Riley and Whitaker join Lady Tops’ coaching staff

Brad Stephens

Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles will have two familiar faces coaching on her Lady Topper bench next season.

WKU announced Tuesday that longtime Warren Central boys’ basketball coach Tim Riley and former WKU standout guard Camryn Whitaker will join the Lady Topper staff as assistant coaches.

“In my analysis of the Lady Topper program, I determined we needed to add individuals who have tactical expertise, can recruit and have demonstrated a proven record of success,” Cowles said in a statement.  “Therefore, I am very excited about the opportunity to bring Camryn and Tim on to my staff.”

Riley coached high school basketball in Kentucky for the last 21 years, tallying a 338-215 career record during stops at LaRue County High School, Caverna High School, and, for the last 14 years, Warren Central.

He took the Dragons to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen eight times – most recently this past season – and led Warren Central to a state championship in 2004 and runner-up finish in 2005.

Whitaker comes to WKU from Missouri State, where she worked primarily with Lady Bear guards along with overseeing the program’s recruiting efforts.

She played for the Lady Toppers from 2000-2005 and ranks third all-time for WKU in assists (486), sixth in games started (117) and 10th in steals (170.)

While Riley and Whitaker will join Cowles’ staff, David Graves, who served as the Lady Toppers’ associate head coach for the last nine years, will not return in 2011-12.

A release stated that Graves is leaving to “pursue other career opportunities.”

Graves, a 1991 WKU graduate, began his relationship with the program as a student-manager for former coach Paul Sanderford.

He was head coach at Wofford from 1996-2002 before returning to WKU and joining Cowles’ staff.

WKU Athletic Media Relations confirmed that Cowles will not name an “associate head coach,” but will operate with three assistant coaches.