Travis Mays Changing SMU Women's Basketball

The article below is from the Dallas Morning News.  It talks about how new head coach Travis Mays has began the process of turning around the SMU Women's basketball program in his first year.  I have put in red some the takeaways that I have found as a coach also in his first year leading a new program.  You can find the original article here.

UNIVERSITY PARK -- It took all of one practice, and countless eye rolls, for the SMU women's basketball team to realize how different things would be under new coach Travis Mays.

The Importance of Attention to Details
The Mustangs did the three-man weave. Then they did it again, and again, and ...

"The whole 45-minute workout we did the same drill until we got it perfect," junior guard McKenzie Adams said. "We were like, 'What the heck? Forty-five minutes of the same drill?' But those 45 minutes paid off. We're seeing how important it is to pay attention to the details."

The changes have not been limited to drills. At 11-8, Mustangs enter Wednesday's game against No. 23 South Florida just two wins shy of last season's total.

Mays took over for school legend Rhonda Rompola, who retired after her 25th season on the Hilltop.

As a player, Mays helped Texas advance to the Elite Eight in 1990. The first player to earn back-to-back Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors, he ranks second on UT's all-time scoring list.

The 14th overall pick in the 1990 draft, Mays spent four seasons in the NBA and eight in Europe, retiring in 2002. He began coaching as soon as his playing career ended. He served as an assistant coach at Texas from 2004-07, then spent four years at LSU and one at Georgia before returning to UT (2012-16).

For Mays, the Hilltop seemed the perfect place for him to make his head coaching debut.

"Having the chance to come to SMU, my eyes lit up," he said. "It was a great opportunity for me. There are a lot of people in the state of Texas and in Dallas that I had built relationships with as opposed to going someplace where nobody knew me or my name wasn't recognized."

Mays is only the fourth coach SMU has had. It makes sense that he would follow Rompola, considering he has worked for three Hall of Famers as a collegiate assistant.

He knows how the elite programs are run, having been a part of eight NCAA tournaments, including the Final Four with LSU in 2008.

To hone his coaching skills, Mays went straight to the top. He called Connecticut's Geno Auriemma to ask if he could attend a practice.

‘WHO’ You Are And What Kind Of PERSON You Are Matters!
Auriemma, who has won 11 national titles, was impressed. When the SMU job opened, he called athletic director Rick Hart to recommend Mays.

"I was recommending him as a person more than a coach," Auriemma said. "In the end, you're hiring that person. And he's a good person.

"He's a hard-working guy, he cares about his players and he has great reputation in the state of Texas. He doesn't want to get a job based on his name."

The Mustangs seemed ready for a change after going 7-23 and 13-18 the previous two seasons.

Change The Culture
Mays wanted to change the culture at SMU, using UConn as his model. He has stressed accountability -- on and off the court -- and the importance of high expectations, individually and collectively.

"It's totally different, everything," junior Alicia Froling said. "Everyone's attitude has changed. We have a new perspective, but then he's done a really good job of just understanding individuals and how we can mesh collectively. We were a close team the past two years, but we still had issues. I just think this group has been an awesome group to be a part of. He's done an awesome job of pulling us together."

Inconsistency Is Part Of The NEW Job
The Mustangs have been inconsistent. They followed a loss at New Mexico with a victory over No. 19 Texas A&M, the program's first win over a ranked team since 2008.

They won four straight by at least 19 points, then suffered a one-point lost to East Carolina. A four-game losing streak included a loss to Cincinnati, followed by a 66-45 victory over Houston.

Mays has tried to spark belief in his team through competition. Scrimmages are not uncommon, with rewards for wins and consequences (running) for losses.

"I think coaches can only do so much," Mays said. "Coaches can put you in sets to help you be successful, but it's going to boil down either to a one-on-one or two-on-two situation. That's when the confidence from competition comes in and the coaching stops and the player has to take over. Once they own it in the locker room, that's when they'll reach their full potential."