PITTSBURGH — There is no need for Olivia Bresnahan to pack her bags just yet.

The Butler graduate and Duquesne University point guard — who graduated from the Dukes with a degree in marketing in May — had an offer to play professional basketball overseas this season. She turned that down to accept a graduate assistant's position at Akron.

Now she's at Duquesne to pursue her MBA this year. Bresnahan has been named Duquesne women's basketball graduate student manager.

“It's been a crazy summer, trying to figure out what I was gonna do,” Bresnahan said. “I was prepared to go to Akron. I already worked a summer camp there.”

The Duquesne position opened up and Bresnahan jumped on it.

“When our graduate assistant spot opens up, I don't like to hire players who just graduated from here,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt admitted. “But Liv has such intelligence and experience.

“Her knowledge of the point guard position is something she can convey to our younger players.”

The Lady Dukes return the top three scorers and two of the top rebounders from last year's 23-11 team. The squad also has eight newcomers, including seven freshmen.

“Liv will bond with them and help the freshmen understand the standard here,” Burt said. “We had one of the top 50 recruiting classes in the nation this year.

“I think we're going to be very good. Liv will bridge the gap between the coaching staff and the players. I feel good that this will be a home run for us.”

Bresnahan will help a few players adjust to American basketball as well. Duquesne's roster is represented by seven countries: The United States, Canada, Serbia, Hungary, Estonia, Spain and Norway.

“The makeup of this roster is interesting,” Bresnahan said. “There's a lot of talent here. It will be fun to help pull it all together.

“I'm pretty close to all of the players coming back. It's going to be different working with them from a coaching perspective. But they all respect me enough to recognize I know this system inside and out.”

Jade Singleton was originally slated to be the G.A. for Duquesne. She was offered an assistant coaching position at Delaware “without even actively seeking a coaching job,” Burt said.

“It was a no-brainer for her to take that job,” he added.

Melissa Franko was recently hired as the program's Director of Basketball Operations. That position could fill the G.A. coaching role as well, but not in this case.

“Melissa brings a different skill set. She's more of a networker, a marketing person,” Burt said. “She will be an asset off the court with non-basketball issues.

“We're very fortunate to keep Olivia here. We believe that Liv is a bright star in the coaching profession and it's an honor to have her back in the program.”

Bresnahan started 54 of 56 games at guard during her two years at Duquesne. She averaged 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season.

Now that her playing career is over, she still wants to stay with the game.

“I like the coaching aspect and I want to explore that avenue,” she said. “This year, I'll get a taste of what it's all about.”

Duquesne will open the 2015-16 season Nov. 13 at Saint Peter's.