Diane Richardson plans to reshape the Temple women’s basketball program through hard work

Arthur Johnson sent a text to one of Dawn Staley’s South Carolina assistants the same night the Gamecocks beat Creighton 80-50 to advance to the NCAA women’s Final Four. Johnson sought advice before hiring a new coach at Temple.

The Owls athletic director admitted he was hesitant to reach out to Staley with her second national championship on the horizon. The next day, Johnson called the former Temple coach (2000-08) and North Philadelphia native to congratulate her and ask about qualities he should be looking for in a candidate.

Diane Richardson, whom Staley called the “Queen of the DMV,” referencing the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, was soon named Temple’s next head coach, succeeding Tonya Cardoza. She was formally introduced by Johnson and university president Jason Wingard on Wednesday morning in the Fox-Gittis Room of the Liacouras Center.

Temple’s newly appointed coach noted five values she plans to implement into the Owls’ rebuild, using the acronym, HABIT: honesty, accountability, branding, integrity, and teamwork.

“I’ve eyed this program for a long, long time,” said Richardson, now 63 years old. “But you can’t get anywhere unless they call you. Once I got that call, I was really elated. It was a goal of mine, and I was just happy to get the call and happy to go through the process.”

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Richardson plans to bring two Towson assistants, Cheyenne Curley and Myles Jackson, to Temple, along with director of basketball operations Jasmine Allen. The Tigers’ associate head coach Zach Kancher is applying to succeed Richardson at Towson.

Prior to joining Temple, Richardson was head coach at Towson, where she led the Tigers to their first NCAA appearance in school history in 2018-19. She had two postseason appearances in five years at the helm. Before Towson, Richardson was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at West Virginia (2016-17), George Washington (2012-2016), Maryland (2007-08) and American (2006-07).

She also has eight combined years of coaching experience at the high school level. Richardson led Riverdale Baptist High School in Maryland to five national championships and was named national high school coach of the year in 2005.

“All the things I’ve learned throughout my career, whether it be in business, in life, or raising children,” Richardson said, “all of those things have helped me to build championship teams.”

Soon after Cardoza was let go on March 22, Johnson met with the current team seeking input on qualities they wanted in a new coach.

“Some of the things our student-athletes asked for when we met with them after we made the decision was someone who was caring,” Johnson said, “someone who was going to hold them accountable, and someone who loves people.”

Johnson and the search committee spent the last two weeks interviewing candidates. Richardson said her interview process moved rapidly. She spoke about her background and how she plans to rebuild Temple’s program.

Richardson met with the team on Zoom the day her hiring was announced, then in person the morning of her introduction. Before that meeting, she met separately with graduate student Jalynn Holmes, who played on Towson’s 2018-19 CAA championship team, about the expectations at Temple and previous accomplishments.

“That’s going to be crucial with her experience,” Richardson said. “Helping the younger players understand how important it is to win.”

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After Temple was bounced from the American Athletic Conference tournament last month, Cardoza admitted the Owls’ offense relied too heavily on Mia Davis, the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Richardson, who recruited Davis in 2017, said her intention is to create an “equal-opportunity offense” with the Owls, one that generates quality looks early in the shot clock and constantly pushes the ball in transition. To facilitate that, they’ll aim to pressure teams for 40 minutes.

“We’re going to defend. We’re going to push the ball in transition. We’re going to press,” Richardson said. “We’re going to press them from the bus. As soon as they open the door, we’re going to be right there. And we’re going to be monsters on the board. But more importantly, we’re going to have young ladies that are confident.”