Taylor finds ‘right pieces to the puzzle’
Coach ‘hits home run’ with diverse staff hires
Newly hired head coach Tim Taylor had a slew of applicants interested in joining his Navy women’s basketball staff. Many were Division I veterans with impressive resumes.
Ultimately, that is not the direction Taylor chose to go.
“We had a very attractive list of folks applying for these positions,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t worried about experience. I was more concerned with the right fit.”
Taylor last week announced his entire staff — three full-time assistants, a strength and conditioning coordinator and director of basketball operations.
Taylor, who was announced as the seventh head coach in Navy women’s basketball history on April 28, took six weeks to finalize his staff.
“I really was very deliberate. I wanted to make sure we got the right pieces to the puzzle,” Taylor told The Capital in a telephone interview this week. “I feel very confident that we hit home runs across the board. We hired really tal
ented people whose values are the same as mine. I feel absolutely great about this staff and can’t wait to get started on this journey with them.”
First order of business for Taylor was addressing the status of interim coach Jimmy Colloton, the lone holdover from the staff of former head coach Stefanie Pemper. Athletic director Chet Gladchuk asked Colloton to hold the program together after Pemper was dismissed on March 10, and Taylor ultimately decided to keep Colloton on board.
Taylor also hired Marlena Tremba, Kevin Leatherwood, Kelsey Wolfe and Anna Cho to join the staff.
By all accounts, Colloton did a superb job of communicating with the returning players and incoming recruits despite limitations created by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was a strange and unusual time. None of the players were on campus, so the skills development work we would normally be doing during the offseason was out the window,” Colloton said. “We shifted the focus to academics and well-being. There were a lot of phone calls, a lot of Google Hangout chats. We did whatever we could to stay connected.”
Colloton was proud the women’s team finished the spring semester with a collective grade point average of 3.3. Also, all three committed recruits elected to remain with the program despite the coaching change.
Taylor worked with Colloton for a month to evaluate their compatibility, while also conducting due diligence regarding his background. Taylor noted Colloton’s reputation and said “there are a lot of people within women’s basketball who think highly of him.”
Taylor, who has been an assistant at North Carolina and Virginia, knew he’d made the right decision when announcing Colloton had been retained during a virtual team meeting. There were cheers, smiles and nods of affirmation from all the returning players.
“Jimmy and I had really good conversations and connected well. He’s an excellent recruiter and the players love him,” Taylor said. “Jimmy understands the Naval Academy on all levels and that is very valuable. The other assistants will be looking to Jimmy to lead. I’ll be looking to Jimmy for a lot of things.”
Colloton, who spent six years working for Pemper but got to know Taylor on the recruiting trail, had to decide whether he wanted to join Taylor’s staff.
“It was a two-way street. I didn’t want to stay if I didn’t think it was a good situation for both of us,” Colloton said. “Coach Taylor is a relationship guy, which I am as well. I felt Tim’s vision for the program and values were compatible with mine. He believes in the Naval Academy mission and wants to make a profound impact on players.”
With Colloton onboard as the lead assistant, Taylor turned his attention to filling the other coaching spots. An ability to teach basketball was the top prerequisite.
Tremba comes to Annapolis after serving two seasons as an assistant at Chatham University, a Division III school in Pittsburgh. This will be just the second stop in the brief coaching career of Tremba, who was a standout player at William & Mary.
Taylor remembers Tremba from her days as a star point guard at Paul VI Catholic High in Vienna, Virginia, but did not know her personally.
“Marlena came highly recommended by some people in the business I trust. The Chatham head coach had high praise for Marlena — called her a real workhorse and rising star,” Taylor said. “To be honest, Marlena won me over during the interview process. She was poised, polished and had great plans. I felt good about her energy and ability to connect with players.”
Leatherwood had been director of basketball operations for the Georgia State women’s program. He was previously a four-year assistant with the William & Mary men’s program following an outstanding playing career at Carson-Newman.
Taylor was an assistant at Virginia under Hall of Fame head coach Debbie Ryan when Leatherwood was a big-time high school player at Charlottesville High.
“I have known Kevin for a while and have always been impressed with his infectious personality,” Taylor said. “Kevin has a great basketball background and is going to be great in the areas of recruiting and skill development.”
Taylor was thrilled to land Wolfe. She served as assistant director of sports performance at Old Dominion the past two years after playing basketball at Virginia.
Wolfe was the starting point guard and team captain for Virginia as a senior in 2013-14 and her playing career overlapped Taylor’s second stint at the ACC school. The Germantown, Maryland, native earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Virginia.
“I want to be cutting edge in terms of strength and conditioning, so finding the right person to oversee that department was my top priority,” he said. “Kelsey was the first call I made after taking this job because I wanted her to lead our development efforts.”
Wolfe was the 2010 Washington Post Player of the Year as a senior after leading Seneca Valley High to the Class 3A state championship.
Completing Taylor’s staff at Navy is Cho as director of operations and recruiting. She previously served in the same role at Virginia and has been associated with that program for a total of seven years.
Taylor worked with Cho at Virginia. “Anna is a rare talent who is always two steps ahead of everything operationally,” Taylor said. “I know the impact she made on the Virginia program was immeasurable and feel extremely fortunate she has joined our Navy family.”
Taylor has put together a staff with an average age of 27 years old and one that is very diverse.
“We needed people with positive personalities that could connect with our players,” he said. “This staff is extremely enthusiastic and energetic. They’re also all extremely competitive.”