Advertisement

"Won't Back Down"

In one of the more bizarre scenes in "Won't Back Down," Kim Mulkey describes her attempt to get the President of Louisiana Tech to offer her a five year deal as head coach of the women's basketball team.

"I went through every feeling imaginable as I tried to convince the president to give me what I wanted," Mulkey writes. "I got out of my chair, on to my knees, and begged that man for a five year contract...I was trying to show him the passion I had for the university, the program...Give that girl what she wants!"

It didn't work. Mulkey left Louisiana Tech, where she had been exceptionally successful as a player, an assistant coach, and an associate head coach. She went on to build a strong program at Baylor University, and her team won the national championship in 2005.

Kim Mulkey's style is not for everyone. She leads her team in prayer before they take the court and acknowledges that sometimes she addresses the players "in a Come to Jesus way." This account of Mulkey's professional and personal life is a good deal less revealing (and a lot less salty) than John Feinstein's account of a season with Bob Knight, but it provides some insight into Mulkey's experiences on and off the court, as well as a sense of what it takes to develop and sustain a team that compete with Connecticut, Tennessee, and the other top women's programs.

Advertisement

More from Only A Game

Listen Live
Close