Kristy Curry, head coach, USF women's basketball.
It still makes you do a double-take. One of the sport's most respected and accomplished leaders has landed with the Bulls. The move caught everyone's attention.
It happened quickly.
One week ago, Curry's Alabama Crimson Tide was beaten at Louisville 69-68 in an NCAA Tournament second-round game. Alabama finished 24-11 (Curry's 16th season of 20 or more wins), marking her 14th NCAA appearance in 27 seasons as a head coach.
The next morning, USF CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins was in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
That afternoon, Curry was officially announced as USF's head coach.
How do you explain that whirlwind?
"I don't think you explain anything,'' said Curry, 59, who has coached in the SEC (Alabama), Big 12 (Texas Tech) and Big Ten (Purdue). "This place (USF) is special. They care here about women's basketball. They're a champion for women's sports. And Rob Higgins is a visionary leader.
"I mean, he's innovative. He's dynamic. He's forward-thinking. It's really special to partner with a staff and university and president (Moez Limayem) that really, really, truly get it on so many levels. I couldn't say no.''
Curry, no stranger to attracting talent, said Higgins was the best recruiter she had ever seen.
"The thing that impresses me the most is Rob's love for this university,'' Curry said. "And I want to say this: This is a destination. This is not a stepping stone. We're here. We're here for the long term. We're going to win. And we're going to win now.''
Winning was a hallmark of USF women's basketball during the 25-season tenure of Coach Jose Fernandez, who had 485 victories, 10 NCAA Tournament bids, 12 seasons with at least 20 wins and 20 victories against teams ranked in the top 25 during his tenure.
When Fernandez departed to become head coach of the WNBA's Dallas Wings about 10 days before USF began its season, Michele Woods-Baxter was elevated to interim head coach and guided the Bulls to a 20-12 finish and an American Conference Tournament quarterfinal defeat against UTSA, the ultimate league champion.
"USF is a special place that I really admired,'' Curry said. "The job that Jose did for so long, so consistently, I was well aware of that, having played him a couple of times. Seeing him on the recruiting trail and having great respect for his X's and O's … he's such an amazing man.
"It's a base that has been here for so long. It's a proud tradition, year in and year out, competing for championships. And you know, that's all we know, too. We're going to work really hard to continue that and to continue to accelerate it.''
Curry, who entered to a standing ovation, said she was "overwhelmed'' by Monday's introduction at the USF Alumni Center, which included cheerleaders, a pep band, green-and-gold balloons and a full house of athletic staff, donors and alumni.
Higgins, before calling Curry to the stage, teased the crowd with a promise of some "inside information.''
"Are you ready to hear why a coach of this caliber would want to leave the SEC and come here?'' Higgins said. "Are you ready to hear why one of the game's all-time greats would leave Alabama and come to Fowler Avenue? Do you want to hear the behind-the-scenes of how we stealthily pulled this off?''
The crowd nodded and a few said, "Yes, yes, yes'' out loud.
"It's actually way more simple than one would assume,'' Higgins said. "We are USF. Those who really know today's USF and those who know Kristy Curry know that USF deserves Kristy Curry and Kirsty Curry deserves USF.
"USF is a place where we win championships and Kristy is a championship coach. USF is a fearless institution where we do things the right way and Kristy is a proven leader who leads that same way as well. USF believes and invests in women's sports and Kristy is an icon and trailblazer for women's sports.''
Higgins displayed that same unshakable belief when he hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline for USF football and College of Charleston head coach Chris Mack (who will be formally introduced on Tuesday) for USF men's basketball.
"Here's what USF doesn't do: We don't equate success with potential, we do not believe in tapping the brakes and we don't believe we deserve anything less than the best,'' Higgins said. "Kristy Curry is focused on USF (elevating its status) as a special place with relentless championship success, where great coaches want to come and not leave.''
In a few days, Curry will leave Tampa … for the NCAA Women's Final Four. The transfer portal opens on Monday. So her calendar already is full. But she knows the top priority.
"The most important thing is our current roster and letting them know how much we care, and building relationships (with them),'' Curry said. "As transactional as we're in with the times (in modern college athletics), it's about relationships. It's about people. It's people that make a place special. Our current team is the most important thing right now.
"We're excited for the portal to open on Monday and add a couple of key pieces to the roster that's in place and build from there. We've got a lot of work to do.''
Curry didn't have a definitive answer on whether USF will continue Fernandez's tradition of exhaustive international recruiting, only to say, "We're going to find the best young women and the best players who represent everything about the front of the (jersey) the right way. We'll continue to go international, continue to recruit the state of Florida and the South, this region and this country. We're going to find the best players who fit our system and style.''
In hearing Curry's homespun drawl, it was obvious that she fits nicely in the South. She's from Olla, La. (population: 1,294), a place best known for its Central Louisiana Bluegrass Festival, its history as a steamboat port and its ties to the timber and oil industries.
Long ago, Curry became entranced with the bouncing basketball. It took her through the high-school coaching ranks in Louisiana, through the highest levels the college sport has to offer. Now she's intent on taking the USF Bulls to places where the program has never gone.
Curry said USF women's basketball will be built around her long-standing trio of core principles — grit, love and gratitude. She said it revolves on becoming the hardest-working team possible, a goal that begins with the head coach's effort.
Monday morning, while setting into her new digs at the Pam and Les Muma Basketball Center, Curry heard some bouncing basketballs on the practice court as her new players continued offseason work. She felt at home. That seemed evident as she expressed her desire to "get to know every single person in this room'' at her enthusiastic introduction.
"We're here today because of y'all,'' Curry said, addressing the current USF players. "OK, as long as y'all can understand (the Southern expression of) 'y'all', we're going to be good.''
