University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Joni Crenshaw
April 14, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
ATHENS, Ga. -- Since being named the new Georgia women's basketball coach on Sunday, Joni Crenshaw hasn't had much in the way of free time. Life for the Meridian, Miss., native and former center at Alabama, who spent the past four seasons on Andy Landers' staff, will eventually slow down to a normal pace. But it may not be for a while.
Crenshaw was nice enough to find a few minutes Tuesday for a quick chat:
Frierson: Have had any time to catch your breath in the past 48 hours?
Crenshaw: Not really, but I'm used to moving at a pretty fast pace -- although this is faster than anything I've done. I was able to get a few hours sleep last night, which was good.
Frierson: Like anyone taking over a big operation, you've probably been thinking about this and having ideas about what you'd like to do and how you'd like to do it for a long time.
Crenshaw: Whether it was here or somewhere else, I was hoping that I would have a chance to run my program one day. There's been ideas, and even some put down on paper and ready to go, but there's a difference between having ideas and now knowing I get to implement these ideas.
I guess the biggest thing you don't consider is, the first two days, you think you're going to be able to get your staff in place and then go recruiting. And it's been almost everything but that.
Frierson: How long ago did you decide or realize that being a head coach is what you wanted to do and that you could do it well, and these are the ideas you can bring to the table having seen other coaches and been a part of other programs?
Crenshaw: I've been doing this for 13 years. I was at Troy for three years and I was at Louisiana Tech after that for that for three years. Somewhere in my tenure at Louisiana Tech I said, I want to be a head coach. But I knew I wasn't ready.
At that point I knew that I did not just want to be an assistant coach forever, that one day I wanted to be a head coach. Then it became about being very selective in the choices that I made in where I worked and who I worked for, to make sure that it was going to be people that could help me grow, put me in a position to learn all aspects of a program, so that I could be as prepared as possible if I ever got that opportunity.
When I left Louisiana Tech, I went to Alabama. I was able to learn a lot from (coach) Wendell Hudson, in terms of administration, because he moved from an administration position to coach, and that was something that I was missing. Before that I'd never gotten to see the budget, and I was able to listen to him talk about decisions and what goes in to making a decision, and how this effects that and the whole thing.
Coming here, it was icing on the cake. There's no doubt, if I had not come to work for Andy Landers, I would probably had an opportunity (to be a head coach), but I would not have been ready. It was the top layer on the cake for me. I think he recognized that I had that potential and he just started giving me stuff. And the trust and responsibility that he's given me has just been unbelievable. ...
After my second year here was when I said, I'm ready. I'm confident and whenever the time comes, I'm ready.
Frierson: Looking back on yourself as a player at Alabama, how would you describe yourself and would you now recruit you?
Crenshaw: (Laughs) That's a good question. Absolutely I would. I'm fiercely competitive and I never want to lose. I always want to finish first. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change anything, other than I tore my ACL, I tore my UCL (elbow) and I was plagued by injuries my whole career, so I wish that I had been healthier.
I thought I was a very, very hard worker, I was the captain for three years and someone that was a liaison between the players and the staff. And I've continued to be and that has evolved as I've grown and matured.
Frierson: From that it sounds like your coaching career kind of began when you were still a player.
Crenshaw: I've been fortunate. My mom and dad are both educators and so at a very young age I was in situations with a lot of adults, whether it was conference meetings or banquets or seminars. My dad was like the president of the debate team, so he had these high school kids that he would drive to Jackson, Miss., and they would go debate, and me and my brother are sitting in the audience at 7 or 8 years old, watching these high school kids debate.
They're talking and they're using proper diction and they're saying all these things and debating. I was very fortunate to be put in some very adult situations at a very young age, and that definitely helped shape who I am now.
Frierson: I could see exposure to something like a debate team being an incredibly valuable tool for a coach. If you can't communicate your ideas, then nobody can follow you.
Crenshaw: Absolutely. You've got to be able to get people on board with your plan and communicate a clear and effective vision. It doesn't matter how much you know if you can't deliver it. And if it doesn't make sense, it's going to get lost in the middle.
Frierson: On a totally different subject, what are some bad movies that you can't help watching over and over again?
Crenshaw: I don't want to call them bad movies because I love them, but if "The Devil Wears Prada" is on, I've got to watch it. If "Pretty Woman" is on, I've got to watch it. "The Best Man," "Love & Basketball" -- I think those are all good movies. "Clueless." I would call "Clueless" a bad movie, about nothing, but I could quote every line from it.
Frierson: I've also heard that you're a big fan of karaoke. Why do you like it and what's your go-to song?
Crenshaw: I love karaoke, absolutely. I like to consider myself a pretty polished karaoke person, so I'm comfortable singing anything. Some songs that I go to are Rhianna's "Umbrella," anything by Beyoncé, I'm a huge Beyoncé fan, and kind of stay away from Whitney (Houston) and Mariah (Carey) because they just have a different octave that I don't even want to take myself there.
I like to make fun of myself. It's a way to have fun. I sang in the choir when I was little, so I'm used to having a microphone in my hand. It's just a way to have a good time.
John Frierson is a staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Hall of Fame at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Follow him on Twitter: @TheFrierson and @ITAHallofFame.
