matthew mitchell - University of Kentucky Athletics

H E A D
C O A C H
MATTHEW MITCHELL
MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS HISTORY RECORDS REVIEW
STAFF
WILDCATS OUTLOOK KENTUCKY UK HOOPS
2ND SEASON AT KENTUCKY
Under Mitchell after just ONE year at UK
• 7 SEC Academic Honor Roll Honorees
• School-record 5 All-Conference Performers
• 2 All-SEC Freshmen
• 1 Academic All-American
• Top 4 finish in the SEC Standings
• Top 4 finish in the SEC Tournament
• 1 Post season Appearance
Just as Wildcats fans had hoped, “Year One”
of the Matthew Mitchell era was filled with
excitement and hope for the future. Playing the
14th-toughest schedule in the nation (according
to CollegeRPI.com), including meeting NCAA
Champion Tennessee twice and Final Four participant
LSU three times, Mitchell led the Wildcats
to a school-record fourth consecutive
postseason tournament. UK posted a 17-16
overall record, the Cats’ fourth-straight winning
season and finished fourth in the ever-tough
Southeastern Conference race with an 8-6 mark,
just one win shy of the school record. The eight
league wins were the most conference wins by a
first-year head coach in UK Hoops history.
Mitchell also led the Wildcats to the semifinals
of the SEC Tournament after earning a firstround
bye and upsetting No. 23/21 Georgia in
the quarterfinals, 57-50. Despite falling to SEC
regular-season champion and No. 7 LSU in the
semifinals, UK received a bid to the postseason
WNIT and went on to defeat Middle Tennessee
and James Madison before narrowly falling to
eventual champion Marquette in the quarterfinals.
Mitchell’s “winning tools” of honesty, hard work
and discipline were embraced by the players. A
school-record five Wildcats earned SEC postseason
honors and five also earned their degree,
including two who graduated prior to their senior
season (Carly Ormerod and Eleia Roddy).
Mitchell came to Kentucky in the spring of
2007 when Mickie DeMoss resigned as head
coach after four seasons. So when Athletics
Director Mitch Barnhart went about the daunting
task of finding a coach whose skills, personality
and charisma could build on the success and
excitement that DeMoss had brought to the program,
he immediately thought of Mitchell, who
had played a key role in UK Hoops landing four
brilliant prep performers in the fall of 2004 – a
class ranked No. 6 by the All-Star Girls Report.
In his first season as an assistant coach under
DeMoss at UK, Mitchell helped lure now graduated
Wildcats Chanté Bowman, Samantha
Mahoney, and Roddy away from Big Ten powers
Michigan State and Ohio State while convincing
6-6 center Sarah Elliott, a Kentucky high
school legend, to stay at home.
A whirlwind salesman, Mitchell presented a
vision of UK Hoops as a powerhouse program…
and a warm and loving family. His pitch resonated
with recruits and their families as he exuded
his own special charm that could, in Elliott’s
uniquely-phrased words, “sell logs to a log man.”
Mitchell then became a key factor in the
development and improvement of UK's young
post players. Elliott ranked in the top 10 in two
Southeastern Conference statistical categories
and was named to the 2004-05 SEC All-Freshman
team. Forward Jennifer Humphrey – then a
sophomore - also flourished under Mitchell's
direction, leading the team in rebounding and
ranking 15th in that category in the SEC in
2004-2005. She finished her college career as
UK's second all-time leading rebounder.
When Barnhart hired DeMoss in 2003, he
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT
MATTHEW MITCHELL
“I am excited for Matthew and for the program. Having
worked with Matthew at Tennessee and Kentucky, I
know what he’s capable of and he is very talented. I am
confident that he can continue guiding the program on
the right track with his leadership. Matthew’s knowledge
of the game, his communication skills, his relationships
with players, and his strong ability to recruit makes him
the total package. The players will respond well to him
and he will be able to relate well to the community. The
Kentucky fan base will continue to grow under his leadership.”
- Mickie DeMoss, former Kentucky
women’s basketball coach
“I’m so excited for Matthew. He made it clear to me at
Tennessee that he wanted to be involved in the women’s
game and I really enjoyed having him on our staff. I
know he enjoyed working with Coach DeMoss at Kentucky
as an assistant but I think it was good that he went
away for his first head coaching job. It’s great to have
him back in the league.”
- Pat Summitt, Tennessee women’s basketball coach
“Matthew Mitchell is a great hire for Kentucky. He can
continue the great tradition that Mickie DeMoss started
there. He has similar qualities to Coach DeMoss as he is
out-going, has high energy and a positive attitude. He is
not only going to be great for Kentucky but for the SEC
as well.”
- Carol Ross, former Ole Miss and Florida
women’s basketball coach
“Watching Matthew as an assistant coach at Kentucky
and Florida, I knew it wouldn’t be long until he became a
head coach at a big-time program. It’s great to get a person
with his energy, passion and knowledge of the game
back in the SEC.”
- Dave Neal, play-by-play announcer
for SEC women’s college basketba70
was looking for an architect to build UK Hoops
into one of the country’s elite women’s programs.
Along with Mitchell and former assistants
Niya Butts and Pam Stackhouse, DeMoss went
about the business of executing that blueprint
almost immediately, leading the Wildcats into
postseason play in each of her final three seasons
in Lexington. DeMoss’ four seasons at the helm
provided one glorious moment after another,
most notably the upset that rocked college basketball
when the Wildcats defeated top-ranked
Tennessee in January of 2006. Later that spring,
DeMoss led Kentucky to its first NCAA tourna-
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