The Guru Report: Richardson Takes the Helm at Temple - “The Cupboard Not Bare; They Brought Me Here to Return to the Tradition of Winning”

6By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA - Former Towson coach Diane Richardson was welcomed Wednesday morning as Temple’s new women’s basketball leader to a place that was no stranger to her, considering the annual trips to West Philadelphia to visit Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association wars as well other local schools in those private preseason scrimmages.

But with the opening that occurred just over two weeks ago when athletic director Arthur Johnson, nearly newly arrived himself from Texas in late fall, decided to not retain 14-year-veteran Tonya Cardoza, the question Wednesday immediately popped, who made the first move that brought the 63-year-old Richardson to take control.

“I’ve eyed this program for a long, long time,” Richardson said. “But you can’t get anywhere unless they call you. 

“Once I got that call, I was really elated. It was a goal of mine, and I was just happy to get the call and happy to go through the process.”

She humorously referred to the process included a major grilling by the search committee under Executive Senior Associate AD/SWA Jessica Reo firing questions to fly like tennis balls.

That process also included Johnson dialing for perspectives of the job former Temple coach Dawn Staley, who was at the outset of what became the road to leading South Carolina to its second NCAA title Sunday night in Minneapolis, handing Connecticut it’s first loss in the championship game after a previous 11-0 success rate.

Staley, who after eight seasons at Temple was followed by her Virginia teammate Cardoza, then a longtime member of the UConn staff under Geno Auriemma, said it was no disruption to continue communications while she was otherwise focused on powering through the Greensboro Regional and ultimately Women’s Final Four.

“She called Diane, Queen of the DMV,” Johnson said, referring to the suburban Baltimore University located in the recruiting hotbed of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia triangle.

As for the mission, Richardson, whose husband Larry of 40 years was in the Liacouras Athletic Center room full of Temple coaches, staff, spirit squad and band, besides media, had no problem with its articulation.

“Temple had a history of success. Don’t get it twisted,” Richardson said. “They have a history of success. They didn’t bring me here to do anything new.

“They brought me here to take us back to the tradition of winning. 

“And I met with the team this morning and we have a core group of some dynamic, smart, very good basketball players. 

“We got two returning that were all-conference (American Athletic Conference), so the cupboard is not bare, believe me. But we’re going to use that core group to bring pieces in to bring this program back up to where it’s been.”

When Temple left the Atlantic 10, the Owls and the rest of the conference were dominated by UConn, which never lost in the AAC the first seven years. After the Huskies departed two seasons ago, returning to the reconfigured Big East, the top was taken over by South Florida and UCF, with Temple and several others just below the Florida schools.

“I’m following Dawn Staley, who’s the two-time national champion, and Tonya Cardoza, who is the winningest coach in Temple athletics women’s basketball, so I got a road ahead of me, but I’m prepared,” Richardson, who also has two sons and two daughters, said. 

“I have my high heels on today. Normally I have on my boots. We’re going to do things and do things the right way. 

“We’re going to defend. We’re going to push the ball in transition. We’re going to press. We’re going to press from the bus. As soon as they open the door, we’re going to be right there. And we’re going to be monsters on the board.

“But more importantly, we’re going to have young ladies that are confident. And confident to win. Confident in themselves. Confident that they have the tools to be great, to be great in basketball, to be great in basketball. To be great on and off the court,” she continued.

“I like to follow President (Jason) Wingard’s lead, when he talks about academic excellence. When he talks about brand excellence. We he talks about community excellence. Those are three of the tools that we’re going to use so that we instill in our young ladies a strong foundation when they leave here.

“So we’re going to get back to winning, again winning is not new, and we want to see you all in the stands, hoopin’ and a hollerin’. 

“I want to be in the postseason every year and I think we have the tools and resources to do that.”

In short, now that all-time scorer Mia Davis is gone, Richardson is looking to instill an equal-opportunity offense, wanting each player to be involved with the offense consistently.

“Everybody is going to have that same opportunity to score,” she said. “I am not a half-court coach. I am an up-tempo coach.”

In introducing Richardson, athletic director Johnson made reference to the portal, which has been overloaded with transfers, such as Maryland starters Angel Reese and Ashley Owusu earlier this week, and the fact the Temple squad held firm waiting to see who would be named as the new coach.

“I want to thank you for staying committed to Temple and for trusting us while we went through this process over the last two weeks,” Johnson said. “We’re fully aware that you had the ability to go into the transfer portal.”

Richardson was a successful corporate executive in the 1990s when she decided to become involved and chase her passion of coaching.

Stops along her collegiate career path included assistant positions at American University, Maryland, George Washington, when reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones was with the Colonials, and West Virginia, before becoming head coach at Towson, where in her second season, the Tigers rallied in the last five minutes to beat Drexel for the CAA title.

Ironically, just less than a month ago, Richardson was nearby in Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center designing a nitty three-point shot from the corner to go ahead of Delaware in the CAA semifinals at before the Blue Hens went the other way and Towson was called for a foul within the end of the game allowing Delaware to regain the lead and outcome.

“In every aspect of her professional career, Coach Rich has been a leader and pioneer,” said Jonathan Tsipis, as part of a long paragraph of laudatory comments.

Tsipis, a former assistant to Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame, was head coach at George Washington when Richardson was with the Colonials on his staff, and he later became head coach at Wisconsin.

McGraw, in a text to your Guru, called Richardson “a great hire.”

Tsipis was in the Fox-Gittis room here Wednesday and it is believed will become a member of her staff.

She mentioned two Towson assistants she will bring north in Cheyenne Curley and Myles Jackson, and director of basketball operations Jasmine Allen. Associate head coach Zach Kancher, a native of Philadelphia, is seeking to move up and follow her with the Tigers, though he could land here if he isn’t tabbed by the Tigers. It’s possible some staff of Cardoza’s could be retained.

Richardson at the high school level at Riverdale Baptist in Maryland won five national titles and she was named national coach of the year in 2005.

“All the things I’ve learned throughout my career, whether it be in business, in life, or raising children, she said, “all of those things have helped me to build championship teams.”

Jalynn Holmes, a Temple grad student, played for Richardson’s 2019 CAA champions. The new Temple coach met with Holmes separately in a reunion to discuss expectations with the new program and previous accomplishments.

“That’s going to be crucial with her experience,” Richardson said. “Helping the younger players understand how important it is to win.”

Cardoza, in her final press conference after Temple’s second round elimination in the AAC tournament, said she felt the Owls, fourth in the regular season standings, had underachieved. She also said the squad on the offensive end relied too much on Davis, who on Wednesday was on the WNBA’s latest list of collegians renouncing NCAA eligibility to be available for Monday’s annual draft.

   That’s your report.