After spending the last five years in the professional ranks, Vonn Read has joined the Kentucky women?s basketball coaching staff, Coach Mickie DeMoss has announced.
?We feel very fortunate to have a coach of his caliber join our staff,? DeMoss said. ?He brings a wealth of knowledge from his NBA and WNBA experiences. He is very good with tactical information and game strategies as well as player development. He certainly will be a huge addition to what I feel is already a very strong coaching staff.?
Read comes to Kentucky after serving as an assistant coach for the United States Basketball League?s (USBL) Dodge City Legend (2005). He was responsible for developing the entire offensive system and assisted in the development of the defensive system. Read spent the 2004 WNBA season as an assistant coach in charge of player development for the San Antonio Silver Stars under former NBA standout Dee Brown. Read also worked with Brown as an assistant coach for the WNBA?s Orlando Miracle during the 2002 season. Former UK great Valerie Still also was a member of the coaching staff.
Prior to the Stars, Read spent five years (1999-2004) with the NBA?s Orlando Magic under Coach Glenn ?Doc? Rivers. He worked the first two seasons in video scouting with the Magic, helping with all aspects of game preparation. He also broke down game film and assisted with the Magic?s video preparation for the 2000 and 2001 NBA Draft. His last three seasons were spent as an advance scout where he traveled to NBA games and scouted the Magic?s upcoming opponents. He also was responsible for preparing detailed scouting reports for the coaching staff to assist in game preparation during the regular season and the playoffs. During Read?s stint as a scout, the Magic earned a berth in the NBA Playoffs for three straight seasons (2001, 2002, 2003). During the 2003 season, he also worked as an advance scout for the WNBA?s Charlotte Sting.
?I am truly blessed and extremely excited and would like to thank Coach DeMoss and the University of Kentucky for this opportunity,? Read said. ?I am really looking forward to the challenges of coaching in the Southeastern Conference. Coach DeMoss and her exceptional staff have made great strides in the program over the past couple of years and I hope to help further that development. I have so much respect for what Coach DeMoss has achieved in her coaching career, and I look forward to learning from such an accomplished coach.?
Before working in Orlando, Read?s first professional coaching stop came on Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller?s coaching staff for the WNBA?s Phoenix Mercury. During the 2000 season, Read helped lead the Mercury to the playoffs and a franchise-best 20-12 record. Prior to that, he worked two years (1997-99) as an assistant at Spelman College (Atlanta, Ga.,) where he was in charge of advance opponent scouting and practice planning. During his two years at Spelman, he also worked for Turner Sports Broadcasting as senior archivist and production assistant for Turner?s NBA telecasts. In addition, he worked the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York and the 1998 NBA Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia for Turner Sports.
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, the 33-year-old native of Milwaukee, Wis., served in the United States Army from 1989-93 at Fort Drum, N.Y., and Fort Lee, Va.
Read graduated with a bachelor?s degree in political science in 1997 from Clark Atlanta University, where he was a member of the men?s tennis team.
A talented writer, Read has published six basketball playbooks, which are in a series of books called ?The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays.? He also has published numerous articles for various basketball publications.
Read has a 12-year-old daughter, April.
