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Post by UConnChapette on Apr 21, 2021 8:23:33 GMT -5
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Post by grrrrr on Apr 21, 2021 8:33:08 GMT -5
Welcome home Morgan.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Apr 21, 2021 9:06:12 GMT -5
In Geno we trust. Liked her as a player. Liked her as a sidelined player with chronic foot issues. Hartford was a recruitment wasteland.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2021 9:08:48 GMT -5
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Post by bulkey on Apr 21, 2021 9:20:37 GMT -5
Application deadline was at midnight last night. Geno must have worked through the night interviewing candidates and consulting with CD, and then getting it run past HR etc. That's incredibly fast work!  And despite a sleepless night, he made the right choice!!!! |
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Post by bulkey on Apr 21, 2021 9:45:05 GMT -5
"Words cannot express how honored and excited I am to come back home and represent the University of Connecticut," Valley said. "I am so grateful to Coach Auriemma for this amazing opportunity. This is a dream come true and I can't wait to get started."
I think words did express it, very well, indeed.
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Post by semper on Apr 21, 2021 10:13:45 GMT -5
Yeah, remember that long phone call with Kathy. It was decided long ago, had to have been. Great decision! It think it's better to have Morgan on board with all her skills and knowledge, rather than one of the heir apparents like Shea or, my favorite, Carla. Perfect choice! Doesn't muddy the waters and gives us a great person to coach alongside Geno.
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Post by bulkey on Apr 21, 2021 10:26:15 GMT -5
Yeah, remember that long phone call with Kathy. It was decided long ago, had to have been. Great decision! It think it's better to have Morgan on board with all her skills and knowledge, rather than one of the heir apparents like Shea or, my favorite, Carla. Perfect choice! Doesn't muddy the waters and gives us a great person to coach alongside Geno. That's really perfectly expressed semper. You must do a lot of writing. |
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Post by huskyharper on Apr 21, 2021 10:53:57 GMT -5
WooHoo!!! so excited with this news. Morgan Valley was a special player and is no doubt a special coach.
Onward and once again. making UCONN bad for basketball!!!
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Post by bulkey on Apr 21, 2021 11:01:39 GMT -5
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Post by grrrrr on Apr 21, 2021 11:22:52 GMT -5
They forgot to put Kelsey Plum's name in the job posting criteria, other than that......
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Post by davidinnaples on Apr 21, 2021 11:27:25 GMT -5
Is Morgan of Italian heritage..? (random question)
Interesting discussion on various boards about this hire... all the way from "bad decision" to "she can't recruit" to "she didn't play that much at UConn."
Thoughts:
1. Geno and CD are sold, that should count for a whole lot. (very, very whole lot..?)
2. Morgan is going to be the 3rd assistant, not the Head Coach. We already got one of those.
3. She was injured a lot at UConn.
4. CD has been her mentor for years.
5. How can any of us have enough information to say "bad hire"?
Welcome Morgan..!!
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Post by semper on Apr 21, 2021 12:54:48 GMT -5
Don't they remember that she had severe plantar fascitis for most of her career?
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Post by chicagogg on Apr 21, 2021 13:56:05 GMT -5
Also that she is tough as nails, a fierce competitor and about the only one who would stand up to DT? If she's Geno's pick, I'm in.
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Post by davidinnaples on Apr 21, 2021 14:30:13 GMT -5
Also that she is tough as nails, a fierce competitor and about the only one who would stand up to DT? If she's Geno's pick, I'm in. Story is she was rommies with DT, but they had to change because both were too competitive & argued the whole time...  |
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Apr 21, 2021 15:14:57 GMT -5
I hope Morgan proves to be an excellent coach. So much of an AC's work is done "off stage" so it is hard to measure his or her accomplishments. I wish her all the luck in this new assignment.
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Post by vtcwbuff on Apr 21, 2021 16:56:52 GMT -5
Is Morgan of Italian heritage..? (random question) Interesting discussion on various boards about this hire... all the way from "bad decision" to "she can't recruit" to "she didn't play that much at UConn." Thoughts: 1. Geno and CD are sold, that should count for a whole lot. (very, very whole lot..?) 2. Morgan is going to be the 3rd assistant, not the Head Coach. We already got one of those. 3. She was injured a lot at UConn. 4. CD has been her mentor for years. 5. How can any of us have enough information to say "bad hire"? Welcome Morgan..!!I believe that she is French Canadian from Vermont on her father's side . |
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Post by bulkey on Apr 21, 2021 18:59:44 GMT -5
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Post by zoney on Apr 21, 2021 19:43:46 GMT -5
Is Morgan of Italian heritage..? (random question) Interesting discussion on various boards about this hire... all the way from "bad decision" to "she can't recruit" to "she didn't play that much at UConn." Thoughts: 1. Geno and CD are sold, that should count for a whole lot. (very, very whole lot..?) 2. Morgan is going to be the 3rd assistant, not the Head Coach. We already got one of those. 3. She was injured a lot at UConn. 4. CD has been her mentor for years. 5. How can any of us have enough information to say "bad hire"? Welcome Morgan..!!I believe that she is French Canadian from Vermont on her father's side . Jeez.........another reason why I don't read "various boards." I trust Geno and Chris. End of story. |
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Post by UConnChapette on Apr 22, 2021 7:11:49 GMT -5
That Geno...he is never happy. |
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Post by bulkey on Apr 22, 2021 7:52:35 GMT -5
uconnwbbweekly@substack.com
What to know about Morgan Valley, UConn’s new assistant coach
On Wednesday, the Huskies announced that Morgan Valley would become the program’s newest assistant coach, replacing Shea Ralph. Though many fans undoubtedly remember Valley from her playing days at UConn from 2000-04, it’s been over 15 years since she was part of the program.
