| | Kim Mulkey-Robertson says choosing where to eat lunch is about the last thing she's worried about these days. Still, it's not the easy decision it once was.
|  | | Kim Mulkey-Robertson was an assistant at La. Tech for 15 seasons. |
Safe to say that after living in Ruston, La., for a couple decades, Mulkey-Robertson had a good handle on the local cuisine. Now, she's in Waco, Texas, as the new head coach at Baylor, and dining choices are among the many things she'll have to figure out.
"It's kind of like leaving your nest and your comfort zone," said Mulkey-Robertson, a native of Hammond, La. "I had never left my little bubble."
Waco isn't exactly a gigantic bubble, but it's different bubble -- one that most didn't expect to be the place where Mulkey-Robertson took over the reigns as a head coach. She turned down the offer from Louisiana Tech -- her alma mater and the place she was an assistant for 15 seasons -- to take over the task at Baylor.
"First, you go through a big variety of emotions, from an emotional attachment to a university that means the world to you, then leaving a town that has been your home for 20 years, then leaving friends and family and the women you helped recruit there," Mulkey-Robertson said. "It just tears at your heart."
Yet there isn't much time for emotions when you're moving your belongings, selling a house, hiring a staff, setting up a new office and jumping into the recruiting race. Mulkey-Robertson acknowledges that both the excitement of the new opportunity and pragmatism helped override the pains of departure.
"Now that I've been here three or four weeks," she said, "you're away from that and you don't look back."
Joining her in Waco soon will be her husband, Randy Robertson, and their two children. Her husband has been involved in banking, public relations, financial planning and advertising. The move to Texas offers him some new opportunities.
"To some degree, his career could never really take off because (Ruston's) such a small area. Maybe I held him back somewhat," Mulkey-Robertson said. "In the last few years when I've had opportunities to take other jobs, he has always supported my decision.
"He's not one to try to influence me; he's one to make me be very conscious of the pros and the cons. That's the greatest relationship in the world, to have a husband who's very supportive."
|
“ |
No
one will ever 'replace' Leon (Barmore). The (Tech
fans) who say they were counting on me, I hope
they take the emotion out of it. I would hope they
know it was not a quick decision. It was what was
best for me and my family. ” |
|
|
— Kim Mulkey-Robertson |
Certainly, not everyone was supportive of Mulkey-Robertson's decision to leave. She knows a lot of people still don't understand why she didn't stay and take over for Leon Barmore.
She says the primary sticking point -- she wanted a five-year contract, Tech offered four -- was something too big for her to ignore.
"The security -- when you are inheriting a program that has been in so many Final Fours, you need to have security," she said. "It was never a financial issue. I needed that fifth year that said, 'We appreciate that you have turned down other institutions; we know what's facing you.' "
As in, the loss of three starters and a fair amount of uncertainty as to who Tech's go-to player will be next year. Not to mention the eventual move to the Western Athletic Conference.
"It wasn't the fact that you're following Leon -- no one will ever 'replace' Leon," Mulkey-Robertson said. "The (Tech fans) who say they were counting on me, I hope they take the emotion out of it. I would hope they know it was not a quick decision. It was what was best for me and my family."
Mulkey-Robertson said the fact that her former college coach, Sonja Hogg, is at Baylor had nothing to do with her move. Hogg, who helped revitalize the Baylor program in her six seasons there, is now in a sort of to-be-defined fund-raising role at the school.
"I'm sure she probably was excited," Mulkey-Robertson said. "But it played no part in my decision to come here."
What Hogg did best at Baylor was effectively demonstrate that the community would be interested in women's basketball if a good product were on display. Baylor got a full house for its WNIT championship game against. Penn State in 1998.
If Baylor becomes consistently competitive in the Big 12, there's reason to believe fans will come out in good numbers.
That fact, plus the facilities, plus what she perceived as a strong commitment from the administration, were big factors in Mulkey-Robertson's decision. Baylor is a private school, so she can't discuss her contract publicly. One can assume, though, that she got the sort of deal from Baylor that she was looking for from Tech.
Another benefit is the Big 12 itself.
"It sent six teams to NCAA Tournament," Mulkey-Robertson said of the league's accomplishment this past season. "That's also the scary part, too -- you don't just go out and win ball games in this league. But it was definitely an attraction because of the coaches and the teams, how good they are."
As for recruiting in-state -- not just against fellow Texas schools but outside national powers -- Mulkey-Robertson said, "There's enough people that we can all share."
She has already struck quickly at Grayson County (Texas) College, signing guards Sheila Lambert and Carla Mathisen and post player Brooke McCormack.
And she hired Grayson County coach Bill Brock to be her top assistant.
(Aside: Are there any top Juco coaches in Texas left? Baylor got Brock, Louisiana Tech got Trinity Valley's Kurt Budke and Missouri got Lee Ann Riley of 2000 Juco champ Tyler.)
Baylor needs a boost. It was 15-13 in 1997, 20-11 in '98 and 17-14 in '99. But last year, Baylor finished 7-20 overall and 2-14 in the Big 12. Will there be a lot of expectations for Mulkey-Robertson right away? Probably not so much her first season. After that, probably so.
Not all longtime assistants -- no matter how successful a program they've worked with -- are cut out to be a head coaches. Mulkey-Robertson obviously thinks she's ready. And after 15 years at Tech, you can't say she didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it.
Mulkey-Robertson knows, though, there are people waiting to see if she made a mistake.
"I can't feel like my decision needed to be based on what other people thought," Mulkey-Robertson said. "Lots of things were said. Everybody needs to be happy for both Louisiana Tech and for me."
If that sounds overly simplistic, be assured that Mulkey-Robertson is not naive; she's aware that some hard feelings are sure to exist. But she doesn't want those feelings to last.
"A part of my heart will always be there," she said. "The Louisiana Tech basketball team was most important thing in my life."
Now, though, it's part of her past.
Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached via e-mail at mvoepel@kcstar.com. | |
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