It was a familiar scene for Arkansas-Pine Bluff athletic director Lonza Hardy as he introduced Nate Kilbert as the new women’s basketball coach on Friday in the lecture hall of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Complex.
Eleven years ago, Hardy was just a couple of months on the job as the athletic director at Mississippi Valley State and was ready to name Kilbert as the new coach of the Devilettes. Kilbert was previously an assistant coach at Alcorn State.
While it was a familiar scene, it was a different picture. Hardy is now a proven athletic director and Kilbert led the Devilettes to a SWAC regular season championship.
“I have a short list of candidates just in case anything happens for any of the jobs, and Nate was on my short list,” Hardy said. “I was happy to get his resume and I was really serious to bring him in for an interview.”
Any team in the SWAC would have been happy to bring in Kilbert for an interview since he is the reigning SWAC Coach of the year after leading MVSU to 18-14 overall and 14-4 SWAC records. MVSU also made the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and fell to Tulane in the first round.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
So why would a coach go from the top program in its conference to one that went 1-29 overall and 1-17 in the SWAC?
“I felt Mississippi Valley was in a good place and when I started there, Mississippi Valley is where UAPB is now,” Kilbert said. “Rebuilding was something I really wanted to get into. Winning does a lot for you, and I am going to do it quickly and I am going to do it the right way. There are some prizes here that haven’t been unwrapped yet. Women’s basketball, period.”
But winning is not the only thing Kilbert wants to accomplish during his time at UAPB.
“If W’s and L’s were the only thing for this job, you got the wrong person,” he said. “Do I like to win? Of course. But it’s not the most important thing. It means more to me to see the student-athlete to see them graduate and do greater things than basketball.”
Hardy conducted two interviews for the job, one with Kilbert and the other with Arkansas Baptist coach Dion Cross. Other applicants included former Arkansas associate women’s coach Tim Eatman and former UAPB coach Danny Evans.
One thing was for certain, Hardy was going to hire a coach with a winning track record, which Kilbert provides.
“I don’t apologize for trying to win,” Hardy said. “I am going to bring in someone that comes from a winning program and knows how to win.”
Kilbert has been coaching for 25 years. He was an assistant coach at Alcorn State from 1991-2001 and the team won seven SWAC titles during that time.
Kilbert wished he could have started practice right after the press conference and get his players and early taste of the system he is going to bring in.
“Get ready cause we are going to show you a brand of basketball you won’t forget,” he said. “It will be up-tempo and press, but I also know that we will have to play a half-court offense at times.”
Kilbert did get an early look at his current team a couple of times during the season, and MVSU won both games by double-digits — 90-52 in the first game and 65-47 in Game No. 2.
There is talent to win at UAPB right now, though, Kilbert said.
“It’s hard to evaluate after just two games, but they are better than their record,” he said. “Hopefully we can show you how good they really are, and if they commit, then UAPB is heading in the right direction.”
UAPB’s players are excited for the hire and are ready to learn Kilbert’s system, according to guard Lakendra Marsh.
“He has a lot of good credentials and we are very happy with the way he turned around Valley,” she said. “I think he can push us and get us over the hump. I think he brings in more discipline and I think change can be good for us.”
Kilbert will officially start on July 1 and will earn $80,000 a year, which is a $20,000 increase from what former coach Cary Shelton made. The real worth of the hire showed right away when Kilbert put on a UAPB hat.
“It feels great and I am happy to be here,” he said. “Get your wallets out and buy the tickets, get ready to do it up.”
•
Nathaniel “Nate” Kilbert
• Age: 49
• Home: Sallis, Miss.
• Education: McAdams (Miss.) High School, 1982; Mississippi Valley State, B.S. in health, physical education and recreation, 1987; Alcorn State, M.S. in secondary education, 1989
• Playing experience: Point guard at MVSU, 1982-86, 1986 SWAC champion
• Coaching experience: 1986-87, MVSU, men’s basketball student assistant; 1987-89, MVSU, graduate assistant women’s coach; 1989-91, MVSU, assistant women’s coach; 1991-2001, Alcorn State, assistant women’s coach (7 SWAC regular season titles; 2001 SWAC tourney champion); 2001-2012, MVSU, head women’s coach (2012 SWAC regular season champion; 2012 SWAC coach of the year)
• Family: Wife Alyse and daughter Tierra
• Extra Notes: Alyse Kilbert is the head volleyball coach at MVSU. UAPB athletic director Lonza Hardy said he’ll “look at” hiring Alyse Kilbert as an interim senior woman administrator, a position she also holds at Valley.