Diane Richardson doesn't want 'that feeling' again
Diane Richardson’s first season at Temple had its challenges.
Two players voluntarily left the program, and two others were dismissed. Having the depth and talent level she wanted wasn’t a luxury she knew, and the Owls won just 11 games.
A year later, there was Richardson sitting in the film room at the team’s Pearson-McGonigle Hall facility, reflecting upon a second season that saw Temple claim a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title and win nine more games than it had a year ago.
Objectively speaking, Richardson knows this season was an improvement, a step in the right direction.
Just don’t expect her to get that excited about it.
The way Richardson sees it, and rightfully so, an NCAA Tournament berth was within her team’s grasp. Had the favored Owls beaten Rice in the AAC tournament semifinals in Fort Worth, they had a ninth-seeded ECU team, one they beat by 15 on the road earlier this month, waiting for them in the finals.
“Our coaches did great scouts (scouting reports), and we slipped up on that day against Rice, and Rice went on to do well in the championship game,” Richardson said. “And that was our missed opportunity.”
Did earning a double-bye leave her team a bit rusty?
“I don't think so,” Richardson said. “I never want to look at it like that. I think we practiced, and we went over things. We went over the scouts. We knew who we were going to see and who was in our bracket.”
Is Richardson able to sit back and appreciate the nine-win improvement over last season?
“The reality of it is, is that we’re not going to the postseason,” Richardson responded. “Even after the tournament, I was already trying to focus on what we needed to do for next year. And then not getting the tournament has just accelerated what I need to do to get us ready for next year, putting the plans together for next year. Because I don't want to have that feeling again. So just like last year, I said, we're not going to be in this position again, and we jumped on it, and our staff jumped on it. And we had a turnaround year. And the same thing is going to happen next year.”
Richardson spoke with reporters this week about the conference championship that got away and what she is looking to do to shape a roster that can help Temple get another shot at it next season.
You can listen to that interview here.
Front page photo by Grace Crosby.