Coach Insell on Kentucky: “When you think of Kentucky, you think basketball. What fans invest in this program with their passion, year-in and year-out, is priceless. One thing that sets Coach Mitchell apart from the rest is his passion to succeed and that passion shows as we have been able to take the program to the top of the SEC. I love Kentucky, this is a very special place to me. Everyone is friendly and it’s a great atmosphere."
With Insell’s help, Mathies received UK’s first SEC Freshman of the Year honor and was named the Cats’ first freshman All-American since Valerie Still in 1980. Mathies also was named to the SEC All-Tournament team along with teammate Victoria Dunlap, marking UK’s first honorees to that team since 1992. Mathies was again impressive in her sophomore season, earning All-SEC Second Team honors. Freshman guard Bernisha Pinkett also received conference honors as she was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Prior to Kentucky, Insell was the Director of Basketball Operations at Louisiana Tech under Coach Chris Long. Before that, he was considered one of the top AAU coaches in the country, coaching the Tennessee Flight, a Nike Elite Travel Program, for three years. Insell made a national name for himself after coaching 41 of his former AAU players to play Division I basketball, including current Wildcats Victoria Dunlap and Crystal Riley. He also coached the Shelbyville Sports Shop 15Under team to the AAU National Championship title in 2004. Insell, 30, earned valuable basketball experience while attending the University of Tennessee from 2001-2005. He worked closely with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, serving as a student assistant/video coordinator under former men’s head coach Buzz Peterson and as an instructor at Pat Summitt’s summer basketball camps. The Shelbyville, Tenn., native transferred to Middle Tennessee State during the 2005-06 season where his father, Rick Insell, is the head women’s basketball coach. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in political science from MTSU in 2007.
“Matt continues to impress me with his commitment to UK Hoops. His commitment shows through his strong work ethic. He is a tireless and tenacious worker. These qualities are noticeable in the amount of time he spends with our players. He is dedicated to helping each player on our roster improve. He works hard in the area of recruiting daily and when you are competing at our level, that quality is needed in the lead recruiter. Matt has grown as a coach every year he’s been at Kentucky. I have enjoyed watching him develop and we are very fortunate to have someone of his ability on our staff.” — Head Coach Matthew Mitchell 59