Aaron Johnston recruited a much different type player at South Dakota State (tall white farm girls who can shoot like crazy) - donât think heâd be a good fit at all. Karen Aston has done well this year but is kind of ancient.
Some of the other names mentioned seem to be better fits.Iâve heard the Lamar coach is another possibility but I wouldnât hire someone from a program like that unless half the team can transfer with her (and youâd want half their players which isnât the case with Lamar). Iâve also heard the Oklahoma State associate coach (Jasmine Player I think?) wants the job.
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She is not as old as Kelvin and she has won everywhere she has coached. If she can turn around UTSA, she would do well here.
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UTSA facilities are so bad I laugh that Penny has to play there. My D3 school has a better gym.
Sheâs also younger than Coach Fritz.
I have to say that the reason I wasnât high on hiring her is also because of her age (sheâs the same age as me for crying out loud 
!). And I just donât want her retiring just as we get good, because she is an elite coach. But in this coaching profession, as youâve pointed out, Coach Sampson is 9 years older so why not? I could live w/ a decade of great WBB w/ Coach Aston!
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Sampson was a couple of years younger when he was hired (59 compared to 61 basically). But the college basketball world seems to be such a different animal than it was a decade ago. In this day and age, can you have a 61-year-old head coach and give him or her a couple of years to turn around a program that is at the absolute rock bottom? The Iowa coach retired after Caitlin Clark left - I think she was roughly the same age? Outside of the UConn coach, it doesnât seem like many womenâs coaches are coaching much into their 60âs anymore (Kim Mulkey is about the same age too I guess).
UTSAâs star player is a 5th year senior so she has no more eligibility (I think - if she can get a 6th year, then thatâs a different deal). None of the underclass players at UTSA would be stars at UH - a couple role players and thatâs about it. Sheâd have to do it completely with transfers from other schools and incoming recruits.
If you want to look at it someone with some Texas ties and who is younger and has better players at her current team who maybe could consider transferring with her - take a look perhaps at Tina Langley at Washington. She won at Rice and took them to a couple of NCAA tournaments. She has yet to take Washington to the NCAAâs (this is her fourth year there) but they may make it this year as a bubble team. And she is an outstanding recruiter who continues to put together top 10 recruiting classes at Washington.
The thing is - she isnât anything special as a coach. Sheâs just a great recruiter. And I hear Washington is getting tired of .500 teams from her and now theyâre in the Big 10 instead of the Pac 12. So things wonât get any easier.
Agreed. This is where someone like La Rocque from UNLV is very interesting.
- Great pedigree with her playing/coaching experiences at Stanford.
- Great success at UNLV as HC.
- Still a young coach.
- Still 3 major contributors on her current roster as underclassmen (1 from Calif & 2 from Texas!).
- And AD Nunez should be very familiar with her from his New Mexico days.
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Good article. I wish he could have had better results.
I like an older coach with some baggage and might have some loyalty (like Sampson) a lot more than a young up and comer who is going to leave us for a bigger paycheck.
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Iâm intrigue by her too! Seems to have lots of energy!
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Can you share the names?
I want the assistant head coach on either the South Carolina, LSU or UCONN staffs. Someone who knows what it takes to win in womenâs basketball at the highest level.
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Iâm not sure that an assistant who has won with a bunch of NIL is going to be helpful here. Itâs a different ball game.
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The former Kentucky coach sounds like an interesting name. He certainly did great at Kentucky before retiring after he had a concussion (and brain surgery - but that was 5 years ago and I assume his health is fine now). He definitely seems like heâd do well if you give him some time.
Iâd rate the ODU coach second on that list. The UTSA coach would not be a good hire. They lost to Rice in the first round of the AAC tournament and then just got blown out at Gonzaga in their postseason tournament. And again, I donât think their star player gets a 6th year so sheâd really be bringing just an okay staff with her (and not any great transfers).
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Yeah my vote would be for Mitchell. Seems like a Sampson type hire to me. Had great success in conference play and NCAA tournament, forced to step away from the game prematurely and now wants to get back after 5 years is very much the CKS mold. And having been at Kentucky he knows how to play second fiddle to a menâs program that is succeeding at a high level and carve out a niche for his own program. Hope he gets the nod.
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these names arent bigger than the ones listed earlier 
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DAMN youâre harsh lol.
none of these guys are amazing of the 3
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Karen Aston â Turning around a horrendous UTSA program showed that her success wasnât just due to UT ($$) and money alone. Sheâs proving that she can coach without those resources, and her deep Texas ties are a plus. However, she has never built truly elite teamsâher best years still saw her getting blown out by the top womenâs programs by 20+ points. Her replacement at Texas is already doing better than she did. This yearâs disastrous postseason performance is also uninspiring. That said, sheâd likely retire here. With her, I feel confident weâd be a regualr top-half team in the conference within three years, but I wouldnât count on winning any titles.
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Matthew Mitchell â Similar to Aston, he lacks truly elite teams and has been buzzsawed by the best programs by 20+ points. However, he has no Texas tiesâthe only reason he isnât #1 among available options. He has had better tournament success than Aston, with three Elite 8 appearances vs. her one. Heâs the best coach in Kentucky womenâs basketball history and took over a program that wasnât winning, despite having SEC-level money and facilities. He has never been fired (good) but retired due to health issues (bad). Heâs only 54, so if his health concerns arenât significant and he turns us around, other teamsâespecially Kentuckyâwill try to poach him. If he can hire notable Texas assistants, lie to me that he wonât leave for a bigger program, and provide a solid explanation for why his health wonât be an issue, I can get on board.
â Big gap â
- DeLisha Milton-Jones â No clue why sheâs even being considered.
Mitchell is definitely a bigger name than all save Aston from the original list and his resume is better than hers. Him having to resign 5 years ago because of health complications from an accident shouldnât be a mark against him. Life happens. Your concerns arenât nearly as major to not have him as the frontrunner and make a serious splash in WBB world to show weâre serious about pulling this program out of the cellar.
This list makes me wonder what the salary range is and what the NIL commitments look like for the job. Not a really inspiring list of finalists but Iâm hoping Iâm wrong. Being a dominant Big 12 program is possible with the right coach and resources.
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