Familiar face in the den
want to do is build a program. So to be able to continue on what we’ve already built is an exciting thing to look forward to,” said Dotts , the first female head coach of the Kodiaks women’s basketball team since Dawn Keith in 1998-99. “I know how the ACAC works. From the student/athlete perspective, I know the grind. You’re playing every weekend and especially in the second semester you’re managing classes and all that other stuff. As an assistant coach, I know what the administration expects. Coming in, I’m merging the best of both worlds in that sense and using that to my advantage.”
Dotts takes over the head coaching reins from Karren, the most decorated Kodiaks coach of all time with two national titles and five ACAC crowns.
But the former Kodiaks coach has been around to help in the transition.
“Between Brad and I he’s given me lots of pointers,” said Dotts, who orginally hails from Hayden, Idaho. “Brad has coached for many years and been very successful. Obviously, he was involved in my two years here as an athlete as well. So I know his system he runs and I’ve kind of adopted it into my own. I’ve played on many successful teams and there are a lot of similarities. Brad had encourged me to do my own thing and make it my own, but we’ve built something and it’s nice to know he’s there when I get into a situation (where) I may not know what to do. I have that to fall back on.”
She’ll also be taking over a team of returning players who will already have a working relationship with their new coach when next season tips off.
“I think it’s comforting for some of them,” said Dotts, who helped the Kodiaks to an ACAC championship and national silver medal in 2014-15 and was named an ACAC South Division first team all-star in 2013-14. “We have some of them that are going into their last year. They played the first year with us and to them, they’re not getting a brand new coach all over again. They know me and they know what I expect of them. They know the expectations we have as a program and as an institution. So it’s good for them to be able to have that continuity going forward.”
The Kodiaks not only head into 2017-18 looking to defend their ACAC and Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship titles, they also look to buil on a staggering 50-1 record over the past two seasons.
“We’re getting ourselves set up for next year and getting more recruits in and confirming our girls coming back for next year so we can prepare ourselves for the ACAC season because the expectation is to be back at the championship and back at nationals,” said Dotts. “To me, there’s no reason that would change from where we were before. Just because it’s my first year doesn’t mean the expectations are any less.”