Live with Langley

BY MARK MOSCHETTI FOR GOHUSKIES MAGAZINE Live Langley

hen Tina Langley was looking for her first teaching job, that’s all she wanted — a teaching job.W the way, Langley discovered that being a coach was just another exciting way of being a teacher. “I realized quickly that I loved teaching the game,” Langley said. She was understandably delighted upon getting a call These days, no one has to trick Langley into coaching. from the principal from Walker High School in Jasper, Ala., The 47-year-old Alabama native will bring both best with an offer for just such a job. But that principal wanted versions of herself — successful coach and passionate her to be more than just a teacher — something Langley teacher — to the University of Washington to take wasn’t expecting. “I got tricked into coaching,” she said charge of the women’s basketball program. “I love with a laugh. “He offered me the opportunity to teach, but mentoring young women. I think all young women in he said I’d have to coach. … To be a teacher in that time, it this age group are in an important developmental stage was easier to get a job if you did extracurricular activities. in their life,” she said. “To be a part of those years is I coached a lot of sports quickly.” something that is just my passion.” Volleyball. Softball. And of course, basketball, first as an assistant, then moving up to head coach. Along Continued on page 7

From Rebuilding To Postseason Title

Make no mistake: Langley has a passion for basketball, as well — although she didn’t actually take up the game herself until she was a high school freshman, and then only at the behest of her best friend, who asked her to turn out because the team needed more players.

“I was just horrific because I’d never played before,” she said. “That’s when I realized you could get by if you understood the game. I kind of fell in love with learning at that point.”

Indeed she did. Langley ultimately went on to earn three degrees: one in special education from the University of West Alabama, a master’s in Recreation and Leisure with an emphasis on recreation administration from the University of Toledo, and a master’s in community counseling from the University of Alabama.

As for understanding the game, Langley’s record shows that very clearly. She was on the staff of head coach Brenda Frese at national power Maryland for seven years (2008-15), the last five of those as associate head coach.

She landed in Seattle after spending the past six seasons at Rice University in Houston, where she became a college head coach for the first time. Prior to her arrival there, the Owls had gone through four consecutive losing seasons. Langley rebuilt the program into one that just went 23-4, captured a third consecutive Conference USA title, and won the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

“Her accolades certainly speak for themselves, and we look forward to watching her build something special on Montlake,” UW Athletic Director Jen Cohen said in a statement on April 5, the day Langley’s hiring was announced. “Her commitment to the development of students both on and off the court, combined with her vision for bringing the program back to competing for championships made her a perfect fit for our culture.”

In coming to Washington, Langley takes over a program that certainly has endured its own rough stretch over the past few seasons. Her approach to getting back onto a more successful track is to start with the little things.

“I’m just excited to start working on daily habits,” she said. “I think all of us can be better at the simply daily habits that produce excellence in our lives. Our challenge to ourselves as a staff and as a team is how do we improve those daily habits: how we rest, how we care for our body, the commitment we make every day to the academic side. Our focus daily on small details will then lead to excellent moments for us.”

That attention to detail applies every bit as much to shooting and rebounding as much as it does to body and mind. A Langley-coached team will be, as she described it, “efficient and unselfish at both ends of the floor.” That team also will be solid defensively. Through the past five seasons, Rice allowed an average of just under 58 points per game, and its opponents shot a mere 36.9 percent from the field.

“We try to be very efficient from the defensive standpoint,” she said. “Statistically, we did a great job of guarding our opponent and taking away their strengths and being very sound fundamentally. At the offensive end, we take the best shot available to us — very unselfish, and we share the ball well. I think that’s what you’ll see at both ends of the floor.”

What Husky fans also will see, thanks in large part to Langley’s efforts, is the return of a key player and the addition of another who starred for Langley at Rice. “Her commitment to the development of students both on and off the court, combined with her vision for bringing the program back to competing for championships made her a perfect fit for our culture.”

UW Athletic Director Jen Cohen

Solid On Defense, Unselfish On Offense

Coach Langley and the newest Husky Nancy Mulkey will be ready to wear purple and gold in 2021.

Haley Van Dyke, a 6-foot-1 forward who will be a senior, led the Huskies last season at 12.0 points per game. She had entered the NCAA transfer portal, but decided to stay with the Huskies after talking with Langley. “She just has a commitment to excellence, which is what our program will be about on a daily basis,” Langley said. “I also think she’s a good example of the type of leadership that can drive the program forward.”

Coming aboard will be Nancy Mulkey, a 6-foot-9 tower of power at center who averaged 15.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, blocked 95 shots, and shot 57 percent from the field in 2020-21, ultimately being named the WNIT’s Most Valuable Player. Mulkey has played four seasons (three for Langley), but, like all winter sports athletes across the NCAA spectrum, was granted an extra year of eligibility because of the ongoing pandemic.

“When you look at her time at Rice, you would see someone who would sacrifice for her team tremendously,” Langley said of Mulkey, who will be the tallest player in Husky history “She’s an unbelievable passer and really difficult to defend. She really has your back on the defensive end of the floor all the time.”

As has been true for just about everyone else, the past 15 months for Langley have had their share of twists and turns while navigating through a life-altering pandemic. But her approach to why she does what she does — and how she does it — hasn’t been altered at all. Finding that Washington’s approach matched hers in so many ways ultimately led her to Seattle.

“When you give thought to an environment where young women are going to come in and grow and learn, I think this university’s commitment to those values will create an incredible environment for young women,” Langley said.

A large part of the environment will, of course, be created on the court. Whether her team was practicing in pods last fall or playing for a postseason championship early this spring, the basketball court still offered Langley a feeling of normalcy during a long stretch that has been anything but normal.

That feeling was just as evident recently when she got onto the court with her Huskies for the first time. “We talk about how this has been a challenging year for everyone,” she said. “Being on the court is a time to have joy and do things that we love together and that we have a shared passion for. It’s fun to be on the court and learn about one another as people and as players and just start talking the game.”

Talking the game. Teaching the game. Coaching the game. Never again will Tina Langley have to be tricked into doing that.

A Sense Of Normalcy On The Court

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