Texas A&M’s Joni Taylor coaches women to the U19 world title

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

With the Olympics just a year away, coaches aspiring to be part of head coach Cheryl Reeve’s staff are leading various USA Basketball teams as they circle the globe. Joni Taylor, entering her second season as head women’s basketball coach at Texas A&M University, has made a strong statement. Last month, Taylor oversaw the USA Basketball team that won gold at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup.

Upon Taylor’s return to Texas, there was little time to decompress. “You can’t say, ‘Let me take a week break’ because you’ve already been gone for a month,” said Taylor. Despite the wear and tear, Taylor said she wouldn’t miss the chance to coach with USA Basketball. She remembers watching the 1996 Olympic team and seeing the launch of the WNBA when she was in college.

“I knew I was never talented enough to be an Olympian as a player, so once I got into coaching it became one of those things that I always said it would be really neat to be a part of because it’s such an elite group,” said Taylor, who last year served as head coach of the U.S. women’s U18 National team that won gold at the 2022 FIBA Women’s U18 Americas Championship. “Also, it’s my opportunity to represent our country.”

Her experience on the international stage connects to her work as a collegiate coach because it exposes her to new scenarios and helps her develop new skills. As a USA Basketball coach, she has a group of 12 players that she doesn’t really know, and her job is to unite them and achieve championship form in a short time span. This includes learning from fellow coaches. One of Taylor’s assistant coaches for the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup was DeLisha Milton-Jones, head coach at Old Dominion University and a twotime Olympic gold medalist.

“Your evolution as a head coach grows whether you’re with your players or with another team,” said Taylor, who was one of Reeve’s assistant coaches at last year’s FIBA World Cup. “To be able to see other countries and how they play, their style and have a feel for the international game. … All of that, you put into your toolbox and you come back and add it to what you’re doing.”

Taylor is excited for the coming Aggies season. Official practice begins in October and play starts in November.