Defend the Block: Moore Talks 'Dream' of Being on Michigan Staff, Recruiting Role
5/12/2021 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Features
In this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast, Brian Boesch chats with new Michigan women's basketball assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Carrie Moore, and former men's basketball player CJ Baird. Moore talks about the emotions and motivations surrounding her hiring at Michigan, her impressions of Naz Hillmon and the rest of the current roster, her journey from a star at Detroit Country Day to a successful assistant coach, and the keys to her role as the program's new recruiting coordinator.
By Brian Boesch
Michigan women's basketball will have a new-look coaching staff under head coach Kim Barnes Arico, but the program's first assistant coach hire is a familiar name in the state. Carrie Moore won a pair of state titles at Detroit Country Day before setting several program and Mid-American Conference records as a four-year star at Western Michigan.
Following a brief professional career, Moore worked her way up as an assistant coach with stops at Creighton, Princeton and, most recently, North Carolina. She hoped that her journey would make it back to the state of Michigan, and preferably Ann Arbor.
"Working at Michigan has always been a dream of mine," Moore said on this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast. "With what we have coming back next year in terms of the roster, having one of the best players in the country with Naz [Hillmon]. It's just an incredible opportunity to walk into, basketball-wise, and I just hope I can bring some energy."
The reputation for Michigan as a university and an athletic department has always been strong, and women's basketball has ascended to one of its most prestigious programs. Last season's Sweet 16 appearance, the first in Michigan women's basketball history, was the latest step in the program's steady climb. However, Moore believes that this program can grow even further.
"The sky is the limit in terms of what this program can do, because Michigan is Michigan," Moore said. "It has a national brand, and why wouldn't anyone want to come play basketball here and get a great education?"
The further a program advances, the smaller the margin for error becomes. As Michigan strives to continue its push toward the sport's elite programs, Moore believes that her skillset and mentality will help along the way.
"I've always been that type of player, that type of person, and now that type of coach, just in terms of how hard I work -- willing to just grind it out and do the little things and literally do whatever it takes to get players and to win games, she said. "I want to be successful, and I want to help whatever program I'm at make history. I think it'll be a great combination here at Michigan."
