First one that comes to mind is Carolyn Peck although I believe she went back and forth with broadcasting in between
She was Head Coach at Florida after Coaching the Orlando Miracle. Basically 15 years and several jobs between WNBA Head Coach and college assistant at Vanderbilt. I was actually trying to remember any that went directly from Head Coach in the W to a college Assistant position.
Fred Williams? I know he was just the interim head coach for the Sparks but he had been a head coach at least once before with the Dream.
The end-of-season discussion with V Johnson in Dallas MN today, was good. It also made me think…..based on the tone and content…….that there is zero chance, she is one of the assistant coach hires. Too much dialogue about future of team and plans etc. We’ll see.
Wednesday is the end of August. Anyone "feeling" like we'll hear something by Wednesday? Or, is this going to drag into September?
My guess is - only if its a WNBA coach or player who was recently eliminated from the playoffs. This has dragged on for so long now (heck, we're already into the 2nd week of classes) that it just seems like it has to be 2 WNBA players/coaches at this point. Of the names everyone has thrown out, the only one that makes any sense to me is Sydney Colson. And because she plays for Vegas, I doubt they finish until the last game of the season in a little over 3 weeks from now. Her salary of $72,141 is probably less than 1/2 of what an asst. WBB coach can make at Texas, and she had 1 prior year asst. coaching exp. at Rice. Her relationships with the present staff and deep connections to the Houston area just make her hiring make a lot of sense. Especially if the goal is to keep someone on the staff for awhile and also have a potentially great recruiter. And I imagine Vic would love to have his starting backcourt from the A&M Nat'l Championship team as assistants for him with Texas. As for the other vacancy, I have no idea. Also, maybe one other factor to keep in mind - if things haven't changed since last season, then it looks like the private contact period for High School Jr's starts on September 1st: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/co...r/2021-22/2020-21D1REC_WBBRecruitingGuide.pdf
Omar Sneed is leaving the Cy-Fair Elite club program to coach at Lamar. That's a program we recruit heavily, and with great success; Chavez and Carlton are current players we are targeting. So, his replacement is important to our program (as far as having a good relationship with them).
We are a sad and pathetic group if after 5 months of speculation, we still can't come up with the names of at least 2 viable yet realistic candidates.
My prediction is that our new assistant coach responsible for coaching our guards will be either Sue Bird (Storm) or Sydney Colson (Aces). Obviously, whichever player's team wins this current semi-finals series and advances to the finals is most likely going to be our hire just to spite us all and extend the hiring announcement an additional week or two. Who will coach our post players? I don't really have a single candidate on my mind; all my previous guesses have obviously been incorrect. This is where I was thinking perhaps a WNBA assistant coach or head coach could be the target. But, I don't have high confidence in that as each day passes.
O.k. My list of possible assistants from the WNBA ranks, based on nothing more than perusing bios: Tonya Edwards, Chicago; Brandi Poole, Connnecticut; Ebony Hoffman, Seattle. Edward is 54. She had success as a high school coach but had a dismal record as a head coach at Acorn State. She has been an assistant for several WNBA teams. Pros for her: stability, perhaps better pay. Pros for Texas: might be willing to stay on for a few years? (Vic likes stability); pro experience helpful to players and attractive to recruits?. Brandi Poole: coached for Curt Miller at Indianna U for more than a decade; was an assistant at Texas Tech under Whittaker. Ebony Hoffman has been coaching as an assistant in the WNBA the last couple of years while continuing to play in Turkey. She's 40. Time to stay home (USA)? She also played a number of years in the WNBA. The only one of the three I list that is/was a post player.
It’s important to have an assistant coaching post on Labor Day…..as I’m sure Schaefer is working hard to fill these openings today. So my conspiracy theory is that the delay is all about money…..the lack thereof. Somewhere I saw that WBB loses about a million dollars a year. So CDC/Schaefer is delaying to save money. Or perhaps they NEVER fill em this season for same reason. Texas is strapped for money. Note that football team couldn’t even provide money for Ewers to park legally for Saturday’s game. This theory is offered just to keep the conversation alive until WBNA season is over. Perhaps ya’ll have a better one?
If Vic hadn't just gotten a huge pay raise, and/or if Steve Patterson were still our A.D., saving money could be a conspiracy theory that held water . . .
Huh... I can assure you that whatever the reason for them not naming assistant coaches has nothing to do with Texas not having the money. If that were the case, they would not have just increased his salary when they didn't have to. Ewers getting his car towed has nothing to do with that either. My theory is the one that's been talked about ad nauseam. It's more than likely a WNBA player or players that are still playing. I also believe that Vic may of already had his coach or coaches, but they fell through.
I know this could possibly give some members a case of heartburn but, if Vic were going to give a high school coach an assistant coaching opportunity, the mother of recent visitor 2024 Kendall Dudley has a pretty impressive resume: 2022 Naismith High School Girls Coach of the Year (Sidwell Friends) 30-0 Record with 3 tournament championships Coach of Kiki Rice (2022 Naismith National Player of the Year - UCLA signee) and #3 overall 2023 Jadyn Donovan (Committed to Duke) 2019 USA Today Coach of the Year At Woodbridge HS, she accumulated over 155 wins and appeared in the Virginia 6A State tournament in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2019, the Lady Vikings were District, Regional, and State champions, winning the first girls basketball state championship in school history. Probably the biggest issue from Dudley's side of things is something I found in an article about her and Kendall: "Tamika, to be fair, did get her coaching start at the college level, when she worked as an assistant at UNC-Wilmington after wrapping up her playing career at LIU-Brooklyn in 2004. She found the position to be emotionally draining, and derived more purpose from her job as an assistant at Potomac High School (Dumfries, Va.)." I'm not sure what she makes at Sidwell Friends but that school probably has a fairly sizable check book considering annual tuition is $40K and former alumni include Nancy Reagan, Sasha and Malia Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Bill Nye, Richard Nixon's daughters, Charles Lindbergh and Gore Vidal.
It wouldn't surprise me if one day Vic added a high school or club coach to his coaching staff. But, this time around, if it were either of those, the hire wouldn't have dragged into September. Either way, we should know something in less than 2 weeks, I'd imagine.
DFW….I like your idea. I was impressed with her during this last season’s game with DeSoto. DeSoto looked great in first half, and I was wondering why Sidwell was ranked so high. The coach did a masterful job of defensive changes as well as attacking the DeSoto press. At the end, I understood why Sidwell was so good. Good players and tremendous coaching. Her demeanor was excellent. She obviously has the coaching chops to be a really good college assistant or head coach. The “purpose” comment is concerning but Texas is a long way from UNC-Wilmington. The only hole in your theory is…..what’s holding up her being announced…..unlike the WBNA theory. I would be happy if one is her.
Some news on at least 1 of the spots might be incoming. The most recent posting from late July is no longer on the UT jobs site.
During Q&A at the Point Texas (volleyball) Club the assistant AD for women's basketball was asked point blank about when the spots would be filled. She answered, "Soon. Very, very soon"
