Growing up in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Carolyn Kieger’s childhood passion was ice hockey.
“I grew up skating on ponds,” Kieger said. “Then I found out I couldn’t skate backwards.”
Kieger has continued moving forward ever since. Hockey’s loss has turned out to be basketball’s gain, and the Penn State women’s basketball program hopes Kieger is its gain, too, hiring her in the offseason to become the sixth coach in Lady Lion history.
“This is an opportunity to compete at the highest level,” Kieger said on Tuesday of what enticed her to leave her alma mater, Marquette, at her first media day at the Bryce Jordan Center. “There are winners all over campus. Six coaches here already have won national championships. Show me your friends, I’ll show you your future.”
What Penn State faithful are hoping to see in their future is that Kieger’s competitiveness, energy and up-tempo style returns the Lady Lions to the days when it was an annual contender for Big Ten championships and deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Penn State was 12-18 last year under Coquese Washington.
In five years as a head coach, Kieger took Marquette from a 9-23 team to three straight trips to the big dance, winning 51 games and reaching the second round of March Madness the last two seasons. She was a semifinalist for Naismith Coach of the Year last season, when the Warriors went 27-8.
“In a perfect world, we’ll have over 100 possessions a game,” Kieger said of the style she wants to bring to the BJC. “We prioritize assist-to-turnover ratio. We want to play both ends.
“It’s organized chaos.”
What isn’t chaotic is Kieger’s all-encompassing approach to team-building. Throughout her media day press conference, Kieger stressed accountability and competitiveness.
Another word that shows up more than once in her answers was “culture.” Kieger thinks it’s important to construct beyond the court, both academically and through community service.
There are a number of slogans — “Ignite the Pride,” “Lion Pride Today.” However, the first one Kieger brought up to the media was the “MVP” concept: mission, vision and core principles.
“It’s a totally different atmosphere,” said junior forward Alisia Smith, one of three returning Lady Lions who averaged more than nine points per game last season.
Senior guard Siyeh Frazier figures to be one of the Lady Lions’ leaders this season. While going into her final year with a new coach and new approach might have been difficult, Frazier was relieved to find out Kieger was taking the helm.
“Coach Kieger recruited me in high school. I already understood her philosophy,” Frazier said. “When she got the Penn State job, I was happy.”
Blue-chip freshmen like Anna Camden and Makenna Marisa had verbally committed to Washington before their junior years, but both decided to stick with the Lady Lions after finding out Kieger would be their coach.
Camden actually made the trip from Philadelphia to University Park when her sister — an Ohio State lacrosse player — had a game at Penn State, to take the opportunity to get to meet Kieger right after she’d been hired.
“Right away, I could feel the energy,” Camden said.
There’s a palpable exuberance that surrounds Kieger, one that she hopes will become contagious throughout the program and its fanbase.
“The White Out was unbelievable. I still get chills from that,” Kieger said of attending Saturday’s football win over Michigan. “Let’s start with 10 percent of the 110,000 people like that and we’d be very pleased.”
Every aspect of Kieger’s practices are competitive; they all finish with a winner. Classroom and community service are approaching in the same fashion, with players or groups of players working to come out on top and to be recognized for it.
Kieger herself played multiple sports and has been seen all over campus at various athletic events already. Her dad coached her in baseball.
“My coaching passion came from him. He knew just how to motivate me,” Kieger said. “I was 12 when I knew I wanted to coach.”
The energetic, driven Kieger eventually learned to skate backwards. She’ll be sticking with basketball, though, and, if things go according to plan, the Lady Lions will be on safe ice for years to come.
“I’m very excited,” Kieger said. “I can’t wait to face somebody other than ourselves.”
