Stephanie Ready
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Ready is an American
basketball
coach
who became the first female coach of a men's professional league team in 2001
. From 2001 to 2003, she was an assistant coach for the now defunct Greenville Groove
of the National Basketball Development League (the minor league of the National Basketball Association).
Ready serves as a sideline reporter for the Charlotte Bobcats
of the National Basketball Association
. Ready was also a part-time sideline reporter for The NBA on TNT
during the 2006
and 2007 NBA Playoffs
, and the WNBA Playoffs on ESPN2 during 2006.
Also in 2006 and 2007, Ready worked as a sideline reporter during the first and second rounds of the Women's Final Four of college basketball for ESPN2
. Ready is an alumnus of Coppin State University
in Baltimore, Maryland.
, Ready was a standout basketball and volleyball player at Coppin State. Ready also ranked in the top-10 on the career list at Coppin State in steals (2nd), assists (4th), points (8th) and rebounds (10th ). Ready graduated cum laude from Coppin State with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1998. Ron "Fang" Mitchell, the men's basketball coach, hired Ready to coach the women's volleyball team. Mitchell was also the person that urged Ready to pursue coaching basketball and hold off on graduate school.
Hired two weeks before the start of the season, Ready began working with the team and soon the Lady Eagles' 129-match losing streak was snapped. At the time, Ready was one of the youngest Division I volleyball coaches in the country and she kept the position for three years, until she resigned during the spring of 2001. Mitchell called upon Ready again, but this time he wanted her to assist him on the bench--for Coppin State's men's team. She became only the third woman ever to coach Division I men's basketball; Jennifer Johnston of Oakland University
in Michigan, and Bernadette Mattox, who coached at the University of Kentucky
from 1990 to 1995 under former coach Rick Pitino
, were the others. Of the three, Ready was the only woman who was allowed to recruit off-campus. "It was a no-brainer," Mitchell told blackvoices.com, of his decision to hire Ready. "She's very detail-oriented and one of the most organized people I've had a pleasure to work with."
In many circles, Ready's hiring has been perceived as a publicity stunt. It appeared that the NBDL matched Ready with Greenville to attract interest to the new league, which comprises mostly former college stars and players who previously played overseas. Before Ready resigned her coaching position from Coppin State in August of 2001, she had received a ringing endorsement from Mitchell, who had spoken to NBDL senior director of basketball Karl Hicks and Rob Levine. After researching Ready, Levine told blackvoices.com, "I don't think the NBDL is constrained by the folks who are going to be skeptics. We want to be a league that breaks old paradigms and provides opportunities."
Though there are doubters, those who favor Ready's advancement far outweigh them. "We don't have time to worry about who's coaching us," Greenville Groove guard Merl Code commented to USA Today
. "Coach Ready is there to help us and we want to let her help." To Barnes, Ready has been a great help and he appreciates her basketball aptitude. "Coach Ready knows the game of basketball, has a proven track record at the collegiate level of basketball that helped her to develop her skills, and she comes highly recommended," Barnes told meacfans.com. Upon being hired, Ready assisted Barnes in assembling the players' manuals, which included various offensive and defensive strategies, along with team rules.
While Ready has been consumed with her preparation as a coach, she also understood her position as a role model. Ready appeared on NBC
's Today Show, and Ebony magazine named her one of "The 56 Most Intriguing Blacks of 2001" along with Shaquille O'Neal
, Kobe Bryant
, and Michael Jordan
. Still, it all comes down to coaching for Ready, who might someday consider coaching in the NBA or WNBA. Mitchell told meacfans.com, "I saw something special in her when she was a student-athlete and she's lived up to that as a coach." Though the rise has been meteoric, Ready felt fortunate to be experiencing the challenge. "I feel like I'm on a whirlwind, but I'm not complaining," Ready told blackvoices.com. "This is a great opportunity to do what I love in a league in the NBA family that will show people that little girls can grow up and do the same thing that little boys have a chance to do."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach
Coach (basketball)
Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...
who became the first female coach of a men's professional league team in 2001
2001 in sports
2001 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...
