Temple Women’s Basketball has found success from the bond the players and the coaches have made.
If you were to ask Temple Women’s Basketball assistant coach Myles Jackson about Diane Richardson, he would give you the same response he gives everyone else. Most college athletes go to their respective schools and then graduate, but that isn’t the case for the players Richardson coaches.
Jackson will say they attend Richardson University—an education which extends past their days playing college basketball. Jackson has seen it happen up close with being on Richardson’s staff for the last eight years.
Richardson has been cultivating a tight-knit culture since her days as a high school basketball coach in Maryland. Fast forward a decade and that same family-oriented atmosphere is at Temple, where the Owls have thrived in her three seasons at the helm.
“We’re not the typical coaching staff,” Jackson said. “We’re not just your coach for the time you’re playing. Coach Rich wants to go to your weddings and your baby showers. [She] wants to be part of your life for the rest of your life. I’ve seen that being with them for going on seven years now, that family atmosphere is real.”
Richardson joined Temple in 2022 following five seasons at Towson, including an NCAA Tournament bid in 2019. Following on the heels of former coach Tonya Cardoza, Richardson was tasked with ushering in a new era of Temple basketball.
To do so, she brought her staff from her old school.
Richardson’s staff joined her on North Broad Street, bringing every assistant coach down to the support staff. The move uprooted many of the coaches, who now have to travel two hours up I-95, but was done to bring a new culture to the program.
Former players such as center Rayne Tucker, and guards Aleah Nelson and Tariyonna Gary also followed their coach. The trio joined a group of returning Owls, but it wasn’t that easy. Temple endured bumps and bruises during the 2022-23 season, which resulted in multiple players getting dismissed from the roster.
Despite the drama off the court, Richardson remained optimistic in her vision of what she wanted for the program.
“I did stumble a little bit like, should I or should I not,” Richardson said. “I knew that we would only have eight players, but I said, ‘We just got to tough it through, and in the long run, it’ll be worth it.’”
The bumps and bruises allowed Richardson to keep the players who were truly bought into the successful program she was trying to build, and the next season put it into full effect. Temple added guards Demi Washington and Tristen Taylor, but the core remained the same. After the trials and tribulations of the previous season, Richardson finally had the culture she wanted.
The vibe off the court translated to wins on the court. The Owls took the American Athletic Conference by storm by winning a share of the regular season crown.
Temple put on a show by winning, but more importantly, had fun doing it. Whether it was the team getting rowdy on the sidelines or cracking jokes with each other at the post-game press conference, the love for each other grew within each interaction with the team.
“At the end of the day, it’s all a team. It’s all togetherness,” said guard Tiarra East. “What we do, we want to do it together. We play together, and that’s how we get wins.”
Nelson and Washington graduated while Tucker transferred to UAB in the offseason, but the feeling within the team remains the same. The Owls have a chance at its first postseason berth since 2017, just because of the team’s atmosphere.
Temple added new players to its family during the offseason and they fit like a glove. East, who is the sole remainder from the Cardoza era, has stepped up as a leader and welcomed the new players with open arms.
For Richardson, the team is a testament to what she has been trying to build since she traded her business career to become a coach. Each of the players and coaches look up to her as a role model—something that goes beyond the wins and losses and their playing days.
“That’s how it is with all my players,” Richardson said. “They’re always reaching out to me. They call me when they have babies, you know, I’m there, or if they have surgery or something later on in life, I’m there. It’s family for life.”
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