Mark Stephens fitting right in with Purdue women's basketball
It may be Mark Stephens' first time being a Boilermaker, but Purdue women's basketball's newest assistant coach is no stranger to the Boilermakers.
His ties began when Stephens joined the Indiana Elite AAU program in 2002 as the assistant club director before taking the same position with the Lady Gym Rats AAU team four years later.
During his time in Indiana, Stephens reckons that he knows, coached, or connected with around 19 people that have played for Purdue. That includes the likes of Terone Johnson and JaJuan Johnson, along with helping send ten girls that played for the Gym Rats to Purdue. Stephens was also the legal adoptive parent of the late Joe Gilliam, who suited up for Purdue on the gridiron, even taking him on his official visit to West Lafayette.
That connection with Purdue, along with the academic pedigree of the university and the program's past success, made joining Katie Gearlds' staff an attractive opportunity for Stephens when the Boilermakers' head coach came calling.
Gearlds reached out as several changes to her coaching staff occurred this off-season. It was a quick process, as just a day after first talking to Stephens, she offered him the job. The opportunity was an easy decision for the former Toledo assistant coach.
"I mean, when she offered me the job, it was a no-brainer for me," Stephens told Boiler Upload.
Spending much of his adult life not only in Indiana but being a part of the basketball world in the state, Stephens saw Purdue women's basketball establish itself as one of the premiere programs in all of college basketball in the early 2000s.
That trend ended near the end of the 2000s as the Boilermakers have not appeared in the Final AP Poll since 2014, nor have they made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2009. Stephens knows where Purdue belongs and is ready to help the program return to the national stage.
"This place belongs in those conversations," Stephens said. "For there not to be--even just like an All-Big Ten First Teamer or an All-American there since I think Katie played, it's just bananas. No disrespect to the staff before, but, you know, it definitely belongs in that category."
Purdue returned to the NCAA Tournament last season after being absent from the Big Dance since 2017, and Stephens is looking to help build on the momentum that Gearlds and the Boilermakers have had over the last two seasons.
For Stephens, that work starts on the recruiting trail. In addition to his duties as assistant coach, he will also serve as the recruiting coordinator for the Boilermakers. He believes the key to continuing the program's momentum is winning on the recruiting front, which Purdue has done over the last two months.
It is an area Stephens and the new-look coaching staff have embraced since coming together in April. Less than ten days after Stephens and Kelly Komara were added to the staff, Purdue landed highly-touted sisters, 2023 four-star point guard Amiyah Reynolds, and Maryland transfer Mila Reynolds.
The duo only added to the intrigue of the incoming recruiting class comprised of five true freshmen, including Rashunda Jones, Mary Ashley Groot, McKenna Layden, Sophie Swanson, and Emily Monson.
Purdue rounded out the class a month after the Reynolds sisters announced their commitments by adding former Grand Canyon forward Alaina Harper from the transfer portal.
The incoming recruiting class features a mixture of high school recruits and transfer portal newcomers for next season. The ever-changing college basketball landscape gives coaches more options to add talent to a roster, but Stephens says establishing a culture starts with building strong recruiting classes of high school athletes.
"You build a culture with kids that are there for longer than one year," Stephens said. "So, we definitely want to make sure that we still recruit high school kids, but at the same time, what's nice about the portal is that you can plug in a hole. You can go out and get a specific type of kid if you need a specific type of kid."
While some coaches may get caught up in a recruits' hype or how many stars they have, Stephens has a much simpler approach. He trusts his eyes when it comes to the hardwood, but it is what a prospect shows off the court that he values more.
"My tactic is just kind of try to find good people. Then, if you've got good people that work hard and do things the right way, then basketball is the easy part," Stephens said.
While Stephens is now getting his first taste of the Purdue culture as a member of the program, he has a trio of former Boilermakers helping him understand what it means to represent the old gold and black in Katie Gearlds, Kelly Komara, and Alex Guyton.
"To be the only person on staff that didn't play at Purdue, my job is to make sure that I sell the program," Stephens said. "It's really easy when they're good people."
As Stephens embarks on a new chapter of his coaching career with the Boilermakers, he is quickly fitting in with the culture Katie Gearlds has established since taking over in 2021 and is poised to become a key part of returning Purdue to its previous success.