Page Returns Home To Florida, Ready To Make An Immediate Impact
Monday, October 18, 2010 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ndidi Madu had read about her new coach, had heard stories about Murriel Page's tenacity and how Page once led the Florida women's basketball team to within a game of the Final Four.
When the UF women recently opened practice, Madu and her teammates experienced firsthand what it's like going up against Page, who starred for the Gators from 1994-98 and joined head coach Amanda Butler's staff as an assistant in August.
Madu's introduction was an eye opener.
“In practice, she is like the real thing,'' Madu said. “She is making us so much better. She has been blocking a lot of shots. I've been getting my shot blocked a lot.”
A physical and defensive-minded player during her career – Page was the nation's second-leading rebounder her senior season – Page plans to coach the way she played, sharing stories with the current Gators about how she and former teammate DeLisha Milton went at each other so hard in practice that they once both needed stitches.
“I don't take it lightly on them. You can't come in here and want to be soft and survive in the SEC,'' she said. “You have to be the one to initiate the contact. I'm hitting them, I'm throwing elbows, I'm trying to knock them down, just do whatever I can.''
Page returned to UF to start her coaching career following a 12-year WNBA career. Known in Washington as “The Original Mystic,” Page was the first pick in franchise history in the 1998 WNBA draft. She also spent a majority of the WNBA offseason playing overseas in places such as Italy, Spain and Brazil.
When Butler, an assistant at UF under Carol Ross during Page's sophomore and junior seasons, was in search of an assistant over the summer, Page turned into a top target on a trip to Gainesville.
The two talked, and with Page finally ready to end her playing career, she returned to her alma mater to see if she can help the program reach the same level it did during her career. Teaming with Milton as one of the nation's top low-post tandems in 1997, Page helped the Gators advance to the Elite Eight.
“She was tremendous during that time,'' said Ross, now an assistant coach with the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. “We wouldn't have been there without Murriel Page.''
The Gators lost, 53-51, to No. 2-ranked Old Dominion with a berth to the Final Four on the line. It was a loss that Page – who remembers failing to grab a rebound late in the game -- replayed every time she played against former Old Dominion star Ticha Penicheiro in the WNBA. Penicheiro was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, one spot ahead of Page.
“I think about it a lot,'' she said.
Page returned to UF with a mission in mind. She hopes to help the Gators finally earn that trip to the Final Four and beyond.
“I would like to see the Lady Gators get there again,'' Page said. “That's what I'm here for. I'm here to tell them I know what it feels like not to make it to the Final Four by two points. You don't want that feeling.''
BACK AT HOME
Making the decision to quit playing was one Page had wrestled with the past several seasons. She was traded by Washington to Los Angeles in 2006. Page spent three seasons with the Sparks before signing with the Phoenix Mercury in 2009. Shortly after signing with Phoenix, Page tore her Achilles tendon on the final day of training camp.
Slowly, she began to make the transition from player to coach, the final step made easier when Butler offered her an opportunity to return to UF.
“We just kind of had to wait for Murriel to decide that it was time for her to stop being a basketball player,'' said Butler, entering her fourth season. “She certainly had the opportunity to continue her professional career. I had no hesitations on my part asking her to come back and help us do the things that we haven't been able to do.''
Page's success at UF and her lengthy professional career were key factors in Butler's interest in hiring the 1998 first-team All-American. A native of Louin, Miss., Page finished her college career as the school's second all-time leading scorer and rebounder after nearly being swayed to Ole Miss on the final day of the late-signing period.
An early commitment to Florida, Ross had to wait for five months until Page finally signed a letter-of-intent.
“She was very highly recruited,'' Ross said. “She loved the Gators right away. We had to hang on. It was pretty smooth sailing until those last 24 hours.''
Once Page arrived on campus and starting making her mark, Ross knew she had a special player.
Ross also saw a potential coach.
“It's very easy for a coach to look at certain players and recognize if they have what it takes to become a coach,'' Ross said. “Murriel showed that very early in her playing career. It came through in a variety of ways, but one of the best ways, she was a tremendous teammate and has great people skills. Any time we were hosting recruits on campus, it was Murriel who volunteered to be the hostess.
“There are a lot of former Gators right now who probably came to Florida because of her.''
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Page is optimistic she can make a difference in the program's future. So is Butler.
In Page's short time back on campus, Butler has seen her players respond to Page's youthful style.
“It's making an immediate impact,'' Butler said. “Her experiences, which are vastly different from the rest of my staff and myself, make her unique and give her an angle to teach from that the rest of us don't have. Ultimately, what we want is some of our players to look at Murriel and go, 'Gosh, that's what I want to be; that's what I want to do. I want break records. I want to be the best in this category or that category.'
“She is just a great fit for our program in every way – her personality, her knowledge of the game, her experience as a professional, and more than anything, her passion for the Gators. It has been like she has been here all along.''
Junior shooting guard Jordan Jones doesn't have to post up against Page in practice the way Madu and others do. She is thankful for that. But Jones and others have quickly taken to Page.
At a recent team dinner at Butler's home, Page played pool with the players like she had been around the team forever.
“She seems like a teammate,'' Jones said. “She seems like a friend. On the court, she is very encouraging. She sees things a player would see.''
Page has embraced the new chapter in her basketball career. She might not rack up the points and rebounds the way she used to, but she can still dish out the elbows with the best of them in practice.
“When I see things that they are not doing that I think they should do to help them get to the next level – and being that I just finished playing last year – I think they look at me and say, 'Hey, she just finished playing.' It works to my advantage,'' Page said. “I just think when a great opportunity presents itself, sometimes you just have to decide to take a new journey. It was time for me actually to stop being a player and take a new journey.''
