RETURN ENGAGEMENT: Grace Stone, right, guards a foe during her senior season with the Princeton University women’s basketball team. After playing pro overseas, Stone ’23 is returning to the Princeton program, having been recently named as its director of operations. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Justin Feil
When Tina Charles retired in May from the WNBA after 14 seasons, she explained: “When gratitude outweighs fear, I think that’s when you know it’s time.”
Former Princeton University women’s hoops standout Grace Stone ’23 understands and identifies with that quote as she switches gears after retiring from playing basketball overseas to returning to the Tigers program as its director of operations.
“For me, there’s just so much gratitude that I got to play in a Princeton jersey,” said Stone. “And now that I get to do it on the other side, it’s just like you walk into the gym every day and I can’t believe this is my job. I feel so lucky. So I definitely think it’ll be a little bit strange, but I’m excited.”
Stone, the hero of Princeton’s first-round 64-63 win over N.C. State in the 2023 NCAA tournament when she hit a game-winning three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the contest, is reuniting with new head coach Lauren Gosselin, who was named to replace Carla Berube after she left to become the Northwestern head coach. Gosselin was an assistant coach when Stone was playing for the Tigers.
“When she got this head coaching position, I was so, so happy for her just because as a human, she’s the best,” said Stone. “But also I was like, she is going to make this program incredible. And then when the position became available, I was like, it’s a no-brainer that I would want to work for her because she is an incredible leader. She knows the game so well. And she’s someone I trust.”
The pair worked together quite a lot when Stone was developing into a two-time All-Ivy League honoree. Stone graduated third all-time in games played with 118 and scored 807 points, had 408 rebounds and was an 80 percent free throw shooter, fifth-best all-time in Princeton history. Gosselin has to get some of the credit for her excellence as she worked with Stone as a guard/forward combination player.
“She would help me work on my game in my off time when we’re not on the court with the whole team,” said Stone. “And she was definitely somebody who I really respected, who I wanted to watch film with, who I wanted to talk basketball with. And I felt like she very much understood who I was as a player and was somebody who challenged me to become my best self as a player.”
Their tight-knit relationship made it easy for Stone to reach out when she felt she’d reached the end of her playing career. It wasn’t even two months after she played her final game in Australia that she was stepping into a new role on the basketball court.
“At some point, I was going to hang them up,” said Stone. “And I thought about coaching and what that would look like. And there was no set timeline for when I wanted to enter into the coaching world and start this new journey. But I think timing is everything. And when LB got the position, I felt like maybe it was time.”
Stone enjoyed her playing experiences. Her four years at Princeton she obviously treasured, but she went on to play three more years. She played overseas in Cyprus and Finland and then wrapped up her career in probably her favorite spot, Australia.
“It was definitely so fun to play overseas,” said Stone. “I was in Australia most recently, and it was genuinely just the best time of my life. I’m so glad that I kind of took that leap. It’s always a risk to go play overseas, be far from family, all those things, and I don’t regret it one bit.”
Stone grew most comfortable in Australia. She was there for three seasons.
“Australia is an incredible place,” said Stone. “I love the pace of life there and the people are so unbelievably warm and kind and welcoming. And I got to sort of fall in love with basketball in a new and different way playing over there. The style is different over there and you kind of learn new ways to learn and teach the game when you go to a new place. And so I think that was definitely something that felt very special to me is that even though I was a pro, I was still learning and I was still soaking up things and I think for me, I met people there that I still talk to nearly every day now and they’re people I’m gonna know probably for the rest of my life. I think that was super special.”
As a professional player, she started to see glimpses of her future. She didn’t leave Princeton locked into a certain path to go into coaching. It happened organically almost.
“It’s been a bit of a journey for me,” said Stone. “There’s never, been a set moment where I said coaching is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I think that for me, I’ve always loved the game. I’ve always studied the game. I was somebody who, even in high school, I loved to watch film. I love to break things down. The details are always super important to me. I went through my journey at Princeton with so many different interests. The beautiful thing about Princeton is that I could explore myself in the classroom and I had a lot of interests there, but I also could be myself on the basketball court and put my time into that. And so when I graduated from Princeton, I knew I wasn’t done playing, but I didn’t know exactly what my future held after I was done.”
While overseas, she found herself tutoring the younger players on the finer points of the game and found herself acting like a coach at times. Less experienced players came to her for advice and pointers. She enjoyed it and could envision doing it full-time as a coach. Now she’ll have that chance to do so back where she was playing only four years ago.
“Honestly, while it feels like a lot has changed, there are also things about Princeton that’ll never change,” said Stone. “So it feels really good to be back. You walk into the building, you feel a little bit different now that I’m in this new role. And now that I’m here every day in a new capacity, it obviously feels a bit different. But there’s certain things about Jadwin Gym that are refreshing and nostalgic.”
Stone’s goals will piggyback off those she had as a player. She wants to help the Tigers be as successful as possible. The Ivy League has seen more parity in recent seasons as more programs have improved, but Stone is hoping to keep the defending Ivy champs at the top. She’s determined to sustain the standard that every player at Princeton recognizes.
“I know at times I felt that I needed to leave a legacy here at Princeton, like the players who came before me did,” said Stone. “And I think for me, the way you sort of combat that fear, that anxiety, that feeling of like, can we continue this winning culture, is to just be that every day. And I think that’s the reason why LB is going to step into this role and flourish, because she’s somebody who comes to work the same way, the same every single day.”
Stone understands what it took as a player. She will be trying to duplicate the attention to detail, the consistency of hard work and the care for each player and coach that has been so vital. She is hoping to foster the same environment that had her thinking unselfishly each season about how to best help the team.
“One of the things that was special about my time at Princeton is how much I wanted to win for my teammates,” said Stone. “And so I think those are the things that we take into every season with every group, and then from there that group each year builds their identity.”
Those are things she learned as a player for Berube. She has remained in touch with her former coach over the last three-plus years. Stone shared her potential path into coaching with Berube ahead of making her move.
“She gave me incredible advice and she was just like, listen to your gut and you’ll know when you’re ready and when the opportunity presents itself, you’ll know what to do, like you’re more than prepared,” said Stone. “She congratulated me when I took the role. And she’s someone who I’m always going to have an incredible relationship with. I owe her so much.”
Stone has made her mark at Princeton previously as a player. It might not be as noticeable now, but she’ll try to do the same for the Tigers from the sidelines and behind the scenes. In her new position, she has to do some of the mundane, like arrange travel and hotels for the team, but she’ll also get to coach. She loves the idea of helping to organize and make sure everything runs smoothly, while she’s getting into coaching as the NCAA sees sports evolving rapidly, including recent passage of a five-year eligibility rule that will enable players five seasons of NCAA play, though the Ivies do not allow graduate students to compete.
“It’s going to continue to change and morph, and we have to, as a league, not just as a university here at Princeton, but as a league, adjust to those changes,” said Stone. “I look at that as a really fun challenge. I think that the one thing that’s really incredible about Princeton is that we’re never changing what we’re selling here. You know, we’re never changing what we’re about and who we are and what attracts student-athletes to us in the first place.”
It wasn’t so long ago that Stone was a Tiger student-athlete herself. Her time at Princeton and on the court was special, and it only adds to her gratitude that she’s able to return for her first foray into coaching.
“You never know what your first year in a new job will hold and a new profession,” said Stone. “So I think the fact that I’m entering into this space where I have to learn on the fly, but I get to do it in a place that feels like home and have that comfort level, I just feel incredibly lucky that I get that opportunity. I get to grow in a place that I know well. I do realize it’s not a common thing and that I’m very lucky to be where I’m at.”