The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Basketball brings Aston 'back home'
04.03.2012 | Women's Basketball
April 3, 2012
Natalie England, TexasSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas -- When people talk about Karen Aston, they use terms like "work ethic" and "battery pack."
"And it is always recharging," UT Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonksy says.
Though Aston carved her niche in women's basketball as a detail-oriented task master and dogged recruiter, Plonksy introduced her on Tuesday morning as the fourth head coach in UT history because of more than drive alone.
As an eight-year assistant to Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt, Aston absorbed the spirit of Texas through discovery of its vast landscape. After all, UT's 2003 team that advanced to the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four touted players from the towns of Windthorst and Winnsboro.
"It helps understanding the tradition, and I do understand the expectations here," Aston says. "I understand what the fans expect, what the Texas exes expect, what the high school coaches expect. I definitely understand the dynamics of the state of Texas."
While on the Forty Acres from 1998-2006, Aston was instrumental in the Longhorns' trip to the 2003 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four and a pair of "Sweet 16" appearances in 2002 and 2004.
Aston was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach in July of 2000 after serving as UT's assistant coach for two seasons. She spearheaded UT's signing of 25 nationally-recognized recruits, and all eight of the recruiting classes Aston attracted were nationally ranked, including the No. 1 class in the nation in 2005-06.
"We had to have someone who has been able to maximize on the court the talent that is recruited. Someone who is familiar with our territory," Plonsky said. "We're just very, very proud that we're bringing back home our new women's basketball coach."
Aston returns to the Forty Acres with five years of unique head coaching experience. At Charlotte, Aston was a sparkplug in an already competitive culture, and then she infused confidence and direction at the University of North Texas.
The Mean Green's victory total tripled in one season under Aston, as UNT went 15-16 during the 2011-12 season after winning just five games the previous year.
Aston led Charlotte to record-breaking heights with 86 victories in four seasons, including a school-record 27 wins in 2010-11 and a spot in the WNIT Final Four.
"You put people in places who you can trust will bring a work ethic and credibility to their job," Plonksy said. "The great thing about Karen is she isn't scared. She has no preconceived notions about where we are, what the challenges are. She is fearless and relentless."
Aston describes herself as a "work horse." Dedicated should also come to mind, since she did earn her first assistant coaching position at Baylor in 1994 by agreeing to a pay cut and living out of a college dormitory.
That quality, however, dates back to her high school playing days in her native Benton, Ark. Her high school coach and mentor, Tom Webb, allowed Aston as a senior to coach on the bench with him during seventh-grade games.
"That was his way of forming leadership, role models. He wanted me to have an impression on the ones coming up," Aston says. "You learn things from that."
After graduating from Arkansas-Little Rock in 1987, Aston quickly found a job coaching basketball, cross country and track at Vilonia High School.
Her basketball players were also her cross country runners. Running doubled as conditioning, and Saturday meets allowed for team-bonding. Aston, with her slight point guard's build, even drove the big yellow school bus.
In 1992-93, she was named the Arkansas Basketball Coach of the Year after leading Vilonia to a 36-1 record and a Class 2A State Championship. Aston's cross country teams also claimed back-to-back state titles in 1991 and 1992.
Aston was a young assistant at UNT when she first encountered Conradt on the recruiting trail. Soon enough, Conradt recruited Aston to the Longhorns' bench in 1998. Aston saw the Longhorns post a 173-83 (.676) record, with seven NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the "Sweet 16" and a march to the 2003 Final Four.
The Longhorns also captured the 2003 Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, and UT shared the 2004 Big 12 regular season title.
"Jody is not afraid to be honest. That is her greatest characteristic," Aston says. "That's how you help people grow. Sometimes I didn't like what she told me, but it was the right thing. I didn't really realize the impact she had on me until I was gone. Things are ingrained."
Conradt's obsessive attention to detail -- she's famous for perfectly aligned desk drawers and color-sorted closets -- managed to even influence Aston's recruiting methodology.
"One thing Jody taught me is you don't 'not' follow up on anything. If somebody writes you from a small town in East Texas, you better follow up," Aston says. "You look under the rock."
What Aston understands now more than ever is that those who were once recruits have a power that extends beyond their time on the basketball court. Texas exes join a network of alumni that is worldwide, but with a synergy that resonates in the very heart of the Lone Star State.
Pride is powerful. So is loyalty.
Alisha Sare, a senior guard on the 2003 Final Four team and Aston's first recruit to the Forty Acres, attended Aston's introductory press conference at Cooley Pavilion. She wanted to give her old coach a handwritten note and a hug.
"I feel a sense of responsibility to reconnect, for me and for Texas to reconnect, with the high school coaches, the AAU coaches and the (Texas) exes," Aston said. "My job is to make Texas proud of the women's basketball program."
