Maryland guard Oluchi Okananwa was off her game in the biggest moment of the season. Okananwa was going up against the No. 4 seed, the North Carolina Tar Heels and she had a few rough possessions. In the third quarter, Okananwa committed a travel, hit just 1 of 4 free throws, and missed a layup before getting subbed out. Coach Brenda Frese wants to light that fire back up. So, on the sidelines, she went on a fiery rant, which has drawn attention from the basketball fanbase. 

“I believe in you,” the longtime Terrapins coach could be seen saying right in front of Okananwa’s face (via Athletic). “But you have to want this moment.” That was just a slice of what could be understood from the rant. Okananwa finished with  21 points, 6 rebounds and an assist while going 9/18 from the field. 

“Coach understands I’m a competitor at heart,” Okananwa said in her postgame press conference. “I’ve told her this before, and I’ll keep on telling her this forever: I love to be coached hard, and that’s what she does with me every single day.” Even though Maryland ended up losing 66-74, Frese’s motivational speech to Okananwa went viral on social media, with the Terrapins coach getting a lot of praise from the basketball community. 

Brenda Frese’s Intense Coaching Strategy Earns Praise From The NCAA Community

“A coach only speaks to you like this when they believe in you and want the best for you!!” commented a fan. Frese pretty much knows and understands Okananva despite it being her first year under the head coach. But this is the year her game has gone up a notch under Brenda Frese. 

She never started for Duke in two seasons with the Blue Devils. Across 71 games averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 22 minutes per game while shooting 47.5 % from the floor and 32.4% from 3-point land. This year, she averaged 17.8 points,5.4 rebounds and 2 assists. 

Frese has seen the scope of coaching in her 24 years at the helm of Maryland women’s basketball. She’s led them to three Final Fours, 14 conference titles and a national championship in 2006. Her 688 career wins are the most in program history and rank in the top 20 in the history of the sport.

“The four most powerful words are ‘I believe in you’—Bill Walsh,” quoted another fan, praising Brenda Frese’s coaching style. “I think for me, it’s always been a pulse that I’ve been able to have with individuals and players,” Frese said. “We do, at times, have to have those tough conversations. You can’t have them without a relationship. You’ve got to be able to have that. The best of the best, the elite of the elite, want to be coached hard.” There is no bigger motivation. Even if the result did not turn out to be favorable, it’s the process that matters. And Okananwa has found her groove in Maryland. 

Buy-in is a pretty important part of any coach, including Brenda Frese. They can lay down the perfect theory but if the players aren’t completely committed, it falls apart. Have a look at Tennessee and Kim Caldwell. the team fell apart in the final 8 games after some internal friction. if the players are on the same wavelength, the coach has the freedom to do whatever they can to bring out the best out of them. 

“The only people that will have problems with this never played competitive sports,” wrote a fan. “Bottle this and sell it,” appealed another fan. This is not, by far, an isolated incident in college basketball. Earlier in the season Duke boss Kenny Brooks also had a harsh-worded speech with her star Clara Strack, but behind the scenes. 

“I looked at her, and I said, ‘You are the worst superstar I’ve ever coached.’ And when she looked at me, she had tears in her eyes,” Brooks revealed on the SEC network. In the next three games she dropped a combined 77 points, including 24 against South Carolina. So, this fiery style is certainly alive today.  Yes, it might not work for everybody. But, for some, it is just what they need to go from good to elite.