So who is the Huskies’ newest assistant and what’s she been doing since her time in Storrs?
Playing career
Valley came to UConn as part of the team’s class of 2000 that also included Ashley Battle, Maria Conlon, Jessica Moore, and Diana Taurasi. A native of Colchester, Vermont, Valley came to Storrs after a standout career at Rice Memorial High School. The team went undefeated in her final two seasons as she won Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year and earned multiple high school All-American honors as a senior.
During her four years in Storrs, Valley was part of three national championship squads but dealt with a number of injuries. She averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 108 games with a career-high of 11 points, which came against Long Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a freshman.
That first season, Valley often played one-on-one with Taurasi and the two kept track of who won on a piece of paper in the latter’s locker, according to The Same River Twice by John Walters. By January, Valley had yet to win a game and she’d often get so angry about losing that she’d punt the ball into the stands.
“I saw her kick one into the upper deck once,” Conlon said in the book. “Morgan has a cannon.”
Her sister, Ashley, joined the team in 2001 and the two played together for three seasons.
Assistant coaching odyssey
After Valley graduated, she joined Auriemma’s staff as a student assistant for the 2004-05 season, where she scouted, edited game and practice film, and exchanged film with opponents.
She got her first gig as a full-time assistant with Holy Cross, who won the Patriot League conference title and made the NCAA Tournament in 2007. Valley left for UNH after two years but spent just one 7-22 season in Durham as an assistant and recruiting coordinator before she joined on at Towson ahead of the 2008-09 campaign.
In March 2010, Valley joined the staff at UMass and coached there for four seasons — her longest stint as an assistant coach. She was the program’s recruiting coordinator for her final two years in Amherst.
Valley finally got her big breakthrough in 2014 when Dennis Wolff — father of Nicole Wolff, one of Valley’s teammates at UConn from 2002-04 — hired her at Virginia Tech.
After one season, Valley moved out west and joined Mike Neighbors’ coaching staff at Washington. In her first year, the Huskies reached the program’s first Final Four and went back to the Sweet Sixteen the year after. There, Valley also coached Kelsey Plum, a two-time All-American and the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball.
During the 2017-18 campaign, Valley shared the sideline with Jasmine Lister, who joined the staff after two years as a graduate assistant at UConn and would return to Storrs as a full-time assistant from 2018-20.
After that season, Valley left for Arizona, where one of her former fellow Washington assistants, Adia Barnes, was head coach.
“Morgan is who I wanted from day one and I think this is the best hire in the country,” Barnes said at the time.
Valley helped the Wildcats bring in the top-ranked recruiting class in program history, headlined by McDonalds’ All-American Cate Reese. In 2019, Arizona went on to win the WNIT.
Head coaching tenure
Valley finally got her first shot at a head coaching gig in 2019 when she was hired at Hartford. Her first season didn’t go so great as the Hawks struggled with injuries and departures, resulting in a 0-28 start before winning their season finale.
This past year, Hartford lost its opening two games but then went on a three-game win streak, its only three victories. The Hawks went 3-9 before they decided to cancel the rest of the season due to COVID-19.
“With multiple quarantines, shutdowns, missed holidays, cancelled/rescheduled games, and many unknowns, we decided that this is the best path forward for our program at this point in time,” Valley said at the time.
Now in Storrs
Valley resigned from her position at UHart to take the UConn job.
“Words cannot express how honored and excited I am to come back home and represent the University of Connecticut,” Valley said in a release. “I am so grateful to Coach Auriemma for this amazing opportunity. This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started.”
Like many up-and-coming coaches, Valley hasn’t experienced much stability. Aside from UMass, all of her stops were two years or less. But considering the Huskies’ lack of coaching turnover over the last 25 years combined with her history with Storrs, UConn seems like a place where she can finally settle down.
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