By Randy Whalen
Correspondent

Allee Hernandez has accrued many years of basketball experience as a player and as an assistant coach.

She will soon embark on a new experience as a head coach at Stagg, where she will be the Chargers first new head coach in 16 seasons.

She succeeds Bill Turner, who stepped down after 15 years as head coach of the Chargers.

Hernandez said the coaches she had as a player inspired her to one day want to be a head coach.

“Just realizing that these coaches impacted me, I want to do the same for kids,” she said. “I’ve had so many great coaches. I want to take those experiences and expertise from them and make my own experience.”

Hernandez played high school hoops at Providence, from where she graduated in 2016 before playing college basketball at the University of St. Francis until 2020.

Her younger sister, Jenna, played basketball at Joliet Catholic and is currently a junior playing at Saint Xavier University.

“To still have a sister that’s playing is really cool,” Hernandez said. “Just to be able to throw ideas at her and talk about the game is awesome to have.”

Hernandez was an assistant freshman girls basketball coach in 2021-2022 and a varsity assistant the past two seasons, so she has spent time with many of the girls she will be coaching next season.

“I think the legacy that Stagg carries is that we’re going to give it everything we have,” Hernandez said. “We have tough-nosed kids that are going to give everything and leave it all on the floor.”

“It’s fun. The girls want to step up to that challenge.”

 

Turner’s Legacy

In 15 seasons under Turner, Stagg finished with more than 200 wins and won three SouthWest Suburban Red Championships. The Chargers went 19-13 last season, which for them ended with a 36-33 loss to Lincoln-Way Central 36-33 in the Class 4A Andrew Regional title game.

“I have mixed emotions,” Turner said of stepping down. “It was a lot of fun.

“I was very grateful to have the opportunity to coach a varsity team here. I’m going to miss it. I know having an opportunity to influence kids was tremendous.”

Turner played baseball and basketball at Stagg and graduated in 1973. He met his future wife, Susan, there and his daughters, Adrienne and Angela, both played and coached for the Chargers.

He has no doubt Hernandez succeed.

“She’s going to be great,” he said. “She has a basketball background and a great understanding of the game. A big strength is her great player-coach relationships.”