Washington Introduces New Women's Coach McGuff

“It didn’t take me long — I’d say maybe five minutes into [the interview], [to know] this is a big-time coach that had a big- time view of women’s basketball,” Woodward said of his first

meeting with McGuff. “It felt right as soon as I sat down with him in Cincinnati.”

The feeling was mutual.

“This is an amazing institution, and I’m truly humbled to have this opportunity,” McGuff said in his opening statement. “I can tell you that I will be relentless in trying to give the University of Washington the women’s basketball program that they deserve. I think, at the end of the day, you all are going to be impressed with the young women in our program, and this will be a program that all Huskies will be proud to call their own.”

McGuff, the first male coach in the program’s 37-year history, made multiple things clear as he addressed the Seattle media for the first time. First and foremost, the former Xavier head coach didn’t just take the job because of the prestige of the new Pac-12.

“I was at a place that I really enjoyed,” McGuff said as his wife and one of his four young children looked on. “But I’ve kind of had an itch in the last couple of years to try the way we do things, with my style and my system, and try it at a place with greater resources, in a different part of the country, in a different conference, and certainly, Washington presented that opportunity.”

McGuff, who signed a five-year contract worth roughly $475,000 per season — former coach Tia Jackson signed a five- year contract with the UW in 2007 for a base salary of $180,000 per season — will bring a style of play to Washington that has brought tremendous success to the Xavier program. During his nine-year stint with the Musketeers, McGuff led the team to a 214-73 overall record and earned six trips to the NCAA tournament.

That successful style revolves around tough and physical play. McGuff also labeled field-goal defense, rebounding margin and quick-transition offense as keys to his brand of basketball.

When McGuff met with the team before the press conference yesterday, he caught at least one player’s attention when he discussed the style of play that he would implement.

“That’s the basketball I grew up with — running the floor and hitting bodies,” freshman Marjie Heard said, visibly overjoyed with the direction of the program. “Knowing that he expects physical game from everybody and hearing that he’s like, ‘It’s not going to be easy,’ I’m really excited and anxious just to show him … I’m one who’s ready to kick butt and give everything I have.”

Heard might not get the opportunity to immediately show her new coach the physical style of play that she made herself known for during her freshman season. Without any assistants, McGuff plans to ease into things.

“I’m really into process,” he said. “We’re not going to try and accomplish a bunch of things right now; we’re going to go to class; we’re going to work really hard in the weight room.”

Bringing in assistant coaches will be a top priority. McGuff said that he will attempt to bring at least one former assistant from Xavier and would also like to hire an assistant who’s familiar with the West Coast.

Despite the whirlwind of excitement that’s swirling around the program, McGuff is looking to slow things down a bit.

“My biggest thing right now is just to spend some time with [the players].”