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Post by Admin on Mar 8, 2024 16:11:31 GMT -5
 Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina University's athletics department will not renew the contract of head women's basketball coach Kiley Hill, Director of Athletics Alex Gary announced today. "We are grateful for Coach Hill's five years of dedicated service and efforts on behalf of the Catamount women's basketball program. However, we have not achieved the level of competitive success that we expect, and it is time to take the program in a new direction," said Gary. WCU's head coach since the summer of 2019, nine different Catamounts earned various postseason honors from the Southern Conference under Hill's tutelage. Hill also collected his 300th career head coaching victory while on the sidelines for WCU in the 2020-21 season. A national search for WCU's next women's basketball head coach will begin immediately. |
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Post by FLCATAMOUNT on Mar 8, 2024 17:08:31 GMT -5
I hope we get a miracle worker or we will be reading the same blurb in 5 years. Just change the name and the dates. Maybe that Marcy person that the previous AD hired without permission is still available. lol. Another famous debacle by my Alma Mater.
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Post by Speedwell Cat on Mar 8, 2024 17:59:22 GMT -5
That's been the cycle. But if the other women's sports are competitive, there's no reason the basketball team can't be as well
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Post by cullowheeguy on Mar 8, 2024 19:27:02 GMT -5
Think Cetera DeGraffenreid will apply? Grew up in Cullowhee, knows the area, is a winner, knows the SoCon she currently an assistant coach at UNCG who finished 2nd in the SoCon this year.
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Post by Speedwell Cat on Mar 8, 2024 20:05:40 GMT -5
She'd be a solid candidate
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Post by The Cats on Mar 8, 2024 20:48:37 GMT -5
What about the HC at LR, Grahm Smith. He has an impressive record of building programs.
"The Bears were one of the most improved teams in the nation, going from 11 wins in 2021-22 to the aforementioned 24 in 2022-23. Smith led the Bears to a season sweep of Anderson, beating the Trojans three times including in the SAC Tournament Championship game. LR opened the 2022-23 campaign with a win at Division I UNC Wilmington 57-46. LR also beat No. 10 Lander in the second game of the season and No. 21 Wingate as LR raced out to a 14-0 start. LR also knocked off Catawba twice while they were nationally ranked for four wins over nationally ranked teams in the season.
Prior to coming to LR, Smith built two programs he has coached to historic levels and owns a 69-9 all-time conference record. In just two seasons at William Peace, Smith led the Pacers to a 39-16 mark and was named the 2020 USA South Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 15-1 record in USA South action and a 23-5 overall mark. Smith's Pacers became the first program in any sport at William Peace to earn a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and they won the USA South regular season title in the East Division for the first time in program history.
In his first year at WPU, Smith inherited a team that had won four games the prior year and was returning only three players. After adding 18 student-athletes in his first recruiting class, the Pacers went on to win 12 more games in his first season, finishing with a 16-11 mark. Not only did the program increase its win total, they also finished with the third-best record in program history, the second-best record in the last 12 years and had a winning record for just the second time in 12 seasons."
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Post by wcu1995gocats on Mar 8, 2024 21:36:38 GMT -5
Think Cetera DeGraffenreid will apply? Grew up in Cullowhee, knows the area, is a winner, knows the SoCon she currently an assistant coach at UNCG who finished 2nd in the SoCon this year. She might but I doubt it. She said she loves Greensboro. Her mom is in North Charlotte. Catamount Club got rid of the tournament in honor of her dad. I don’t think she has a ton of love for WCU right now. She would be great though! She’ll be a HC somewhere soon. |
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Post by wcu1995gocats on Mar 8, 2024 21:38:11 GMT -5
Alex Gary is on the Women’s Basketball Selection Committee. His wife was a former wbb student-athlete. I think he’ll use his connections to make sure this is a good hire.
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Post by cullowheeguy on Mar 8, 2024 22:16:03 GMT -5
Hana Haden current coach at #8Georgia southwestern university in Div II they have already won the peach belt conference regular season with a 25-3 record so far. She is also a Western Graduate.
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Post by purplegold1 on Mar 9, 2024 9:42:22 GMT -5
Haden while an alum has only been at her current school for 1 year. I absolutely think she can coach though. The women's program needs someone willing to build from ground zero, this is a program that hasn't won a tournament game in 10 years. Hill came from D2 after a lot of success there. I do trust Alex to make a strong hire. He hit home runs with football and men's basketball, now he needs one here.
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