New women's basketball coach brings different mindset

Despite transitioning with a new coach into a new conference, the Mason women’s basketball team has high expectations for their season.

“Our ultimate goal is an A-10 championship, but we need to take small victories and baby steps first before we get to that point,” Coach Nyla Milleson said.

On April 16, 2013, Milleson was announced as the eighth head coach in Mason women’s basketball history. In 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Milleson brings a career 70.2 winning percentage to Mason. Milleson is entering her 29th year coaching.

In 1999, Milleson became the first ever head coach of Drury University in Junction City, Mo. In a program that she helped build from the ground up, Milleson led Drury to a Division II National Championship appearance in 2004. After Drury, Milleson spent seven years coaching at Missouri State University, also in Junction City.

Coach Milleson grew up in Goodland, Kan., a town situated 19 miles from the Colorado border. Milleson originally desired to be a physical therapist but fell in love with coaching as a sophomore in college.

“I felt that coaching was a really good fit for me,” Milleson said. “I enjoy the competition it brings and I love teaching. I had some really positive coaches growing up that taught me well.”

Upon arriving at Mason, Milleson wanted to bring a new playing scheme to the team, a process that has taken time and effort and is still in work. In the beginning, fundamentals and conditioning were stressed as Milleson took charge of the program.

“The first thing I did was have several team meetings to get to know the girls better,” Milleson said. “After that, I would meet with individual players to get to know them on a more personal level.”

The players practice developing trust so they know where they are supposed to be and know they will be taken care of by their teammates. After getting a sense of each player’s strengths and weaknesses, Milleson made tweaks so that players can be put in the best positions to succeed.

Milleson has already had an impact on players on the roster. Redshirt senior forward Janaa Pickard said that it has been easy to trust Milleson.

“You trust her. You know she is a great coach because she knows how to work with what she has,” Pickard said.

Learning the strategies has taken time. Practice performances have been inconsistent as players are learning entirely new systems and are learning how to work with a new coaching staff.

“We definitely get to work every practice. It has really forced us to get out of our comfort zones,” Pickard said. “The system is pretty intricate and it was a difficult process, but if you really want to win, you’ll do whatever you have to do.”

Milleson is bringing an up-tempo offense to Mason, something that she has worked with successfully in her previous coaching experiences. The new strategy also features an emphasis on man-to-man defense.

“Practice requires a lot of mental toughness,” said senior guard Cierra Strickland. “They are more intense and they require a lot of attention to detail. We work on a lot of transition as well in practice so that we can play up-tempo.”

Practices under Milleson are simulated to resemble games so that players get used to in-game situations and maintain conditioning levels.

“We are always making practices more game-like at this point,” junior forward Talisha Watts said. “It is good having that mindset to push to your limit. Coach really wants us to get out and run during games, and the coaches really encourage us to be the best people we can be.”

Milleson takes time to make sure that players are doing well off the court as well. “To me, the biggest priority in coaching is making sure that players grow as a person from the first time they walk in the gym to when they are walking on the stage at graduation,” Milleson said. “Getting a degree is the number one priority, and I try to help players so they can succeed after basketball.”

When recruiting, Milleson first looks for players who would be a good fit in the Mason community. After it is deemed that the player would fit well, Milleson and her assistant coaches look for players who fit the strengths of the system.

“You try to put people in the best spots so you can hopefully avoid dealing with players transferring out of the program,” Milleson said. “Our first priority is to take care of players as a person, and then we worry about the basketball side of things.”

Milleson values the position and impact that she can make in players’ lives.

“One of the greatest joys in coaching for me is when former players call you before major life events like weddings and such,” Milleson said. “I love being able to make a difference in these girls’ lives. I can pick a whole lot of memorable teams and moments that I have had over the years, but the best part is just being able to make a difference.”

Video courtesy of Mason Cable Network