‘Orange and blue in my blood.’ Rhyne Howard talks new job with Florida women’s basketball.

Rhyne Howard, one of the most accomplished basketball players ever to lace up sneakers at the University of Kentucky, was back on campus in Lexington last week when some surprising news emerged.

Howard, a WNBA All-Star for the Atlanta Dream in both of her seasons as a pro, had accepted a job as a college basketball assistant coach.

What now?

Let’s set a couple of things straight.

1. Howard is not cutting short her playing career. Her assistant coaching gig is a director of player personnel position that requires her services only in the WNBA offseason.

2. Howard will not be coaching for the University of Kentucky — at least not yet. Instead, the Wildcats’ No. 2 all-time scorer has joined forces with the Florida Gators, a UK rival in the Southeastern Conference.

What now?

While fans might have been caught off guard by Florida’s Oct. 9 announcement that Howard had been added to its 2023-24 staff, Kentucky’s coaches were not.

Howard told UK head coach Kyra Elzy and associate head coach Niya Butts of her plans during the second weekend in July, when Howard’s Atlanta Dream arrived in Chicago for two games against the Sky. The UK coaches were in town for the 2023 Girls EYBL Nike Nationals tournament and paid a visit to their former star.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m probably about to be taking this coaching job in Florida,’” Howard told the Herald-Leader this week. “I really told Butts first. And Butts was like, ‘No you ain’t, no you ain’t.’”

Of course, Butts and Elzy were happy for Howard. In a time when an increasing number of WNBA players are finding professional opportunities in college basketball during the offseason, who wouldn’t want the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year directly involved with their program?

According to Howard, Kentucky did. But, unfortunately for the Wildcats, they were late to the party.

“Of course Kentucky would like me to come back and coach,” Howard told the Herald-Leader. “But I think when they had reached out I had already been in connection with (Florida head coach) Kelly (Rae Finley). But they weren’t upset about it. They were happy for me and just the experience. You know, Elzy’s all about making money, and Butts is all about making money, so they really didn’t feel too ill-willed about it.”

Finley made the announcement via social media, officially welcoming the two-time SEC Player of the Year to her program on the same afternoon Kentucky was conducting its media day activities with Howard in its gym. Though the timing wasn’t ideal, Elzy was clear when the UK legend huddled up with this year’s UK roster — “She knows where home is.”

While that’s true, this job allows Howard to return to another home. A lifelong Florida fan, Howard is the daughter of Rhvonja “R.J.” Avery, who played for the Gators from 1987-91 and served as captain during the 1990-91 campaign. Finley reached out to Howard’s agent, as well as her mother, near the beginning of the summer to ask if coaching was an area of interest.

“It definitely was exciting,” Howard said. “... To finally be able to get the ties back to Florida after so long. Like after, you know, not going for college, going to Kentucky, but being able to still have that orange and blue in my blood.”

According to Florida Athletics, Howard’s role with the Gators will span throughout her offseason, allowing her to stay stateside this year. Following her rookie season with the Dream in 2022, Howard played in Italy for Famila Schio and won the Lega Basket Femminile championship.

“I’m glad I don’t have to go overseas,” Howard laughed.

‘It’s starting to get better’

As previously mentioned, it’s becoming more and more common for WNBA players to find professional alternatives to playing internationally in the offseason. Athletes Unlimited Basketball, founded as an offshoot of professional sports league network Athletes Unlimited, allowed WNBA players like Howard’s Dream teammate Naz Hillmon and Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith to spend their offseason playing in the U.S.

Broadcast opportunities are another option. Former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston, the first pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft and the league’s Rookie of the Year, was recently hired as a studio analyst for Big Ten men’s and women’s college basketball games.

Coaching continues to grow in popularity, as well. During the 2022-23 season, 2022 New York Liberty lottery pick Nyara Sabally served as an assistant coach at Sacramento State. This month, TCU announced that Chicago Sky forward Ruthy Hebard would be joining her former Oregon assistant coach Mark Campbell’s staff in his first season leading the Horned Frogs.

“I feel like as the years go by, I hope that it will get better,” Howard said. “But I feel like especially with going overseas, we shouldn’t have to go and play year-round, every year just to make money. But I feel like it’s starting to get better, enough that we have expansion and new ownership and stuff coming in. I feel like a lot more good things will happen than, you know, regression.”

Kentucky vs. Florida

Howard, three-time All-American at Kentucky, said coaching has been a passing thought “on separate occasions,” and that she’s looking forward to experiencing the other side of the game using what she’s learned as a player.

“I’m just excited to be able to build better relationships with different people as a coach instead of a teammate,” Howard said. “So being that I’m still a player as well, having to be an ‘on-court coach,’ for my teammates, I know how they are and I know how they want to be approached, but it’s different on the other side. Because now it’s like a whole new level of respect that they have for you.”

The Wildcats will face Howard and the Gators on Feb. 18 when Florida comes to town for a noon matchup in Rupp Arena.

Though she admittedly hadn’t thought much about what it might feel like to face her alma mater, she does think it’s going to be fun.

“They’ve never really had to go up against me,” Howard said. “You know I’m here for a good time.”

Howard also praised Elzy and Butts, and is optimistic about the future of Kentucky’s program.

“I think they’re continuously getting better,” Howard said. “It is hard to lose as many players as we did my senior year, but they have really good hopes for the future. And I went to practice, of course, and I saw how hard they’re working. You know, how much belief that the coaches instill in them and how much belief the players have in themselves. So, it’ll be great to see how it translates to the court this year.”

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