for a fresh start, and Washington said last week she'd hit the recruiting trail as soon as possible to find the newest generation of Lady Lions.

And though Tim Curley and the athletic department received criticism for a coaching search that took more than a month, it seems the thorough search has concluded with an excellent hire that could possibly mark the end of a tarnished image for the Lady Lions program.