SE: Middlebrook Jumps Right into Coaching World, Thankful for Difficult Last Year at K-State
Jul 30, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
This summer at a high school basketball tournament in Chicago, Illinois, Karyla Middlebrook took in what she said could only be initially described as a "strange" experience.
The former K-State women's basketball point guard, not far removed from playing in these tournaments, sat in a reserved section. It was labeled, "College coaches only." Sitting to her left and right were other college coaches whom had recruited her, she played against or, in a few cases, even played under.
One of them was K-State head coach Jeff Mittie. He decided to have some fun with Middlebrook, a Wildcat for the past two seasons before quickly landing an assistant coaching position at Evansville after graduating from K-State.
"At one point I said, 'Karyla, come here.' She comes over and I go, 'Hey, thanks, I needed that chair,'" Mittie said, laughing. "She looked at me like she was still in that phase of, 'Oh, I might have to give Coach my chair.' I was, like, 'I'm just messing with you. Go sit down.' We had a good talk, though, about how it's her first time on the road and what you're looking for as a coach.
"It's great to see her get right into it."
Middlebrook also saw K-State associate head coach Brian Ostermann and assistant Chris Carr in Chicago. Earlier this summer, she ran into former K-State assistant and current UMKC head coach Jacie Hoyt at a tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.
She's picked the brain of each of her former coaches, now colleagues, to add on to the knowledge she gathered from them as a player.
"To be sitting next to them now and trying to learn from them is definitely an adjustment but I love it," Middlebrook, who spent three seasons at Alabama before coming to K-State as a graduate transfer, said. "It's great to have the connections that I had with the K-State coaches to help me through this process. My coaches from Alabama, I also ran into them and they were great. There's a lot of coaches out there that want to see young coaches succeed and it was very, very evident throughout my first couple of recruiting tournaments this month."
For Middlebrook, coaching is in her blood. Her father, Reggie, helped build a prominent AAU program. Her cousin, Terry Nooner, coached her AAU team, was an assistant at Alabama when she was there and now is on staff at Maryland.
Then there's the coaching connections Middlebrook's made along the way. Nooner is close friends with Tyronn Lue, head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, she said she also learned a lot from her time at both Alabama and K-State.
"They've been instrumental to not only be the type of person that I am but the coach as well. All those coaches have played a role in my journey to becoming a coach and they still play a role," Middlebrook said. "I've been truly blessed with the coaches that have come across my life. They have set me up to become the best coach to these future players that I can be."
At K-State, Middlebrook made 31 starts in 2016-17. She contributed 9.1 points and 3.2 assists en route to helping the Wildcats host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including a first round victory over Drake.
She had a much different experience in her second year, however.
Middlebrook, because of a complicated ankle injury that required five surgeries and an extreme amount of patience, eventually made the tough decision to end her playing career. She immediately took on a student assistant coaching role for the remainder of her senior season.
At the time, Middlebrook approached the situation as a blessing in disguise, a head start on the next phase of her life. Now, a few months later, she said her mindset has been validated.
For one, she's already used to watching games from the sideline. She's weathered the pain of wanting to play but not being able to do so. Middlebrook said it's helped her in her first summer with Evansville.
"A lot of last year I wanted to be on the court still and toward the end of the season that started to fade a little bit. I think it made it easier for me now to go through these practices and workouts and be recruiting and not wish that I was out on the court," Middlebrook said. "I think last year I kept that perspective that everything happens for a reason and just tried to view my injury as a very positive thing that was a difficult time for me. I think this year it's just given truth to that philosophy that, yeah, I sat out last year but look where it's put me in preparation for where I'm at now.
"If anything, I'm appreciating last year even more than I did on a daily basis as I was going through it. God never gives me something that I shouldn't handle. That's kind of how I approach it and it's paid dividends."
This summer at a high school basketball tournament in Chicago, Illinois, Karyla Middlebrook took in what she said could only be initially described as a "strange" experience.
The former K-State women's basketball point guard, not far removed from playing in these tournaments, sat in a reserved section. It was labeled, "College coaches only." Sitting to her left and right were other college coaches whom had recruited her, she played against or, in a few cases, even played under.
One of them was K-State head coach Jeff Mittie. He decided to have some fun with Middlebrook, a Wildcat for the past two seasons before quickly landing an assistant coaching position at Evansville after graduating from K-State.
"At one point I said, 'Karyla, come here.' She comes over and I go, 'Hey, thanks, I needed that chair,'" Mittie said, laughing. "She looked at me like she was still in that phase of, 'Oh, I might have to give Coach my chair.' I was, like, 'I'm just messing with you. Go sit down.' We had a good talk, though, about how it's her first time on the road and what you're looking for as a coach.
"It's great to see her get right into it."
Middlebrook also saw K-State associate head coach Brian Ostermann and assistant Chris Carr in Chicago. Earlier this summer, she ran into former K-State assistant and current UMKC head coach Jacie Hoyt at a tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.
She's picked the brain of each of her former coaches, now colleagues, to add on to the knowledge she gathered from them as a player.
"To be sitting next to them now and trying to learn from them is definitely an adjustment but I love it," Middlebrook, who spent three seasons at Alabama before coming to K-State as a graduate transfer, said. "It's great to have the connections that I had with the K-State coaches to help me through this process. My coaches from Alabama, I also ran into them and they were great. There's a lot of coaches out there that want to see young coaches succeed and it was very, very evident throughout my first couple of recruiting tournaments this month."
For Middlebrook, coaching is in her blood. Her father, Reggie, helped build a prominent AAU program. Her cousin, Terry Nooner, coached her AAU team, was an assistant at Alabama when she was there and now is on staff at Maryland.
Then there's the coaching connections Middlebrook's made along the way. Nooner is close friends with Tyronn Lue, head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, she said she also learned a lot from her time at both Alabama and K-State.
"They've been instrumental to not only be the type of person that I am but the coach as well. All those coaches have played a role in my journey to becoming a coach and they still play a role," Middlebrook said. "I've been truly blessed with the coaches that have come across my life. They have set me up to become the best coach to these future players that I can be."
At K-State, Middlebrook made 31 starts in 2016-17. She contributed 9.1 points and 3.2 assists en route to helping the Wildcats host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including a first round victory over Drake.
She had a much different experience in her second year, however.
Middlebrook, because of a complicated ankle injury that required five surgeries and an extreme amount of patience, eventually made the tough decision to end her playing career. She immediately took on a student assistant coaching role for the remainder of her senior season.
At the time, Middlebrook approached the situation as a blessing in disguise, a head start on the next phase of her life. Now, a few months later, she said her mindset has been validated.
For one, she's already used to watching games from the sideline. She's weathered the pain of wanting to play but not being able to do so. Middlebrook said it's helped her in her first summer with Evansville.
"A lot of last year I wanted to be on the court still and toward the end of the season that started to fade a little bit. I think it made it easier for me now to go through these practices and workouts and be recruiting and not wish that I was out on the court," Middlebrook said. "I think last year I kept that perspective that everything happens for a reason and just tried to view my injury as a very positive thing that was a difficult time for me. I think this year it's just given truth to that philosophy that, yeah, I sat out last year but look where it's put me in preparation for where I'm at now.
"If anything, I'm appreciating last year even more than I did on a daily basis as I was going through it. God never gives me something that I shouldn't handle. That's kind of how I approach it and it's paid dividends."
Players Mentioned
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