Tom Abatemarco returns for his sixth full season as the Monarchs assistant coach after a one-season (2003-04) stint as an assistant coach at the University of Utah. Abatemarco and former Monarchs Head Coach John Whisenant initially teamed up midway through the 2003 season, in which the two guided the team to the WNBA Western Conference Finals, a feat they would reach again in 2004 before winning a championship together in 2005.

Additionally, Abatemarco recently served as an assistant coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBDL during its 2008-09 season. He helped the team finish with an overall record of 25-25.

Abatemarco brings extensive coaching experience to the Monarchs. Prior to his position at the University of Utah and his time at Maloof Sports & Entertainment, Abatemarco was the head coach of Sacramento State’s Men’s Basketball team. He has also served as an assistant at Rutgers University under Bob Wenzel. Before that, Abatemarco spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Colorado, Boulder, under Joe Harrington. From 1982-86, Abatemarco served as Jim Valvano’s assistant at North Carolina State where he was a member of the Wolfpack staff for the team’s 1983 NCAA Championship. Additional coaching experience came as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech (1981-82); Maryland under Lefty Driesell (1979-81); St. John’s under Lou Carneseca (1978-79); Davidson (1977-78); Iona (1975-77); the New York Institute of Technology (1974-75) and his alma mater, Dowling College.

In addition to his head coach position at Sacramento State, Abatemarco served two terms as an NCAA Division I head coach at Lamar University (1986-88) and Drake University (1988-90).