News: Bonnie Henrickson hired as new head coach at UCSB

It didn't take long for ex-Kansas head coach, Bonnie Henrickson, to land on her feet. One source close to Henrickson said a couple of days ago, when I asked them, if she would coaching this year responded, "I will tell you that I am confident she will be coaching again."

Those words were prescient, as today, she was hired by UCSB to replace Carlene Mitchell, who was let go on March 25. Here is part of the release:

"I am thrilled that Bonnie will be joining us as our next Head Women's Basketball Coach," McCutcheon said. "Her head coaching experience and established recruiting contacts in California will be key in moving our program forward. We are extremely fortunate to have a person with such a proven track record on and off the court of leadership and commitment to her student athletes such as Bonnie join the Gaucho family."

"I am excited to be joining a prestigious academic university with such a strong history of success in women's basketball," Bonnie Henrickson said. "It's clear that there is a passion for women's basketball in this community, and that matters. This program has won 14 conference championships and went to the Sweet 16 in 2004, so when we talk about our vision and our dreams, we are not talking about something that hasn't been done before. There is a blueprint and there is support here for that kind of success."

Henrickson was at the helm at Kansas from 2004-15 and led the Jayhawks to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons (2012, 2013). Kansas also earned berths to five Women's National Invitation Tournaments (WNIT), reaching the championship game in 2009.

Other finalists for the position were Washington associate head coach Kevin Morrison and UCLA assistant Tony Newnan. Also, New Mexico St. head coach Mark Trakh was somewhat in the mix.