WSU women’s coach Jody Adams moves forward from tumultuous offseason

When accusations of player mistreatment were leveled against Wichita State women’s basketball coach Jody Adams last spring, she said it was a jarring experience.

Players had decided to transfer before and players had made complaints before, saying Adams was over-the-top with her intensity. No one paid much attention to it back then, as the program improved and her teams began to win championships.

But last spring when two starters and four players in total decided to quit or transfer from a team that just made its third straight NCAA appearance, people started paying attention. Some former players joined the movement against Adams and an uproar began.

An internal review initiated by WSU president John Bardo would ultimately clear Adams, but with conditions: Players will be given enhanced lines of communication to athletic director Eric Sexton, and the team will meet with a consultant in sports psychology regularly.

“I think anyone who goes through something like that in their life, you have to look at that and learn from that,” Adams recently said. “There is an extreme part of me that is very competitive and the other extreme is very caring. I think it’s really important, because of how I coach and how intense I am, that I show that other side of me more.”

Adams, who is entering her eighth year as a head coach, will turn 43 this December and is engaged to be married. Adams is moving into the “second phase” of her life, as she calls it.

Adams is defiant on changing anything about the way she coaches, but the concession she does make is that her intensity can be overwhelming to a college athlete. To reach their goal of winning a championship, Adams still believes that’s what it takes to get there.

But she said she is making more of an effort to connect with players on a personal level and show them the caring side that’s always been there – but just hasn’t been displayed as much.

“As players, they get me 90 percent of the time when I’m business mode and 10 percent they see how loving and caring I am,” Adams said. “I really want to change that time I get to spend with them and show that side of me more. Knowing that side of me is really important to me.”

Players that stayed, she said, always understood that side was there and have also noticed their coach making more of an effort this season.

“A lot of people miss that side of her,” said Rangie Bessard, who sat out last season as a transfer. “She cares about you as a person first and a lot of people get confused with that because they see her on the court and she gets really intense because she wants to win.”

Sophomore Aundra Stovall said she feels she knows Adams better this year because of those efforts. But she also made it clear that she was impressed with Adams away from basketball last year.

“She’ll go out of her way any day to help you out,” Stovall said. “She may have a full schedule, but if there’s something you need help with, she has your back on it. A lot of people don’t get to see that, but Coach Jody makes sure everybody around her is OK and she is just really big on helping.”

Adams has even surprised some of the returners by cracking a few jokes during practice.

“I don’t think Jody has changed, but we are definitely seeing that other side of her more and that’s great,” junior Jaleesa Chapel said. “It’s not always business anymore. It’s not always serious. We feel like we can joke around a little more now.”

So in some ways the adversity has changed Adams, but in many ways it hasn’t.

She will still be the same intense coach, yelling on the sideline and demanding attention to the details from her players. She doesn’t know how to change that.

But win or lose this season, Adams said she is dedicated to evolving in this second chapter of her life and becoming a better coach.

“I want to be a great coach, but I want to be a great person and a great friend and a great mentor to these guys, too,” Adams said. “These guys are just a different group. We just kind of click. I allow them to love me and they allow me to love them and it works.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 5:20 AM with the headline "WSU women’s coach Jody Adams moves forward from tumultuous offseason."