Kristen Sharkey returns to lead next chapter of UB women's basketball

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Felisha Legette-Jack put UB women's basketball on the map. Becky Burke took the baton and set records. Now, the ball is in Kristen Sharkey's court.

"It feels surreal," said UB women's basketball coach Kristen Sharkey. "I have so much joy to be back here."

After wrapping up an All-MAC playing career for the Bulls, Sharkey joined Legette-Jack's coaching staff and even followed her to Syracuse. For the last decade plus, she's been watching, learning and preparing for this very moment.

"She told me to be myself and to be where my feet are," Sharkey said. "To trust the work and the process that we've been doing together for the last 13 years. She told me I was ready and that I was all I needed to hear."

On April 18, Sharkey's first day on the job, the cupboard was bare. She didn't have one single player on the roster.

"I made like 90 phone calls in the first 36 hours," she said. "It was wild and everything, I lost my voice in the first couple days. It was difficult, but it was also awesome that I was able to handpick who I wanted."

The last time the Bulls hit the floor, there wasn't an open seat in Alumni Arena. Sharkey said she remembers the days when there were maybe 20 people at the game.

When the UB faithful walks into Alumni Arena to watch her team for the first time this fall, she hopes they leave feeling that her team is resilient.

"Our young people are going to fight everyday," Sharkey said. "We want those little girls who are in the stands to come watch our game to be inspired by their effort, by the oneness and their fight."

The philosophy that Sharkey is bringing to UB is the acronym PACE. It stands for Positive Attitude, Accountable, Compete and Execute. She said it's a blueprint not just for on the court, but life as well.