The Husky Haul
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Washington Huskies Women’s Basketball Coaching Search Narrowing

By Bret Stuter

Mar 27, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Washington Huskies forward Chantel Osahor (0) and guard Kelsey Plum (10) celebrate against the Stanford Cardinal in the finals of the Lexington regional of the women's NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Washington defeated Stanford 85-76. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Washington Huskies forward Chantel Osahor (0) and guard Kelsey Plum (10) celebrate against the Stanford Cardinal in the finals of the Lexington regional of the women's NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Washington defeated Stanford 85-76. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; The Washington Huskies cheerleaders run out of the tunnel before the start of a game against the Portland State Vikings at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; The Washington Huskies cheerleaders run out of the tunnel before the start of a game against the Portland State Vikings at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Huskies Women’s Basketball Coaching Search Beginning To Focus

The University of Washington Huskies Women’s Basketball Coaching search has not had much activity.  Well, not much public activity if you gauge the progress on social media and official press statements. But there has been plenty of activity nonetheless.  It’s simply a matter of taking action without stopping by the podium.

And in some ways that makes sense.  In some ways, it makes covering the search challenging.

To fill the void, I listed several candidates who would at least enter the conversations for the team.  At least one of those candidates did interview.  Unfortunately, as it happens, mutual interest in pursuing events further didn’t happen.  And so the search continues.

But it is making progress.   Per Mike Robinson of Swishappeal.com, the Washington Huskies Women’s basketball team has expressed interest in both South Carolina Director of Offensive Analytics Melanie Balcomb and Oregon Associate Head Coach Mark Campbell.  And after this weekend, he reports that the team is most interested in Long Beach State’s Jody Wynn.

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Wynn For the Win? Only If Reed Comes Too.

Wynn is the head coach of the Long Beach State University Women’s basketball team.  As a matter of fact, she’s held the position for the past eight years with her husband Derek serving as her assistant.  However, the true success for Wynn coincides with the addition of assistant Paul Reed, a former high school head coach with deep ties to Arizona.  Her fourth assistant, Michelle Augustavo, joined the staff this past year and orginally hails from the Seattle Washington area.

While reports suggest that Jody Wynn is the top candidate, we find that success for her team only happened with the hiring of Reed.  His background is chalk full of enough accolades to suggest he was the major factor in LBSU’s recent success spurt.

And so, if Washington is enamored with Jody Wynn as the report suggests, is the inclusion of Reed a component of the hire?  Ultimately, not considering Reed as part of Wynn’s success at LBSU seems… myopic.

How does the University of Washington address the candidacy of Jody Wynn? If she is the focus, there will be other matters to resolve.  Will the program extend an offer to her husband? Should UW try to bring other LBSU coaches along as well?

Next: Washington Huskies Offer Three 2020 Prospects Isaiah Cottrell, Jalen Green, Julian Strawther

Many questions remain on this issue.  As we learn more, we’ll be happy to bring that information to your attention.   Until then, the search appears to be narrowing.  That could mean an announcement about hiring the new head coach could happen soon.

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