Girls basketball: Braziel goes back to her roots

Part of Angie Braziel's basketball resume:

>> Permian standout.

>> Big 12 Conference Player of Year and All-American at Texas Tech.

>> Former WNBA player.

So, when the Permian girls basketball team had an opening for its head coach after Jennifer Shuttlesworth resigned shortly after the season, Braziel's credentials were too hard to ignore.

She has accepted the position and will be recommended to the ECISD school board, ECISD athletic coordinator Todd Vesely said.

Braziel has reached every level in women's basketball and most recently was an assistant coach at Lubbock Estacado for five years.

The chance for a first head-coaching job at her alma mater was ideal, she said.

"It's always been my dream to be a head coach," Braziel said. "We have nowhere to go but up right now. I want to do whatever it takes to make the program successful."

Shuttlesworth, who led the Lady Panthers to an 8-20 record and a 4-14 district record last season, had been Permian's head coach for the past three years.

Vesely said Braziel's hiring is the kind that can reenergize the program.

"Angie brings instant credibility," he said. "A college basketball star, a professional basketball player. And her passion is coaching. ... That is a big hire. We felt really good about this one."

Braziel, a post in her playing days, graduated from Permian in 1995 and went to South Plains College before transferring to Texas Tech. In her senior year for Tech, Braziel was also the Big 12 Conference Tournament MVP and a preseason candidate for the Naismith Player of the Year award. She led the Big 12 in blocks as a junior.

Braziel was a final-round selection of the Charlotte Sting in the WNBA draft in 1999. She played two seasons for the Sting and one for the Indiana Fever.

When her career ended, she came back to West Texas.
"It's like my comfort zone," she said. " My mom is here (Odessa), my dad is here. I'm from here."

Braziel said she prefers a running style of basketball, but it will depend on Permian's personnel. Last year's Permian team was young, which could be advantageous this season, she said.

"You can mold them into the type of player that you like," Braziel said.

She met with them already and she came away feeling good.
"The girls are awesome," she said. "They have a great attitude."