The astonishment of what she is doing, the gravity of the situation she finds herself in, is not lost on Kentucky assistant women’s basketball coach Ciara Gregory.
Sometimes at practice, she looks around Rupp Arena and pinches herself.
The dream-chasing kid from Jeannette continues her ascent in the college coaching ranks and does so with a sense of humility and regard — for the profession and those who have opened doors for her to not only pursue coaching, but to wrap her arms around it.
It’s a year-round venture — Division I coaches only get time off during two 10-day “dead” recruiting periods in the year — but she is secure in her choice of vocation.
All of this just feels right.
“Coaches are the luckiest people in the world,” she said. “And I am one of them. It’s amazing to be able to do this, and to be coaching at such a high level at my age, and at such a well-respected place like Kentucky.”
In the spring, Gregory, 29, joined the staff at Kentucky and will help lead the Wildcats with new head coach Kenny Brooks in the SEC.
Gregory also is the Wildcats’ director of recruiting operations.
The girls all-time leading scorer at Jeannette (2,130 points) and one of Westmoreland County’s most prolific scorers, Gregory went on to star at Charlotte, where the long-bombing guard played for four years and scored 1,031 points, often making rainbow 3-pointers from distance — not quite Caitlin Clark range, but with similar gallantry.
When she decided to try coaching, she became a graduate assistant at Charlotte and worked her way into a full-time position as an assistant, a run that lasted five years and proved to be as much of a resume builder as it was on-the-job training.
Now, she is a proven Division I product who can relate to her players and pass on what she learned playing and coaching high-level hoops.
“I loved living in Charlotte,” Gregory said. “I had a lot of people tell me, you should coach. My dad told me to try it out and see what happens. When I was a (graduate assistant), I knew this was something I wanted to do.”
Coaching was an extension of her passion for basketball, and she captured it.
Gregory enjoyed the time she spent with her coach and mentor, Cara Consuerga, who left Charlotte to coach at Marquette. The prospect of following her kept Gregory up at night as the opportunity arose.
Gregory initially was recruited by Brooks when she was playing at Jeannette and he was coaching at James Madison, so the connection already had been made.
“It came down to Charlotte and JMU for me,” she said.
In fact, Brooks later offered Gregory a spot on his staff at Virginia Tech, but she declined as she turned over in her mind the idea of coaching for a living.
“I battled that thought,” she said. “I quickly realized I made the wrong decision.”
Fortunately, Consuerga welcomed her to her staff, and it worked out for both parties.
“Cara took me under her wing,” Gregory said. Another tough decision emerged, but Gregory again fought through it like a double team.
Follow Consuerga to Marquette? Or accept Brooks’ sudden offer to join him at Kentucky?
Kentucky won out.
“I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to learn from a coach like (Brooks),” Gregory said. “He went to the Final Four a couple years ago. I know this is huge for my development and will push me forward in my career.”
Gregory learned the basics early on in her career, the scouting and film breakdowns, the eye for recruiting and the understanding of what makes a solid rotation.
Now, she can apply all of that, along with big-picture awareness that grew out of her time as a player who yearned to be coached.
“We’re here for the kids,” Gregory said. “We’re here to develop them into adults. To see them blossom, to see that growth from freshmen to seniors is so rewarding.
“Player development is huge for me. The skill work. You have to make sure and cater to each player’s needs. They all have different skill sets. You need to get them to trust you.”
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.