Women Coaching in the NBA

It may not be long before women coach men
By Jumoke R. Gamble
of the Sentinel Staff

Published in The Orlando Sentinel on May 19, 2000

A coach with heels, makeup and a clipboard on an NBA sideline, designing plays, reprimanding stars.

Some may find it far-fetched, but it may not be too long before it happens. Eventually, you`ll likely find women as head strategists at NCAA men`s Division I and NBA games. You may see Orlando Miracle General Manager/Coach Carolyn Peck, Tennessee`s Pat Summit or Phoenix Mercury Coach Cheryl Miller coaching men at the pro level.

How soon is the question.

"I don`t think we are that far from having an NBA assistant coach who is a woman," Miller said, "but I still think we have a way to go before we see a men`s basketball team with a woman for a head coach."

Respect between player and coach may be the most important element in establishing a winning chemistry. It may be hard to expect a male player, who has been coached
by males his entire life, to show immediate confidence in a woman.

There are no women assistants in the NBA and just one, Coppin State`s Stephanie Ready, at the NCAA men`s Division I level. Coppin State Coach Ronald "Fang" Mitchell said Ready, 24, "brought some organization to our program. She`s gained the respect of
the players with her knowledge and take-charge attitude."

Through hard work and years of proving herself, Miller almost became the first female NBA assistant in 1998,
when then-Seattle coach George Karl said he considered hiring her. "I think Cheryl is a lady who could end up on an NBA bench someday," Karl said.

With the NBA`s ever-changing dynamics, Karl wonders if some of the younger players in the league from single-mother households might respond well to a female assistant.

"The ability to motivate and getting to know your players -- it`s something that we`re trying to do a little better because communication over the past 10 years had been a major part of the interplay of becoming a successful coach," Karl said. "You`ve got to understand your players more than they`ve ever been understood."

Karl said respect wouldn`t be a problem for Miller, who some consider the greatest female player. She is the sister of Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller and also serves as an NBA sideline reporter for TNT. Although
Miller says she is content coaching in the WNBA, she also said she`d entertain the right offer. Proving critics wrong would be a motivating factor. "Sometimes there
is a misconception that women aren`t tough enough to coach men," Miller said. "I don`t think there are enough women coaching men to really have any stereotypes."

Miracle guard Shannon Johnson played under a male coach -- Brian Agler -- with the Columbus Quest in the defunct American Basketball League. Johnson says the common trait of a top-flight coach is an ability to relate to players.

"When I played for Brian, he was a tough father figure. Coach Peck is a woman, so she puts her feminine touch on everything," Johnson said. "She`s like a sister we can talk to about personal things, too. She
makes us feel comfortable."

Miracle guard Sheri Sam has formed some generalizations while playing for males and females. "Some woman coaches are a little oversensitive and take it personally
when you challenge them," she said. "A male coach tends to listen to suggestions and criticism more."

Peck has experience working with males. She instructed NBA centers Felton Spencer, Will Perdue and Mark West while working at Ed Martin`s Big Man`s Camp a few years
ago. Her experience there let her know that "those guys were there to get better. As long as someone was teaching them something that improved their game, they
were willing to listen."

Peck is intent on building a legacy and helping the women`s game grow. Yet her ultimate goal is to be on an NBA staff. She isn`t interested in coaching men in Division I. Instead, she seeks specific opportunities
offered only by the pro ranks.

"The long 82-game season, the chance to work with a large staff and the scouting and preparation that goes into each NBA game intrigues me," she said. "It`s like you are getting your Ph.D. in basketball."

Peck agrees with Miller that a woman would need to be an assistant first, so she could learn the rule differences in the men`s game and adjust to the emphasis on
athleticism rather than fundamentals.

"I`ve still got tons to learn," Peck said. "I started in the women`s game as an assistant. There`s no way I can step right in [coaching men] as a head coach.
Being an assistant prepares me with coaching experience and mentoring."

Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong frequently attends Miracle practices. He says he`s impressed with Peck`s leadership and knowledge of the game. "The thing I
like about her is that she stays on her players, teaches them fundamentals and expects them to play hard," he said. "In the men`s game, every night is a battle, and when you coach like she does, that mentality can work with any gender."

Gaining respect is the key.

"Culturally and in society, having a woman coach men still isn`t something that has widespread acceptance," said Kay Yow, the women`s basketball coach at North Carolina State.

