Jamelle Elliott Brings UConn Style to UC Substance

Walk into Jamelle Elliott's office at the University of Cincinnati, and you'd have no sense of the basketball pedigree she's bringing to her new job. Nothing blue and white here—no national championship photos from UConn, no pieces of net from this season's title.

Everything here, from the furniture to the throw-to-the-fans mini basketballs, is all Bearcat red and black. 

And that's the way she likes it.

"When I first walked in, I really felt comfortable," said Elliott. "I enjoyed the people, I enjoyed the environment, they offered me the job, and here I am. It just felt right."

During a luncheon meeting and quick interview on campus, Elliott talks and moves with the poise and confidence of someone who has been there, won that. During her 12 years as assistant coach at UConn, and her four years of playing for Geno Auriemma, Jamelle has accomplished just about everything you can in women's college basketball.

She was on the team that won the Huskies' first national championship, and was on the bench for the others. She was a four-year letterwinner, and was only the second player in UConn history to pass the 1,000 point and 1,000 rebound milestone. She has coached some of the best post players in the women's game, including Swin Cash, Tamika Williams and, this past season, Maya Moore.

But, as the Monkees sang, that was then, this is now.

The University of Cincinnati does have a couple of national championship banners hanging in Fifth Third Arena, but those are for men's basketball, not women's. And as she becomes the third Bearcat women's basketball coach in just four years, she knows there's a big job ahead to remake a team that didn't win its first Big East Tournament game until this past March. Geno Auriemma gave Elliott his approval to take the job by coming to her news conference in Cincinnati to announce her hiring. 

Elliott gives Auriemma all the credit for her basketball chops.

"When I first came to UConn (out of Washington D.C.) it wasn't the national powerhouse that it is today," Elliott said. "Coach Auriemma was just building the program at that point, which is great for me, starting to re-establish the program here at Cincinnati. He surrounds himself with good people, with a good staff. I'm expecting to take the things I've learned from him, and apply them here to the University of Cincinnati."

She has seen how you build a program from scratch; how you recruit locally so the good players, with a high school following, stay home and bring those fans with them; how you change the culture of losing to an atmosphere of winning.

"I just feel in my heart that this is a place that is destined to win and compete, and be mentioned with the names like UConn and Notre Dame and Louisville and Rutgers and teams like that," she said.

"It's just a matter of me putting together a staff that is willing to work just as hard and recruit top-level athletes, and make sure we do things the right way."

Recruiting will be paramount this first year: While the greater Cincinnati has produced its share of Ohio Miss Basketball winners, none has stayed home to play. Elliott looks to change that, bringing in Mark Ehlen, a former Xavier and Toledo head coach who won a state girl's basketball title at a Cincinnati-area high school.

"My plan is to get as many people on campus as possible," said Elliott. "I think if I can get some of these players on campus and show them around, let them spend time with me and my staff and my players, let them know what my goals are, hopefully they'll get a sense that I'm somebody who will take care of them. It's just gonna be a matter of time." 

But time is not a luxury coaches have, especially first-year coaches. With staffing and now recruiting, the clock is ticking already for UC women's basketball. Elliott has her slogan for her inaugural season: "Play Hard, Play Smart, Have Fun."

And won't it be fun when UC travels to UConn this upcoming season.