New digs, same challenge.
Kate Achter knows exactly what she’s getting into.
The Clay High School alumna and former Bowling Green State University women’s basketball All-American was hired in late April as the women’s basketball head coach at Detroit Mercy, after a stint at Loyola Chicago during which she transformed the program from dark times to success.
“I’m inheriting a program that’s in better shape than what I inherited with my first coaching job,” Achter said. “The thing that really is intriguing to me and was appealing in the whole process was, I know the [Detroit Mercy] program has fallen on hard times, but there’s a rich history there. Basketball has always been very strong in Detroit. I think that’s really appealing, and I think that was one of the things that drew me to Detroit.”
Achter was hired at Loyola Chicago amid controversy surrounding former coach Sheryl Swoopes. Swoopes was fired in 2016 after the school investigated claims from former players of mistreatment. As a result, a mass exodus of players occurred, and the program had to be rebuilt.
Achter did that, and she restored it to winning ways.
She and the Ramblers went 2-28 in the 2016-17 season, her first with the program. After years of recruiting and rebuilding, Achter led Loyola Chicago to an 18-12 record last season, which was its best mark since the 1988-89 season. But her contract was not renewed following the conclusion of last season.
Achter went 67-110 in her six seasons on the bench at Loyola Chicago, but that feels irrelevant compared to the strides she had to achieve.
She is tasked with doing it again at Detroit Mercy, but in this second go-around in rebuilding a program, she has more resources to work with in starting out.
“My team right now at Detroit, there are eight returners, and there are kids signed coming in that are Division I basketball players,” Achter said. “When I took my first job, I didn’t have that. There were only two players on the roster, and everybody else was new with no Division I experience.”
Detroit Mercy’s program was shut down by athletic director Robert Vowels midway through the 2020-21 season, after players’ parents sent a letter to administration alleging physical, verbal, and mental abuse by head coach AnnMarie Gilbert.
As a result, she left for what was explained as a “HR personnel-related” decision. The Titans went 1-13 under interim coach LaTanya Collins.
Unsurprisingly, players began to leave the program. Eventually, Detroit Mercy experienced 100 percent roster turnover into last season. The Titans went 1-29 under Collins.
"She has experienced a tremendous amount of success as a head coach, assistant coach, and student-athlete, and I look forward to seeing her build this program to championship standards," Vowels said at the time of Achter’s hiring.
Achter was inducted into BGSU’s athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 after an All-American playing career ended in 2008. She led the Falcons to four Mid-American Conference regular-season titles and three MAC tournament titles. She stands as BGSU’s career leader in assists, and she is fifth in program history in scoring.
Her coaching career started as an assistant at St. Bonaventure, and she was promoted to the associate head coach role. Her five-year stay at St. Bonaventure included a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2012. She was hired at Xavier in 2015 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before assuming her role at Loyola Chicago.
The Ramblers’ program, much like Detroit’s, needed a culture change. Achter brought it.
“She’s super hard on you, but super competitive and cares about you, too,” said Allison Day, who played for Achter for four seasons at Loyola Chicago. “You get a little bit of both, and I really enjoyed my four years here, and I think we both learned a lot through each other.”
Day, who recently transferred to Bowling Green for her graduate year, was a former first-team All-Missouri Valley selection under Achter. Day was recruited by Achter, and she helped manifest the Ramblers’ turnaround.
“I think part of it was the players that she recruited,” Day said. “We really started to buy in, and when you don’t have to tell people to get workouts in and they just do it on their own, that’s a big part of getting better. I think that made the team overall better, starting from when I was a freshman to all the grades below me.”
The most underappreciated aspect of any college basketball coach’s tenure is what they do off the court.
The on-court record is what it is, but there’s more behind the scenes than meets the public eye. It’s this concept at which Achter is strongest, and it’s what makes her the person to turn the ship around at Detroit Mercy.
“When you’re not winning many games, you’re just more aware of what they might be or what you might struggle with,” Achter said. “That’s part of the reason why hiring a staff is so important to have those that can complement you and bring different things to the table. I learned early how important the relationship process was with my players. I can say that the first two years, it was difficult for me because there were so many things you had to manage.
“With the evolution of the transfer portal, you need to be actively recruiting your own kids. I really invested the last couple years in building better relationships with my players. I think that’s something that is probably coming to the forefront and is being one of the more important things of being a head coach.”
First Published May 14, 2022, 3:00 p.m.
