Heather N. Zurich (born October 23, 1987) is an American former basketball player and coach. She played college basketball for

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

from 2005 to 2009 before playing professionally for one season in the Netherlands. Following her playing career, she became a

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

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."Making It Happen";Kate Burkholder; www.scarletknights.co

br /> In spring 2009, Zurich graduated from

with a degree in Sport Management and Exercise Science. Zurich completed two semesters towards her Master of Business Administration, Master's of Business Administration during her time as a graduate assistant coach at

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

."Zurich Accepts Position on University of California-Santa Barbara Women's Basketball Staff";Wagner College Athletic

br />

High school career

A native of

Montvale, New Jersey Montvale is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 7,844,"As her career at Rutgers draws to a close, senior Heather Zurich has no regrets"
Fensom, Michael J., '' Inside Jersey'', March 2, 2009. Zurich attended

Pascack Valley High School Pascack Valley High School (PVHS) is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located in Hillsdale in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of two secondary schools in th ...

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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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 Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

on Staten Island, New York. She worked primarily with assistant coach Brett Self on individual post player development and assisted on perimeter instruction.Former Rutgers Standout Zurich Named Assistant Coach
; May 18, 2010; Wagner College Athletics 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 The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

in California.Mitchell starts putting staff together, hires 2 former Rutgers players
; Barry Punzal; Presidio Sports; May 26, 2011"Wagner's Zurich accepts California position";Danny Colvin; SILive.com; June 7, 201

br /> 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 LIU Brooklyn is a private university in Brooklyn, New York. It is the original unit and first of two main campuses of the private Long Island University system. Campus LIU Brooklyn is located at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenu ...

in New York.LIU Brooklyn Athletics,
"Gardner and Zurich Join Women’s Basketball Staff
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 statistics

Professional statistics

Legend

References

External links

Dutch league statistics
at

Basketball Nederland Basketball Netherlands ( nl, Basketbal Nederland) is the governing body of basketball in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1947, and are headquartered in Nieuwegein. Basketball Nederland operates the Netherlands men's national team and Netherl ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurich, Heather 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