Reunited, and it feels so good.
That’s the way Maylana Martin and women’s basketball
coach Kathy Olivier feel.
It may have seemed like kismet, but after the departure of Theon
Carrier, who decided to call it quits after four years to become a
firefighter, an assistant coaching position lay vacant in the UCLA
coaching staff.
But apparently the search wasn’t much of one, as only one
applicant seemed to fit Olivier’s bill.
At the end of the month, Martin, a former UCLA All-American,
will rejoin the Bruin family as a new assistant coach.
“When you have a great time and success at a place, you
always want to come back,” Martin said. “Right now it
doesn’t seem real to me. It’s going to give me chills
to be back in Pauley (Pavilion).
“We have a great group of girls, and I’m glad to be
a part of it.”
Martin’s resume includes All-American honors, two seasons
with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx and one year of experience as
an assistant coach at the University of Portland in 2003.
But most impressive was Martin’s ability to lead the
Bruins to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, a feat she
will try to mimic as a coach now.
Martin’s NCAA tournament run included dancing her way to
the Elite Eight in 1999, the same year she was named the Pac-10
Player of the Year.
As for the younger generation of Bruins, they are hoping to
build on their NCAA performance last season when they fell to
Minnesota in the first round.
After graduating, Martin continued to keep in touch with
Olivier. In fact, before being drafted 10th in the first round of
the WNBA, Martin hinted to Olivier that she would be interested in
a position on Olivier’s staff if any became open.
When the opportunity knocked, myriad applicants answered, and
Olivier’s choice came down to her former player.
“She always thought she would be back here,” Olivier
said. “When she was in Portland, she always called during the
year about drills and different situations to help out with their
program. We kept in contact, so when the situation arose, I truly
thought she was the perfect fit for the position. She knows what it
takes to be successful.”
After leaving the professional basketball circuit, Martin
hitched on with Portland under head coach Jim Sollars during summer
2003. There, she shared her knowledge and talent in working with
the post players, coordinating the defense, scouting, recruiting
and running camps.
Coming to UCLA will not only reunite Martin with her old coach
but also will give her a chance to gain some direction in her life
by assisting a team that has the capability of improving immensely
on its 17-12 record last season.
“It’s a great opportunity to get my feet wet,”
Martin said. “I started thinking about the rest of my life
and how I was not moving forward, not accumulating anything and not
getting experience for a real-world job. But coaching at Portland
and UCLA will allow me to do that.”
Her impact will be felt most by the post players, as she will
look to instill her scoring aptitude to the Bruin frontcourt.
Martin, who ranks second on the UCLA all-time scoring list and
fourth in blocks, field goal percentage and rebounds, has the
experience to back up the instruction she will provide to the
players.
“We’re so excited. She knows what it takes to get it
done,” junior forward Emma Tautolo said. “She will be a
benefit for us because she knows the ins and outs of the
post.”
With Carrier training in Arizona to become a firefighter,
assistant coach Tia Jackson is now expected to assume the position
of working with the perimeter players. After receiving the news of
Carrier’s new vocation, many of the players were saddened by
his departure.
He was an integral part of a team that made its first NCAA
tournament appearance in four years, and many of the players will
miss his direction and his amicable attitude.
“I’m going to miss Theon a great deal,”
sophomore guard Noelle Quinn said. “He brought a lot of
energy to the program. (He) did so much stuff in kind of the
backstage that he didn’t get recognized for.”
“I respect anyone that has a career that involves saving
someone else,” Quinn added about Carrier’s new
profession.
With Carrier out and Martin in, junior guard Nikki Blue feels
it’s only going to help the team.
“I miss Theon, but he’s going on to bigger and
better things in his life,” Blue said “That’s
just the way our program is going, changing for the better.
We’ll be better. We won’t miss a beat.”