OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Oakland University athletic director Steve Waterfield presented Keisha Newell with a Golden Grizzlies jersey to a round of applause, a ceremonial gesture the likes of which the OU Credit Union O’rena hadn’t seen in more than a decade before Friday morning.
Newell officially takes over as OU women’s basketball head coach, following three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances at Division II Lewis University in Illinois.
The Loyola Chicago alum succeeds Jeff Tungate, who retired after leading the Golden Grizzlies for 12 seasons.
Newell’s first order of business is answering the question Waterfield asks himself and told the audience at the introductory press conference he gets posed most often: “Can Oakland win at women’s basketball?”
“Yes, you can win, and the way to do it is fundamentals,” Newell told Local 4. “I’m excited to give the team a fresh start, to be able to build something from scratch, to work hard, to be disciplined, to hold each other accountable, to have some fun, and to not lose sight of why we all play and coach this game to begin with. I’m excited to look back a couple years down the line to see where we started to eventually where we’ll end up.”
Newell’s resume indicates her coaching philosophy has been a success.
While guiding the Flyers to a 69-22 overall record and program record 19 wins in back-to-back seasons, her teams ranked in the top 50 nationally in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and assist to turnover ratio.
“The only way we get to play like that offensively is if we get stops on the defensive end,” Newell said. “When we’re able to get stops and rebounds, we’re able to push ahead and let them have a little bit of fun offensively, which a lot of people want to see. We were able to take the best shot, get to the rim, and take some threes. It was definitely a fun style of play (at Lewis).”
Prior to leading Lewis, Newell also guided Roosevelt University to 61 wins from 2015-19 and attained Division I experience at her alma mater Loyola Chicago (2011-14), including a stint with the Ramblers under basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes.
“To have those relationships with global icons and understand what they go through on a day-to-day basis, I think it’s just phenomenal,” Newell said. “The way they inspire the next generation inspires me too.”
Keeping the company of Swoopes and AAU teammate Candace Parker, whom Newell still maintains a personal relationship with, would sharpen anybody’s mentality on and off the court.
So would bending the ear of longtime Oakland men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe, which Newell had the opportunity to do before her formal introduction.
“It was amazing,” Newell recalled of her conversation with the 41-season coaching veteran. “Our seasons come to an end, right? We are distraught. It takes time. He talked to me the day after their season ended and that shows what a great person he is. He was able to give me some advice outside of basketball, and he is brilliant on the court, so I’m just excited to learn from him and gain from that wisdom.”
Among Newell’s successes is a Horizon League Tournament Championship Game appearance in 2013 with Loyola Chicago, which Oakland hasn’t accomplished since playing in the Summit League Championship in 2011.
Getting Oakland basketball where it belongs is Newell’s goal, but she’s taking the program one game—and one day—at a time.
“Just win the day, win every single day,” Newell said. “When we start playing games, we want to be 1-0. If we can keep being 1-0, we’ll start piling up the wins long term just to get Oakland back to where it was again.”
Read: Oakland basketball coach Greg Kampe talks 2025 NCAA Tournament and identifies potential upsets
More: Jack Gohlke leads Oakland basketball to upset over Kentucky in near record-breaking performance
