Katie O'Connor Accepts Assistant Coach Position at Virginia
May 11, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas women’s basketball assistant coach Katie O’Connor is resigning her position with the Jayhawks to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Virginia. O’Connor has been a part of the Kansas basketball staff for seven years under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
“I would like to thank Katie for all of her hard work as an assistant coach for our program,” said Henrickson. “She is a tireless recruiter and did an outstanding job working with our players. We appreciate her commitment to the University of Kansas women’s basketball program over the last seven years and wish her nothing but the best of luck in her new endeavor.”
During her tenure at Kansas, O’Connor spent time working with the Jayhawk frontcourt but most recently took over duties with the team’s guards, where she helped develop current standouts Angel Goodrich and Monica Engelman. Goodrich led the Big 12 Conference dishing out 6.3 assists per game in 2010-11, while Engelman finished fifth in the league shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
O’Connor’s resume also includes tutoring former KU player Danielle McCray. In her first season working with the Jayhawk wing players, McCray went from Honorable Mention All-Big 12 to one of five players on the First Team. McCray averaged 21.6 points per game off of improved shooting and she also led KU in rebounding, steals and blocks. McCray earned Honorable Mention All-America honors and also earned a spot on the 2009 World University Games Team.
That same season, O’Connor worked with Sade Morris, the second-leading scorer for KU in 2008-09. Morris turned in 12.7 points per game and was the top defender for the Jayhawks.
While working with the frontcourt, O’Connor grew KU forward Crystal Kemp into an All-Big 12 First Team performer for the 2005-06 season, as she also became just the sixth Jayhawk to accumulate more than 1,600 career points and 800 career rebounds. Kemp was also the first KU player to be named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice in a single season.
A former player for Henrickson, O’Connor spent three seasons as a full-time assistant coach at her alma mater, Virginia Tech. Before becoming a full-time assistant coach, O’Connor spent two years as an administrative assistant for the Hokies.
O’Connor, a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., was a four-year starter for Virginia Tech from 1995-99. She helped lead Tech to an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title in 1998, an A-10 regular-season title in 1999 and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
In her senior season, the program enjoyed its most successful year, posting a 28-3 record, a Sweet 16 appearance and the program’s highest ranking of No. 9. In her final year as a Hokie, O’Connor was also named the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Most Improved Player.
O’Connor graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.
