Rhyne Howard is returning to the Southeastern Conference, but this time wearing orange and blue.
The Atlanta Dream’s two-time WNBA all-star and first overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Kentucky will spend her offseason as a member of the University of Florida’s women’s basketball staff. The Gators announced Monday that Howard, who starred at Bradley Central High, will be an assistant coach and director of player personnel for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
Ranked as the 16th best player in the WNBA by ESPN.com, Howard believes she will fit in perfectly on the staff at Florida, where her mother Rhvonja (RJ) Avery played from 1987-91 and was a team captain in 1990-91.
“When you really think about it everything is full circle,” Rhyne said in a press release. “My mom was a Gator herself and I have been on this campus multiple times, but to actually be able to wear the orange and blue, I know it’s making her proud. I know it’s making everyone who thought I was originally going to be a Florida Gator proud.
“I always knew at some point that I would have the connection back with this school and just to be here and to be loved and to feel how much of a family it is already just confirmed all that.”