The Hard Way MaQielleJosephtooknoshortcutsinbuilding the Yellow Jacketsintoanational power one's bigger than this program; you'll have to adjust to us. The only thing you have to know how to do is persevere.'"
It wasn't what she expected to hear. "Everything she was saying was, You're not going to come here and start,"' said former Georgia Tech women's basketball star Sasha Goodlett, HTS 12, on her first conversation with coach MaChelle Joseph. "'You're going to have to earn it.'" Joseph has given that sales pitch to recruits since arriving on the Flats as an assistant for the 2001-02 season, drawing in players by fueling their love for the game, not their egos. The program was not an easy sell back then. The Yellow Jackets had only two NCAA Tournament appearances in the program's history, and there was little reason to think big things were on the horizon after Joseph took over for Agnus Berenato before the 2003-04 season On the phone that day, Goodlett might not have heard the words she expected or wantedto hear, but they were the ones she needed "Every other college was telling me how they'd run their program through me," said Goodlett, who helped the team to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 round last season. "[Joseph] said, 'No
Building a Program It wasnt easy for Joseph to look at a41-44 record on her resume. But three seasons into the job, that's where she stood. She was the coach of a program with little history, but she was laying the foundation for what was to come. "Those first three years were really tough, but I knew what we were trying to do," Joseph said. "It was one brick at a time, one layer at a time. We got Alex Montgomery [Cls 11], atop-20 player; that was the first one. You start getting pieces fitting." Those pieces weren't easy to attract. Players had to buy into Joseph's vision of a sea change, a chance to lead the program to a presence on the national stage. Joseph believed it could happen, and she made the players believe as well "All the players were offering on blind faith," Joseph said. "They hadnt seen it. Everybody just had to trust what I was saying. Now that we have played for a [conference] championship, those things now have happened It's not as hard for these seven [new] freshmen to believe we can have that team at Georgia Tech." Now nine years into the process, Joseph's lofty goals have become reality. The Yellow Jackets have six straight 20win seasons, along with six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The team opened up the new McCamish Pavilion on Nov. 11 against national power Tennessee.
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Tough Love The success and player development Joseph initiated at Georgia Tech havent come with a smile and a polite pat on the back. They've been born of hard work, sweat and grueling practices. "She's trying to push me to reach a higher potential now," said guard Ty Marshall, who was a second-team AllACC selection last year as a sophomore. "Coming to college and having a coach who's very passionate and very aggressive has been an adjustment for me. It's re ally tough love." It's a sentiment echoed by Goodlett, who found out there were no off days on Joseph's court. "That's just coach Jo—she's the type of coach who's going to fight to get the best out of you," Goodlett said 'You could have a bad day or a great day or whatever. Even last year, my senior year, I'm not having a good practice, and she's yelling at me. I'd say, 'Coach, it's just a practice.' She said, 'No, I have to get the best out of you.'" Joseph says there's a good reason she wont let anyone—veteran or freshmantake it easy during practice. It's why Goodlett is now playing in the WNBA It's why Joseph is onpace to become Georgia Tech's all-time winningest coach within the next two seasons. Because all the work translates to game day "I was exposed to a lot of different coaches and a lot of different styles," Joseph said "One of my things has been to make practices harder than a game. If I put a lot of pressure on them to perform, they're going to embrace it." A
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yards per carry averaged by senior A-back Orwin Smith in the Jackets' 56-20 win over Virginia.