Former Prairie View A&M interim head coach Aaron A. Swinson joined the Northwestern State women’s basketball staff in September of 2018.
Swinson spent the two seasons prior at Prairie View A&M and was the interim head coach following the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. Prior to arriving at Prairie View, Swinson spent five seasons as an assistant at Cincinnati where he often crossed paths with Northwestern State head coach Jordan Dupuy and associate head coach Deneen Parker on the court and on the recruiting trail.
“Aaron and I go way back to our days in Conference USA,” Dupuy said. “He, (associate head coach) Deneen (Parker) and I had many battles together, both on the court and on the recruiting trail. Aaron has many special qualities that will serve our program well. To have someone of his caliber available this late is truly a blessing to me, and our program just took a huge step in the right direction we want it to go in. I’m excited to have him working alongside me.”
Swinson was an assistant at Tulsa for three seasons before moving to Cincinnati. He also spent one season as an assistant coach with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA G League.
Professional development has been important to Swinson as he has participated in the 2016 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Center for Coaching Excellence and was part of the Black Coaches Association’s Achieving Coaching Excellence Program.
A Brunswick, Georgia, native, Swinson began his coaching career as the head girls basketball coach at Holland Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, leading the Dutch to the 2006 Southwest Preparatory Conference Division 2 title.
A three-year letterman and two-year starter at Auburn from 1991-94, Swinson twice was named All-Southeastern Conference and ended his career shooting .609 from the floor, trailing only Charles Barkley on Auburn’s all-time list.
Swinson averaged 16.9 points per game in his Tigers career and scored 1,386 points, ranking 12th in Tigers history.
Following his time at Auburn, Swinson joined the Phoenix Suns before being drafted in the first round of the Continental Basketball Association draft by the Yakima Sun Kings. Swinson was named first-team all-rookie and was the team’s MVP before moving on to play 10 seasons internationally in Italy, Spain, France and Argentina.
Swinson and his wife, Charlene Thomas-Swinson, have one son (Charles) and one daughter (Jada).
