Imagine if a year from now Oregon fulfills the lofty expectations Bev Smith has for the women’s basketball team and makes its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Selena Ho will no longer be in Eugene, but the impact she’s left will be unmistakable. Last Thursday, Smith announced the Oregon assistant is leaving the team after three years in Eugene.
In examining the imprint Ho’s left on Oregon’s program, start with the former assistant coach’s efforts on the recruiting trail in helping bring in Nicole Canepa and Amanda Johnson, who will join the program for the 2008-09 season. Canepa showed in flashes, and when she wasn’t battling a sprained ankle, she showed that she has the potential to be an All-Pacific-10 Conference first team member on a consistent basis.
Ho’s more noticeable impact came in the intensity and passion she brought with her to practices and games.
Years past her playing days, Ho remained fit and able to step in and teach players firsthand. During games, you could occasionally see her crouched on the sideline, appearing ready to whip on a uniform and jump on the court.
She settled for translating that energy into helping develop Oregon’s guards.
The results can be seen in the way Taylor Lilley went from a proficient outside shooter as a freshman into a leading scorer her second year who can attack the basket with a dribble jumper or find teammates for open looks. It showed in Tamika Nurse, who redeemed her junior season with a strong flourish at the end. Point guard Micaela Cocks, a backup her freshman season, emerged as a dependable starter.
Before them, there was Cicely Oaks, Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis.
Along with a players’ natural drive to improve, they need instruction, and Ho helped provide that.
She gained her experience from four years playing college basketball at the University of the Pacific under current Portland State coach Sherri Murrell. Ho received her first three years of on-the-job training as an assistant coach at UC Irvine.
She arrived in Eugene prior to the 2005-06 season and helped offset the losses of assistant coaches Allison and Mike McNeill. Oregon’s coaching staff continued its changeover the following off-season with Willette White joining the staff.
White, a well-known name in coaching circles, and Ho spent countless hours on the road staying on top of recruiting. Ho always kept her cell phone charged and on, knowing that if she missed the call of a highly ranked recruit, it may not be the final strike, but it certainly wouldn’t help.
She gave guidance to this year’s young team that included six freshmen and two sophomores.
“They’re newbies. They’re babies and you get to mold them the way you want to,” Ho said. “You set the tone at a very very early age and this was a great class to do it because this class is going to make such an incredible impact.”
Ho saw a glimpse of their potential in the Pac-10 Tournament by first beating Washington State and then challenging a veteran California team featuring Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker in a 67-60 season-ending loss.
“They were sweating …,” Ho said. “They knew that they were in a battle.”
Her future aspirations, whether that involves becoming a head coach someday, are unclear right now. She’s young. Just 27, Ho has plenty of time.
Asked about eventually becoming a head coach, Ho shared what she told Smith when she first applied for the job.
“She asked me that on my interview, and I’ve always hated that question,” Ho said. “I still hate that question and the reason why is because I don’t know. Life is so short and I live life one day at a time.”
If she does decide coaching fits her long-term goals, who better to take over a program than the energetic Ho, who dedicated endless hours working for the Oregon program.
“She’s young and still has some experience to gain, but I think she understands the important parts of basketball in terms of attention to detail and above all just communication and relationships,” Smith said.
Ho knows basketball. She also knows the power of relationships.
“Selena really cares about people, first and foremost as young women and then she will speak to them about being a basketball player,” Smith said.
If Ho leaves the game, in many ways she will always be a coach. She is a deep thinker. She loves to articulate. She compares scouting with figuring out a puzzle. She enjoys implementing a game plan. She finds competition in going against Stanford and California for a big-time recruit.
What did Ho learn while at Oregon? Just about everything, she says.
“A ton,” Ho said. “I could talk to you about the game. I could talk to you about strategy. I could talk to you about recruiting. I could talk to you about scouting and people and things of that nature.
“… It’s always been about people for me. It’s always been about building relationships. … I coach because I want to make a positive impact on student-athletes’ lives.”
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Ho leaves lasting mark on women’s hoops
Daily Emerald
April 13, 2008
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