Terry Nooner officially introduced as next head coach of Wichita State women’s basketball
Terry Nooner has always considered himself an overachiever, dating back to his days as a Kansas men’s basketball player when he arrived as a walk-on and left as a team captain.
Visualizing success and dreaming big have always been two key elements in the recipe of success for Nooner, who now applies those in his steady progression in the coaching world of Division I women’s basketball.
So when he strolled onto the court at Koch Arena, his new home, Nooner couldn’t help himself on Thursday afternoon when he was officially introduced as the 10th head coach of the Wichita State women’s basketball team.
“Before you can achieve and do great things, you’ve got to have a vision for what you want to achieve,” Nooner said in his press conference. “So when I walked into the gym today, I visualized the stands full. I see the student section going crazy and screaming at the opposing team. I see these young ladies climbing ladders and cutting down nets and winning championships. If you don’t have those kinds of visions in store when you first come in, you won’t be able to achieve great things and we’re going to do great things around here.”
Nooner, who was the associate head coach at Kansas this past season, was announced as WSU’s next head coach on Monday, less than a week after former coach Keitha Adams, who had just completed her sixth season in Wichita, left to return to her former job at UTEP, where she is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
Thursday’s press conference was attended by around 100 WSU fans sitting in the lower-bowl seats at Koch Arena, while Nooner’s family and current WSU women’s basketball players — all but leading scorer and rebounder Jane Asinde, who entered the transfer portal — lined the rows of seats in front of the stage at halfcourt. Nooner sat in between WSU president Dr. Rick Muma and WSU athletic director Kevin Saal.
In his public address, Nooner said “everything that I do is going to be centered around the players” and had a message to the players in attendance.
“To my new team, I just want to let y’all know that we’re about to be in for a great ride,” Nooner said. “A lot of people will talk about the players already present on the team and refer to them as the other coach’s team. But I’m here, I’m your head coach and you guys are my team and you’re my players and I’ll never refer to you as anybody else’s players.”
Saal said WSU quickly narrowed the coaching search, which was conducted along with WSU senior associate AD Scott Barnhart, on Nooner based on his success, ties to the state and region and, most importantly, his relationships.
Similar to the way Saal was swayed by the relationship-building of new men’s basketball head coach Paul Mills, he saw the same quality in Nooner.
“It has been abundantly clear in all of the folks we talked to on Terry’s behalf his skills and adeptness at building relationships,” Saal said.
“Terry is a builder. He’s a connector. He is universally considered a phenomenal relationship guy.”
Nooner, a Raytown, Missouri native, has spent the last three seasons on the sidelines in Lawrence under KU head coach Brandon Schneider, the 2022 Big 12 Coach of the Year. The Jayhawks registered their first 20-win season in a decade, appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000 and most recently won the 2023 WNIT championship during Nooner’s tenure.
He has been an assistant coach previously at Southern Illinois (2011-12), KU (2012-13), Alabama (2013-15), Maryland (2015-18) and Texas (2019-20), while earning a strong reputation on the recruiting trail at all of those stops. He also spent one year in the NBA as a player development coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018-19 season.
Nooner will have to put those recruiting chops to the test early by taking over relatively late in the transfer portal season. The 45-year-old will look to bring a spark to a program that has gone nearly a decade since its dominant run in the Missouri Valley Conference that resulted in three straight conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances from 2013-15.
Since transitioning to the American Athletic Conference, the Shockers have finished with a 34-57 record (.374 winning percentage) in conference play during the regular season.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 7:24 PM.
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