Basketball coach Joni Taylor brings Olympic experience

PARIS – Joni Taylor knows a thing or two about pressure.

She twice took the reins from legendary Hall of Fame women’s basketball coaches – Andy Landers at Georgia and Gary Blair at Texas A&M, where Taylor is entering her third season as head coach.

Taylor must therefore prepare herself for the enormous expectations placed on her as assistant coach of the U.S. women’s basketball team, which is seeking to win its eighth consecutive gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

This is Taylor’s first Olympic Games. She has not only built a reputation as one of the brightest young NCAA coaches, but has also worked her way up the coaching ranks of the US basketball team.

Taylor has never lost an international game in her six years as coach of the U.S. national team. Her 28-0 record includes four gold medals won at the 2021 FIBA ​​U19 World Cup, the 2022 FIBA ​​Americas Women’s U18 Championship, the 2022 FIBA ​​World Cup and the 2023 FIBA ​​Women’s U19 World Cup.

Maintaining her personal record as a winner is less important to her than winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games in France, where the Americans will play their first game against Japan on July 29.

“I would say to any of us as coaches: The biggest expectations are placed on ourselves,” Taylor said. “And I think that’s because we’re all ambitious and driven and we all want to do our best and not let anyone down. And the standard is the standard. … I think what unites us is obviously great talent, but also the pride that these young women feel when they represent their country and go out there and live up to the expectations that everyone is counting on.”

Taylor joins an experienced national team coaching staff.

Head coach Cheryl Reeve began her career with USA Basketball ten years ago as a field coach and assistant coach. Mike Thibault, who will serve as an assistant coach in Paris, has been with USA Basketball since 1993. Assistant coach Kara Lawson has been head coach of several 3-on-3 national teams.

The four, including Taylor, have won a combined 22 gold medals for USA Basketball at various levels of international competition.

Jennifer Rizzotti, chair of the women’s national team committee, said continuity and experience are just as important for coaches as they are for players.

“I think it’s very valuable to gain experience over time as a coach with USA Basketball,” Rizzotti said. “I remember starting as an assistant with the U-18 team and then working my way up to being an assistant with the national team. The familiarity you gain when you coach against the U-19 world champions from Spain, who will go on to be members of the Olympic team, is invaluable. … I think this coaching staff will do a great job with the players we’ve selected for the team, but their experience, knowledge and working relationship that they’ve built over the last three years is certainly an asset to USA Basketball.”

Taylor was hired to replace Landers at Georgia in 2015, her first job as a college head coach. Three years later, she landed her first job with USA Basketball as an on-court coach working with players at the U18 national team tryouts.

“Being involved with USA Basketball in any capacity was something that just made you think wow,” Taylor said. “It’s something that you always kind of see from afar and keep an eye on. And knowing that being a court coach in 2018 was the first step, and now seeing that in 2024 you’re an assistant on the Olympic team, is just really — I don’t want to say overwhelming, but there’s a huge sense of gratitude that comes with it.”

After the Aggies’ 2023-24 season ended with a loss to Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Taylor immediately threw herself into Olympic preparations. She attended the national team’s training camp in Cleveland during NCAA Final Four weekend in April and was with the team this month for pre-Olympic tryouts against the WNBA All-Star team and Germany. There were also constant calls, group texts and emails throughout the year.

“It’s like my brain is split in half and Texas A&M is here and USA is here,” Taylor said. “And of course we have a great leader in Cheryl. We just want to do whatever she tells us as assistant coaches to support her as best we can.”

While Taylor is with the Olympic team this summer, she’s relying on her team at Texas A&M to continue to conduct recruiting trips and summer workouts. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if her assistants can tell potential recruits that Taylor is coaching at the Olympics.

The style of basketball overseas is different than in the U.S., but Taylor said she constantly uses her national team experience to help the Aggies players, many of whom have aspirations to play for the junior or senior national teams. She can teach them everything from playmaking to lingo to off-court preparation.

“(I) can go back and say, ‘This is what this experience looks like and your habits put you in a position to participate and be considered for it,'” Taylor said. “So that’s great feedback from all areas. It sharpens my toolbox as a coach. I steal ideas every summer and bring them back to our team and our coaches. It also allows me to talk to specific players about what it’s like to not only be a professional, but also be a part of USA Basketball.”

Taylor still remembers the first time she heard the U.S. national anthem on the international stage. It was at the 2021 U-19 World Championship in Hungary, where she was an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning team. She was unexpectedly emotional and overwhelmed by the significance of her stand.

“You don’t think it’s going to move you or touch you emotionally, but when you stand there and see the flag being raised and hear the national anthem – it’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.

At the Olympics she will soon have another experience that she will never forget.