Debbie Ryan: Coach Mox "was an excellent choice" for UVA Women's Basketball

UVA's new women's basketball coach got some high praise from Debbie Ryan

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Mar 24, 2022 5:36 PM EDT

Legendary former Virginia women's basketball head coach Debbie Ryan was in attendance on Thursday morning when Amaka Agugua-Hamilton was formally introduced as the next head coach of the UVA women's basketball program at John Paul Jones Arena.

After the ceremony, the seven-time ACC Coach of the Year gave a glowing review of Agugua-Hamilton and commended Virginia's hiring of "Coach Mox."

"Her teams play extremely hard," Ryan said. "I really am impressed with her coaching acuity. She's able to strategize quickly. She's a really good floor coach. She knows when to call timeouts, when not to call timeouts. She gives a lot of independence to her players and yet, they understand that with freedom, comes responsibility - and that's one of the key things in being a great coach. I think she's going to do extremely well here."

Ryan, who led Virginia to three ACC Tournament Championships, 11 ACC regular season titles, and three Final Four appearances in her 34 years as head coach of the Cavaliers, added that there is a foundation in place for Coach Mox to succeed in rejuvenating the Virginia women's basketball program with the full support of the UVA community.

"I think this community is so hungry for this program to do well and to represent itself well," Ryan said. "I think they are so hungry for that and it won't take very long for people to come back. And we have to encourage that and I think I can be a part of that."

Earlier this week, Ryan released a statement about Virginia's hiring of Agugua-Hamilton.

“Amaka was an excellent choice to lead the University of Virginia’s Women’s Basketball Program" Ryan said. "She is a proven college coach who has built a great legacy in the game already and is known for producing outstanding teams at every stop along the way. She demands excellence from her players on the court, in the classroom and around the community. Her teams are always well prepared, play extremely hard, and are very intelligent. The game is fun for the players because she creates a family atmosphere on the team. Amaka will bring an immediate level of excitement to UVA women’s basketball that will ignite our fans, our players and future student-athletes. Our players will work hard and compete on every play as we strive to win championships!”

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton certainly received some high praise from the woman who built the Virginia women's basketball program from the ground up.

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