On this week’s edition of The IX Sports Podcast College Basketball Edition, hosts Michael Waterloo and Melissa Triebwasser are joined by new University of Florida women’s basketball head coach Tammi Reiss.
A three-time All-American at the University of Virginia and the number five overall pick in the inaugural WNBA draft, Reese led Rhode Island to their first NCAA tournament in 20 years last season. She is now the 12th head coach at the University of Florida.
Reiss said she wanted to make the jump to a Power Four program because she didn’t feel satisfied, as a competitor, in a mid-major conference.
Reiss said when she arrived at Florida she asked for a salary pool from administrators so she could recruit and retain an “elite staff.” Roster construction, of course, was another priority.
“In order to do that, my first week here I had to put a Zoom together and a PowerPoint together to go out in the community and reach our donors and boosters … They came through, and we had — we had an outstanding response to our portal construction fundraiser, and it enabled me to get some names — I would have not gotten Kiyomi McMiller had I not had those funds. So our donors, Gator Nation, they came through,” Reiss said.
The host also took a deep dive into player development, including Reiss’ specific plan to refine McMiller’s skills. Reiss said the plan is to build a roster this year, and then going forward work to retain players, bringing in just two or three from the transfer portal annually.
Reiss also talked about what it was really like rooming and practicing with Dawn Staley at Virginia. She also tells the story of her journey from a career in professional acting to being a first-round pick in the inaugural 1997 WNBA Draft.
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