Selena Ho thought it over and decided her future lay outside the Oregon women’s basketball program.
It was a decision that Ho says wasn’t easy.
“I felt like the timing was right,” she said. “It’s just one of those things where sometimes in life you have to make those decisions. This is definitely something that I have been praying about for a while.”
Head coach Bev Smith announced Thursday that Ho is leaving her position as an assistant at Oregon after three years with the program.
“She is a very passionate young woman in terms of just her love of the game and her love of coaching,” Smith said. “She’s a great young woman to have come into our program and she’s definitely left her mark.
“She’s very organized. She’s very detailed and I think she’s wise beyond her years.”
Ho joined on along with assistant coach Phil Brown before the 2005-06 season. The coaching staff further evolved when Willette White came to Eugene before the 2006-07 season.
“These last three years have been so enriching, so powerful,” Ho said. “I’ve learned so much about the game. I’ve learned so much about people. I’ve learned about this profession and it’s been an honor to represent the University of Oregon.”
She remained vague on her future plans, and where she might be headed, saying she preferred to stay in the moment, but did say she’ll be leaving Eugene soon.
To fill the opening, Smith says Oregon is looking at reorganizing Oregon ‘s coaching staff and reassigning Velaida Harris from Director of Operations to being a part of the coaching staff.
Ho and White were a large part of Oregon ‘s recruiting efforts, and with six freshmen and two sophomores on last season’s team, next year appears to be the season Oregon will be pushing for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Smith credits Ho for her help recruiting in Northern California and the Bay Area and helping bring center Nicole Canepa, a starting center much of last season, and forward Amanda Johnson, an incoming recruit, to Eugene.
“I am so excited about this team,” Ho said. “I have 100-percent confidence that they are going to set some incredible goals, work their butts off and accomplish those goals. The foundation’s been set.”
Ho focused on working with Oregon ‘s guards and her impact could be seen with the play of Tamika Nurse and Taylor Lilley.
Nurse struggled early in the season, but came on strong late and regained her spot in the starting lineup. Lilley led Oregon in scoring with 12.7 points a game and was the team’s top three-point shooter with 74 makes from long distance.
Ho came to Oregon from UC Irvine, where she spent three years as an assistant coach.
She enjoyed a successful playing career under current Portland State coach Sherri Murrell at Pacific. Ho garnered first team all-Big West honors her last two seasons there and completed her college career third on Pacific’s all-time scoring list with 1,651 points and third in assists with 430.
Ho earned her degree in business administration from the University of Pacific in May 2002.
“Basketball is truly a tool for life,” Ho said. “You learn so much by being a part of this game.”
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