. From 2001 to 2003, she was an assistant coach for the now defunct Greenville Groove
Greenville Groove
The Greenville Groove were a National Basketball Development League team based in Greenville, South Carolina. Playing their home games at the BI-LO Center, the Groove was a charter franchise and league champions for the 2001-02 season but folded after the 2002-03 season.The National Basketball...
of the National Basketball Development League (the minor league of the National Basketball Association).
Ready serves as a sideline reporter for the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. Ready was also a part-time sideline reporter for The NBA on TNT
The NBA on TNT
The NBA on TNT is Turner Network Television's coverage of the National Basketball Association, produced by Turner Sports. TNT's basketball broadcasts, which include a weekly doubleheader known as TNT NBA Thursday, the Inside the NBA studio show, as well as playoff coverage, are perhaps that...
during the 2006
2006 NBA Playoffs
The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
and 2007 NBA Playoffs
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
, and the WNBA Playoffs on ESPN2 during 2006.
Also in 2006 and 2007, Ready worked as a sideline reporter during the first and second rounds of the Women's Final Four of college basketball for ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. Ready is an alumnus of Coppin State University
Coppin State University
Coppin State University is a historically black college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland...
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Back Story
A native of Takoma Park, MarylandTakoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
, Ready was a standout basketball and volleyball player at Coppin State. Ready also ranked in the top-10 on the career list at Coppin State in steals (2nd), assists (4th), points (8th) and rebounds (10th ). Ready graduated cum laude from Coppin State with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1998. Ron "Fang" Mitchell, the men's basketball coach, hired Ready to coach the women's volleyball team. Mitchell was also the person that urged Ready to pursue coaching basketball and hold off on graduate school.
Hired two weeks before the start of the season, Ready began working with the team and soon the Lady Eagles' 129-match losing streak was snapped. At the time, Ready was one of the youngest Division I volleyball coaches in the country and she kept the position for three years, until she resigned during the spring of 2001. Mitchell called upon Ready again, but this time he wanted her to assist him on the bench--for Coppin State's men's team. She became only the third woman ever to coach Division I men's basketball; Jennifer Johnston of Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
in Michigan, and Bernadette Mattox, who coached at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
from 1990 to 1995 under former coach Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996...
, were the others. Of the three, Ready was the only woman who was allowed to recruit off-campus. "It was a no-brainer," Mitchell told blackvoices.com, of his decision to hire Ready. "She's very detail-oriented and one of the most organized people I've had a pleasure to work with."
In many circles, Ready's hiring has been perceived as a publicity stunt. It appeared that the NBDL matched Ready with Greenville to attract interest to the new league, which comprises mostly former college stars and players who previously played overseas. Before Ready resigned her coaching position from Coppin State in August of 2001, she had received a ringing endorsement from Mitchell, who had spoken to NBDL senior director of basketball Karl Hicks and Rob Levine. After researching Ready, Levine told blackvoices.com, "I don't think the NBDL is constrained by the folks who are going to be skeptics. We want to be a league that breaks old paradigms and provides opportunities."
Though there are doubters, those who favor Ready's advancement far outweigh them. "We don't have time to worry about who's coaching us," Greenville Groove guard Merl Code commented to USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
. "Coach Ready is there to help us and we want to let her help." To Barnes, Ready has been a great help and he appreciates her basketball aptitude. "Coach Ready knows the game of basketball, has a proven track record at the collegiate level of basketball that helped her to develop her skills, and she comes highly recommended," Barnes told meacfans.com. Upon being hired, Ready assisted Barnes in assembling the players' manuals, which included various offensive and defensive strategies, along with team rules.
While Ready has been consumed with her preparation as a coach, she also understood her position as a role model. Ready appeared on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show, and Ebony magazine named her one of "The 56 Most Intriguing Blacks of 2001" along with Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
, Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
, and Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
. Still, it all comes down to coaching for Ready, who might someday consider coaching in the NBA or WNBA. Mitchell told meacfans.com, "I saw something special in her when she was a student-athlete and she's lived up to that as a coach." Though the rise has been meteoric, Ready felt fortunate to be experiencing the challenge. "I feel like I'm on a whirlwind, but I'm not complaining," Ready told blackvoices.com. "This is a great opportunity to do what I love in a league in the NBA family that will show people that little girls can grow up and do the same thing that little boys have a chance to do."