Kelly Rae Finley, second from right, celebrates with members of the team on Monday afternoon after she was named the 11th women's basketball coach in program history. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Short-Term Decision, Long-Term Solution
Monday, February 28, 2022 | Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Scott Stricklin certainly understood the external questions and outcry. The Florida women's basketball team was putting together a historic season under interim coach Kelly Rae Finley and the social media noise was loud and getting louder with each victory over a ranked opponent.
Why was the "interim" tag still there?
The question was as fair as the UF athletic director's rationale was sound.
"You don't want to be a prisoner to the moment," Stricklin said Monday, mere moments after informing the UF team that Finley had been given the permanent post, complete with a five-year contract. "We got on a bit of a run during the season and we did not want to do anything to distract from that or take away from what was going on."
Finley, 36, was the associate head coach for four season under Cam Newbauer, who resigned last June, with Finley taking over a program that had gone a combined 46-71, including 15-47 in Southeastern Conference play. All she did was lead the Gators to a 20-9 record, with a 10-6 mark in league play, with victories over five ranked teams, highlighted by a 25-point blowout of No. 7 Tennessee.
But well before all that, Stricklin assured Finley early in the season that she would be in the mix for the post once the 2021-22 campaign had wrapped. He advised her to lock in on this team and these players and not to worry about what might come next until after the season.
"And that's been our focus all year, which is why I think we were able to find success," Finley said. "The season didn't end the way we had hoped [with three straight losses], but I don't think it was because we lacked attention to detail or preparation. It made it all easier when that was everyone's focus all along."
Added Stricklin: "I give her a ton of credit. She did not coach or lead in a way that would suggest she was an interim. She did not make short-term decisions."
Neither did her boss, but it all led to this long-term one that locks up Finley, a candidate for both SEC and national coach of the year awards, through the 2027 season and thus sends a message to current players and recruits.
"I'm so excited that I get to spend the rest of my eligibility with Kelly as our coach," said junior guard Nina Rickards, who along with her teammates stormed their coach for a group hug after being delivered the news. "We've had such a great season and we want to build on it."
The Gators finished the regular season 20-9, 10-6 in conference play, in their first season under Kelly Rae Finley. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
The next step is the SEC Tournament, which for the Gators starts Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. UF enters as the No. 5 seed.
A year ago, the Gators went to the tournament as a No. 12 seed, armed with an 11-13 record.
"When we made Kelly interim, I thought we were really fortunate to have her at that point in time. I'd always held her in high regard," Stricklin said. "I thought she would do a good job, but you never know when somebody is thrust into that kind of situation. It was really kind of a luxury, from our standpoint."
