Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Slaven Gujic
Coro: Powell puts passion in program
11/9/2017 10:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU's new women's basketball head coach found path, voice
Nicole Powell walks on the new territory of being head coach as if she already has traveled this path back and forth.
She was starting to be a coach when she did not realize it at the end of her professional playing career, helping younger players with on-court work after practice or heart-to-heart talks off the court.
After 11 years as a pro player and three years as a college assistant, she looks the part of a head coach as she enters her debut at the helm of Grand Canyon with a 2 p.m. Friday game against Rice at GCU Arena.
Powell's office, stocked with coaching legends' books and photos of her with John Wooden, has Xs and Os covering one wall that is opposite a window into her real office -- the practice court. She walks that sideline with a whistle and a history that command respect. She talks about the program's principles of being committed, passionate and unified and embodies them with her work ethic and a frequent smile of encouragement and excitement.
"There are things that I'm really confident about and there are parts of it that come with experience," Powell said. "I haven't coached a game yet as a head coach, but I have a great staff. This is a great opportunity with the way the team has accepted us and has been open to what we are doing. I really think it can be a special year. What we're going to achieve, I don't really know."
Powell and her all-new Lopes staff are working the balance of a program that needed nine new players while relying on six returning players. As she embeds into the job, Powell has seen more of how her experience prepared her for this new GCU era, particularly for how she was part of an Oregon staff that ended its first season with a breakthrough win against Stanford and reached the Elite Eight two years later.
It was only three years ago that Powell was still playing in the WNBA, but she already had started a coaching career. In her 10th WNBA season, Powell was starting for Tulsa in 2013 when the coaching bug bit her and led to a job as a Gonzaga assistant.
"Loving the game, I was the old vet on the team in Tulsa, offering advice when it was appreciated," Powell said. "Just having those moments, I was like, 'Maybe I could be a coach.' "
Kelly Graves, the head coach at Gonzaga who would take Powell with him to Oregon a year later, allowed Powell to play her final WNBA season after her first coaching season. But she already was hooked on her future in coaching, passing up international playing opportunities.
As she packed up for her final WNBA training camp in 2014, her mother, Ruth, pointed out how happy she was for the entire Gonzaga 2013-14 season.
"I didn't have any negative thing or feeling to say about my daily job," Powell said. "I was energized by practice. I loved going to practice. I was like, 'This is really fun.' "
After two seasons as an Oregon assistant, Powell was not thinking about head coaching opportunities when GCU Vice President of Athletics Mike Vaught asked for a half-hour meeting during the women's Final Four in Dallas. Powell and Vaught talked for two hours.
That had her interest. A campus visit had her wanting the job in her hometown, where she is considered Arizona's greatest female high school basketball player.
Days later, she pulled over on an Oregon highway when Vaught called with an offer, and she tearfully accepted the position.
"Nicole coming here is definitely a big step for our program," senior guard August Touchard said. "She knows the game well and has brought a lot expertise to us. A lot of young people are looking up to her leadership and guidance on the court.
"She's very energetic and she loves the game. She makes it a fun atmosphere. We just want to play for her now."
The team, picked to finish fifth in the Western Athletic Conference by coaches, will lean on its talented senior guards -- Touchard, Brie Mobley, Jessica Gajewski and Jordan Jackson plus Casey Rarrick, expected back on the court after injury rehabilitation.
Mobley was selected to the preseason all-WAC first team even after only playing 16 games last season as a midseason addition. She averaged 16.6 points and 7.9 rebounds last season and posted 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the Lopes' exhibition win Monday.
"It's exciting to have a WNBA player to put you under her wing and learn from her," Mobley said. "I like her style of play. I really like how she wants us to move fast and be a quick team, getting up and down the court."
The Stanford-educated head coach has found that her attention to detail and knack for preparation already fit her new role. Finding her head coach voice came as naturally as finding her future as a head coach.
"You show up for something and you don't realize you're prepared until you look back and make sense of your history and how you got here," Powell said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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She was starting to be a coach when she did not realize it at the end of her professional playing career, helping younger players with on-court work after practice or heart-to-heart talks off the court.
After 11 years as a pro player and three years as a college assistant, she looks the part of a head coach as she enters her debut at the helm of Grand Canyon with a 2 p.m. Friday game against Rice at GCU Arena.
Powell's office, stocked with coaching legends' books and photos of her with John Wooden, has Xs and Os covering one wall that is opposite a window into her real office -- the practice court. She walks that sideline with a whistle and a history that command respect. She talks about the program's principles of being committed, passionate and unified and embodies them with her work ethic and a frequent smile of encouragement and excitement.
"There are things that I'm really confident about and there are parts of it that come with experience," Powell said. "I haven't coached a game yet as a head coach, but I have a great staff. This is a great opportunity with the way the team has accepted us and has been open to what we are doing. I really think it can be a special year. What we're going to achieve, I don't really know."
Powell and her all-new Lopes staff are working the balance of a program that needed nine new players while relying on six returning players. As she embeds into the job, Powell has seen more of how her experience prepared her for this new GCU era, particularly for how she was part of an Oregon staff that ended its first season with a breakthrough win against Stanford and reached the Elite Eight two years later.
It was only three years ago that Powell was still playing in the WNBA, but she already had started a coaching career. In her 10th WNBA season, Powell was starting for Tulsa in 2013 when the coaching bug bit her and led to a job as a Gonzaga assistant.
"Loving the game, I was the old vet on the team in Tulsa, offering advice when it was appreciated," Powell said. "Just having those moments, I was like, 'Maybe I could be a coach.' "
Kelly Graves, the head coach at Gonzaga who would take Powell with him to Oregon a year later, allowed Powell to play her final WNBA season after her first coaching season. But she already was hooked on her future in coaching, passing up international playing opportunities.
As she packed up for her final WNBA training camp in 2014, her mother, Ruth, pointed out how happy she was for the entire Gonzaga 2013-14 season.
"I didn't have any negative thing or feeling to say about my daily job," Powell said. "I was energized by practice. I loved going to practice. I was like, 'This is really fun.' "
After two seasons as an Oregon assistant, Powell was not thinking about head coaching opportunities when GCU Vice President of Athletics Mike Vaught asked for a half-hour meeting during the women's Final Four in Dallas. Powell and Vaught talked for two hours.
That had her interest. A campus visit had her wanting the job in her hometown, where she is considered Arizona's greatest female high school basketball player.
Days later, she pulled over on an Oregon highway when Vaught called with an offer, and she tearfully accepted the position.
"Nicole coming here is definitely a big step for our program," senior guard August Touchard said. "She knows the game well and has brought a lot expertise to us. A lot of young people are looking up to her leadership and guidance on the court.
"She's very energetic and she loves the game. She makes it a fun atmosphere. We just want to play for her now."
The team, picked to finish fifth in the Western Athletic Conference by coaches, will lean on its talented senior guards -- Touchard, Brie Mobley, Jessica Gajewski and Jordan Jackson plus Casey Rarrick, expected back on the court after injury rehabilitation.
Mobley was selected to the preseason all-WAC first team even after only playing 16 games last season as a midseason addition. She averaged 16.6 points and 7.9 rebounds last season and posted 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the Lopes' exhibition win Monday.
"It's exciting to have a WNBA player to put you under her wing and learn from her," Mobley said. "I like her style of play. I really like how she wants us to move fast and be a quick team, getting up and down the court."
The Stanford-educated head coach has found that her attention to detail and knack for preparation already fit her new role. Finding her head coach voice came as naturally as finding her future as a head coach.
"You show up for something and you don't realize you're prepared until you look back and make sense of your history and how you got here," Powell said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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