Florida Gators
Clay Court Champs (Day 2)
Former UF women's coach Ross takes over WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks
Friday, January 6, 2012 | Women's Basketball, Women's Tennis, Scott Carter
A decade since her surprise resignation from UF, former Gators women's basketball coach Carol Ross has a new challenge.
Ross was named head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday, taking over one of the league's marquee teams after three seasons as an assistant with the Atlanta Dream.
Ross was UF's head coach for 12 years (1990-2002), leaving with a 247-121 record. Her 247 wins remain the most in UF history.
Current Florida coach Amanda Butler played for Ross at UF and later served as an assistant coach with the Gators under Ross.
She is pleased to see her mentor become a head coach on the professional level as she continues to chase the standard Ross set for the program. Ross took the Gators to nine NCAA Tournaments and one WNIT in her 12 seasons.
“When you look at the tradition that we have here at the University of Florida today, the players who have gone on to do great things as professionals and the success of the program, most of that is attributed to Carol Ross,'' said Butler. “The impact that Carol has had on those of us who played for her and had a chance to work for her as a coach is much more personal. Carol set a very high bar for my staff and me to reach what she did and hopefully exceed it."
During a conference call with reporters, Ross talked about her new job and the challenge ahead. She replaces Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father of Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
“I would hope that any team that I have the opportunity to influence – and that will be the Sparks now – that they are going to play very hard, they're going to play for each other, and they're going to play with a lot of enthusiasm and passion.
“I think when you play the game like you love it, then the game will treat you well.''
After leaving Florida, Ross spent four seasons as head coach at Ole Miss, her alma mater.
She has a career record of 324-161 and was a two-time finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year at Florida in 2001 and 2002.
Ross takes over a team that features former Tennessee star Candace Parker and former Gator Delisha Milton-Jones, who played for Ross at UF.
Sparks general manager Penny Toler said Ross' track record speaks for itself.
“It feels great to hire a coach with Carol's background,'' Toler told reporters on the conference call. “It's like … here comes a blood transfusion. I think we've had our trouble in the past but we have the right person in the seat.”
The Sparks have missed the WNBA playoffs in four of the last six seasons.
