Over the last month, The Athletic connected with more than 35 head coaches across women’s basketball to get their candid opinions on an array of topics from the changing tides in the sport to the best coaches in the game to the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time. These coaches, who hail from power conferences and high mid-majors, were granted anonymity so they could speak openly without fear of retribution from their own programs or the NCAA. Throughout the week, we’re sharing coaches’ thoughts on the most pressing issues in their sport.
Head coaches’ jobs are all-encompassing in college basketball. They have to recruit, and in the age of the portal, re-recruit. They have to scour opposing rosters to find players who would be suitable transfers. They work with athletic departments for appropriate facilities and accommodations. There’s an entire ecosystem under their purview.
Of course, the most important part of their role is putting together the product that shows up on the court. That job is multi-faceted in and of itself. Beyond spearheading player development, coaches design the offensive schemes, the defensive game plans and make adjustments when necessary. This is the part that’s easiest for their peers to evaluate because the results…
