Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma praise for Charlotte’s Tomekia Reed hire

Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma both used their platforms to praise Tomekia Reed while she was at Jackson State. Now that she’s got the job at Charlotte, both championship coaches are more than thrilled for her.

Earlier this year, Staley supported Jackson State getting a vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll . Here’s what she had to say about her hiring at Charlotte.

“Charlotte got a great hire in Tomekia Reed. She is going to be a great advocate for her student-athletes,” Dawn Staley said. “She is a great basketball mind and uniter of the community. Being this close to Charlotte, I will be paying close attention to her success.”

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma defeated Reed in what would be her final game at Jackson State — the NCAA Tournament opener. But he said after the game he thought coaches like Reed needed to be promoted more and suggested that Power Five programs should give her a look.

“I’m so excited that Tomekia Reed has been named the head coach at Charlotte. After coaching against her team, I came away super impressed with how hard they work and how disciplined they are. Congrats to Coach Reed and to Charlotte for reaching out of the box and getting a terrific coach.”

Charlotte isn’t a Power Five/Four program, but it is an up-and-coming program in a basketball-dominated state.

Reed was introduced to the media on Monday as she looks to take the program to the next level as she did at Jackson State. She tweeted her gratefulness on Friday afternoon for comments made by Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma.

“This means EVERYTHING!!! Two people that I have GREAT respect for. Thank you @dawnstaley and @UConnWBB Geno!!! I greatly appreciate what you do for the game and how you uplift coaches like myself advocating for change and opportunities.”

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