Ohio women’s basketball has struggled as a program recently, so it hired someone who knows how to turn things around.
Bob Boldon, the newly hired head coach, inherited a Youngstown State squad that posted a dismal 0-30 record in the 2009-10 season, but was able to turn the Penguins into a 23-win, National Invitational Tournament participant by 2013.
Although Boldon didn’t earn a doctorate in medicine during his time at Walsh University, he must have at least taken a CPR class. The Penguins’ women’s basketball program was on the brink of extinction, and Boldon resuscitated it.
“I certainly think it’s possible (to turn Ohio around) too. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have come here,” Boldon said. “I do think there’s talent and passion here. I definitely think there’s potential to be better and succeed, and to sustain long-term success here.”
Though the Bobcats didn’t finish winless like Youngstown State did before Boldon’s arrival, Ohio posted a 6-23 record last season, with only one win in Mid-American Conference play under the reigns of former head coach Semeka Randall. Her contract expired at the end of last season and the program decided not to renew her for another contract, instead hiring Boldon.
“There’s got to be a change because what they just did didn’t work. That doesn’t mean that Semeka was a bad coach, that means that for whatever reason, it didn’t work,” Boldon said. “Part of our challenge is to find out why it didn’t work.
No players were made available for comment, but Boldon seems content with what he has to work with. He also stated that there are no current plans to bring in any of his former players or new recruits.
“I’m excited about what (the players) have to offer, but I don’t know if we’ll really have a good idea of what we have until we’re able to get into our fall practices,” Boldon said.
He will inherit a largely inexperienced junior class because of injuries and some promising sophomores who were thrown into the fire early, along with a reliable scorer in senior guard Erin Bailes. Even though he has proven that he can improve a team, fans shouldn’t expect an immediate turnaround, he said, because no one really knows how long it takes for that to happen.
He also admitted that Ohio’s recent athletic success was alluring, and seemed eager to create a buzz of his own.
“It’s a great time to be at Ohio and I think (football and basketball) have proven that it can be done. At Youngstown, part of the aura was, ‘can it even be done?’ Because nobody was good,” Boldon said. “But then you come here and see the success that other programs have had and it’s great. The expectations are a little bit higher — it’s something worth being a part of.”
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