Jennifer Azzi Announces Katy Steding As Assistant Coach at USF

Busy week, C had a birthday, many trips to the beach were planned then abandoned much to C's dismay, Kayla Pedersen threw out the first pitch at a Giants game, one of the junior bloggers got grounded we think, R had the best quarter at work ever, C and R saw "Wicked" in SF and voted it the best musical they had ever seen, C's son has league finals for swimming, Jennifer Azzi hired her old pal Katy Steding to help coach…

Okay, we could write volumes about all those things mentioned, but let's stick to basketball (and boy is it hard not to gush about Wicked, we cried and gave those two witches a standing ovation and C's new favorite color is now green). So basketball, yes, smart move, hiring Katy Steding. C and R got very worried when Jenn took over the USF head coaching job without having any formal coaching experience at any level, but it looks like she is surrounding herself with people who have the skills she needs/lacks and can get along with. Katy Stediing brings a ton of coaching and recruiting experience and had success wherever she went, typically raising an also-ran program into something higher.

Here, read from the press release from our good friends at USF.

During her stint in Portland, Oregon, as the head women’s basketball coach at Warner Pacific College, Steding recorded two 20-plus win seasons, leading the Knights to the NAIA Division II National Tournaments in 2004 and 2006. The 2004 selection to the national tournament was the first postseason appearance in school history for men’s or women’s basketball. In 2005-06, the Knights won their first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference title with a 22-9 record, as Steding was named CCC Coach of the Year. On the recruiting trail, Steding recruited 11 all-conference performers and four Academic All-Americans to Warner Pacific.

In 2008-09, Steding served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Dream, helping the expansion franchise reach the WNBA playoffs in its inaugural season.

After a year of coaching in the WNBA, Steding returned to the collegiate scene last season, leading Columbia to its best finish in Ivy League and school history. She also played an integral role in landing three of the most highly lauded recruits in program history. Steding’s responsibilities included overseeing student-athlete development, scouting opponents and recruiting in the Western US.

Let’s hope she concentrates on recruiting. Jennifer also added Blair Hardiek, who coached at San Francisco state and is knowledgeable about recruiting out west. C and R are smelling road trip soon to see the Lady Dons (is that what they are called?).

Happy Cinco De Mayo, and on a confidential note, we hope to golf with our good friend, P, soon!

Jennifer Azzi to be Named University of San Francisco Coach!

Ohhh, C and R have an exclusive scoop for you! Our pals at the University of San Francisco invited yours truly to a press conference today. But before it happens, we already know the news. Former Stanford great Jennifer Azzi is to be named the new head coach. Pretty cool, huh? And we reported it before it was official or in any papers. (Well, except for the Daily Palo Alto and the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury…  okay it made the AP wires late last night, but we just saw it today. Oh, the AP story is written by AP writer Janie McCauley, who C and R met while covering the Tennessee-USF game. Small world, isn’t it? She gives a more personalized touch in her srticle).

Azzi will replace former Tennessee player Tanya Haave. She was fired for a 36-86 record over the past four years, including going 5-27 for this year with a record of 1-13 in conference play. Hmmm, Haave was a former standout at the college level, like Azzi, but it didn’t translate into coaching success. Just trying to think back, does Jennifer have any official coaching experience, either at the college level or any other level? Well, we wish her well and C and R will have to take more trips to San Francisco now.

Hope she and Tara can schedule a few friendlies.