Yow has been coaching for four decades and is one of the founders of the Women`s Basketball Coaches Association. She has seen tremendous gains made by women, but says
there still is a long road ahead before female coaches are perceived as equal to their male counterparts. "Men are just getting used to women being in sports," Yow said. "I`m not sure every place has accepted even that."

Women`s basketball gained more acceptance when the WNBA and the ABL were formed in 1996, giving college coaches and players a pro league of their own in this country.
"The league was important in helping dismiss the notion that women couldn`t coach at the professional level," said Dan Hughes, coach of the Cleveland Rockers.

Looking at the numbers, though, even the WNBA supports the notion that female coaches aren`t as capable as their male counterparts. Nine of the league`s 16 teams have male coaches. Because the league is supported by the NBA, many suggest that dynamic is a continuation of the
"good-old-boy network" often seen in the NBA.

"It`s more a combination of rising WNBA coaching salaries, the short season, and the comfortability and familiarity male general managers have with many of the coaches they hire," Detroit Shock Coach Nancy
Lieberman-Cline said.

Lieberman-Cline has been mentioned as a leading candidate to coach men, particularly because she has experience playing with them. She played for the Springfield Fame
and Long Island Knights of the United States Basketball League in 1986 and `87.

Acceptance is the key. Some male athletes still have a problem with the presence of female reporters in the locker room. And when female referees were introduced to
the NBA in 1997, some players were adamantly against it.

The difference in style of play is one reason some men would be hesitant to embrace a woman coach.

"Men play above the rim, dunk, and exhibit greater strength," Yow said. "Women play physical, but they`re not as big and don`t take up as much room. Also, emotionally the way guys respond to situations are
different. Generally speaking, women forge family-like relationships off the court. Men are self-oriented right from the start."

Armstrong says getting most males to accept a female as a coach won`t be easy. "Some guys would not feel comfortable, but it wouldn`t matter to me," he said.
"If a woman can coach, she can coach."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he`d consider hiring a qualified female coach. But even if the NBA were pounding on the doors of female coaches, there`s a misconception that every female coach wants to lead a men`s team.

"I wouldn`t call it a progression for woman to coach men; it would be their particular interest," said Hughes, who served as an assistant with the University of Toledo women`s and men`s basketball programs. "I`ve
coached men, but enjoy coaching women more. Coaching men is not necessarily better. It`s just different."

Hughes says women are more receptive to his teachings. Men tend to get captivated with emulating NBA players, often abandoning fundamentals and making easy plays
difficult. "Most women," he said, "will run
the play the way I tell them to."

To many, a female NBA or Division I coach seems a long way off, but it`s not unfathomable. Like every other
barrier-breaking event in sports, all it takes is a coach willing to go outside the norm. Then-Kentucky coach Rick Pitino made waves a decade ago by hiring Bernadette
Mattox, the first female assistant coach in Division I-A. She served on the Wildcats` staff from 1990-94 before taking a maternity leave.

Mattox, the current Wildcats women`s coach, says men in positions to make hires know there are capable female coaches, and players eventually will respect any coach
that knows his or her stuff. "The guys at UK werevery good to me, and I was very fortunate," Mattox said. "They respected the things I did, and Coach Pitino expected the same thing of me as he did his other
assistants. We had a group of class individuals who understood coaching and understood that there is no
difference between men and women."

The name most frequently mentioned as more than capable of coaching men is Tennessee`s Pat Summit. Summit is 666-143 and has won five NCAA titles in her 24-year career. She`s considered an old-school coach with a
no-nonsense approach.

"Pat Summit would be at the top of my list," said one NBA general manager who requested anonymity. "Pat has had a lot of success, has generated a lot of respect from men and women, and is a recognizable name."

Before winning the 1999 national title at Purdue, Peck spent one season as an assistant at Kentucky under Mattox and two years at Tennessee under Summit. Consequently, her coaching style bridges their philosophies.

"She [Peck] seems like the type of coach who can relate to today`s players, but maintain the respect given to an older coach," said Tracy Reid, a forward for the Charlotte Sting.

NBA teams are making serious efforts to hire coaches with the temperament to deal with today`s players, who are much more outspoken and less tolerant of overzealous coaching methods.

What`s needed in the NBA right now might be a woman`s touch.

Jumoke R. Gamble can be reached at 407-420-5505 or jgamble@orlandosentinel.com


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