CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona women's basketball assistant coach Shimmy Gray partakes in a friendly scrimmage with other assistant coaches and managers before practice.

Assistant coach makes off-court relationships a priority

Arizona women's basketball assistant coach Yeshimbra "Shimmy" Gray knows a thing or two about discipline.

After working as a police officer and playing collegiate basketball for the University of Michigan, Gray is not one to shy away from hard work.

Whatever the task at hand, Gray is passionate about her work.

Gray was a police officer for the Ypsilanti Michigan Police Department and the University of Michigan Police Department from 1995 to 1998.

Gray said she has been able to apply her work as police officer to her current job as an assistant coach.

"When you're a police officer, you have to work with all types of people and communication is important," Gray said. "(The most) important characteristic about coaching is you have to be a good communicator, you really do.

"Everyone learns in different ways and everyone responds differently," she added. "There's no job I think I'll ever have that's tougher than being a police officer. Being a police officer has prepared me for a lot."

Gray, who has been at Arizona since May 2003, works primarily with post players and is involved in recruiting. More than anything, she makes her relationships with the athletes a top priority.

"It's important, at least for me, for them to know that I'm more than just a coach," Gray said. "I'm going to treat everyone the same - whether it's a player who's an All-American for us or someone who very rarely plays."

While Gray prides herself in theses bonds, she is cautious to maintain a professional relationship.

"I don't want to say that I'm a 'big sister' type because there's obviously a line that has to be drawn," she said. "I want them to know that I care about them and I'm trying to help them - whether it's their manners at the table or wearing the wrong color shoes with their pants. I'm just trying to help them grow into young women.

"If they can see that I see them as more than just a uniform number on their shirt and I really do care about them, then I think it helps when I'm trying to coach them on the court," Gray added.

Gray's attention in maintaining good relationships with the athletes is apparent to the rest of the UA program.

"Shimmy's done an outstanding job," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini. "She brings a great enthusiasm, as (having) been a former player. As a coach, I think she is very, very innovative. I think she's a really caring person. She takes time to try to understand and help each individual. Basically, she's a great people person."

"The players have the most comfortable relationship since she's one of our younger coaches," agreed freshman guard Ashley Whisonant. "She brings a lot of energy to the team. She gets us pumped up for all the games. She always has some type of quote or something that energizes us and makes us want to go out and play."

Gray understands the dynamics of good coach-player relationships, as she was a three-year starter at Michigan from 1991 to 1993 and served as a team captain her senior year.

"I played everything," said Gray of her position. "I was recruited as a wing and I played wing my first couple of years. My last year we were so decimated - we had a coaching change and (that) drove a lot of people off - and because we were so small, I had to play power forward."

Gray found herself to be undersized as a post player in the Big 10 Conference.

"I'm 5 foot 11, and in the Big 10, I'm guarding girls that are like 6 foot 5," she added. "I was just getting handled."

Despite the height disadvantage, Gray went on to finish her collegiate career among the Wolverine leaders in steals, rebounds and rebounding average.

Before coming to Arizona, Gray worked for three years in the University of Washington women's basketball program as both an assistant coach and a director of operations. During her tenure in Seattle, the Huskies recorded a 63-30 record and went to the NCAA tournament twice, including a performance in the Elite Eight in 2001.

"The one thing that's similar is I had a very close relationship with the players. (I had) very close bonds with kids," said Gray of the similarities between her responsibilities at Washington and Arizona. "Other than that at Washington, I did a lot of administrative work. So I ran camp and I took care of the all travel needs.

"What I enjoyed about it is that I learned a lot from doing it," she continued. "I think it's important to know how everything works. I think it has made me a better all-around coach because I did do all the grunt work."

While in the future Gray hopes to become a head coach, she is careful not to preoccupy herself with it now.

"I try not to think about it," she said. "Because I think once you start thinking about being a head coach, then that's the day you stop being a good assistant coach. So if it's going to come, it's going to come. It's just going to happen."