Leah Drury Elevated to Assistant Coach; Former Seattle U Standout Talisa Rhea Added to Operations Staff
SEATTLE – The Seattle Storm today announced changes to head coach Jenny Boucek’s staff for the upcoming 2016 season.
“We are thrilled that Jenny has elevated Ryan, Leah and added Talisa to the staff,” said Storm President & GM Alisha Valavanis. “She has assembled an energetic and passionate staff with local ties and a deep commitment to the Seattle community.”
Ryan Webb, who will be entering his second season on the sideline, has been named the first assistant. Leah Drury, who spent the 2015 campaign as the manager of video and equipment, has been elevated to assistant coach. In addition to the coaching staff, Talisa Rhea, former women’s basketball standout at Seattle University, has been added to the basketball operations staff.
“Leah and Ryan are valuable teammates,” said Boucek. “They are passionate, diligent, humble, loyal and talented. We are excited to continue serving our team together!”
Webb, 31, spent the 2015 season with a primary focus on player development and scout preparation. He worked extensively with guards Jewell Loyd, Jenna O’Hea and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. In addition, Webb was also responsible for team scouts and practice team scout preparation.
Webb spent the 2014 Storm season as the team’s player development coach on Brian Agler’s staff. His responsibilities included pre-practice and off-day one-on-one workouts, coordination with the strength and conditioning coach on implementation of creative drills and providing assistance with scouting reports. From 2003-13, Webb was a constant at Storm practices, working his way up as a veteran practice player, and was named ‘head practice player’ during the 2013 season. He was in charge of ensuring the practice team was prepared to run scout offenses and defenses. Additionally, he worked as a coaching intern during the 2012 season, assisting former Storm head coach Brian Agler and then-assistant coaches Boucek and Nancy Darsch.
Drury, 31, enters her first season on the sideline in 2016 and will assist with all player and team development and all aspects of game preparation. Drury served as the manager of video and equipment during the 2015 season, and her duties included video exchange, film breakdown and overseeing all equipment distribution. In addition, she assisted with pregame scouts and preparation, and was the primary clinic coach for all Storm youth basketball clinics that the franchise ran throughout the season for local Seattle kids.
Prior to her time with the Storm, Drury served as the women’s basketball head coach at Pensacola State from 2012-14, where she compiled an overall record of 22-34. She served as an assistant at Pensacola State from 2009-10.
As an assistant coach at Alabama from 2010-12, Drury’s primary focus was on the development of the team’s guards and game scouts, and other day-to-day functions included acting as a departmental liaison with the athletic department, overseeing team academics, recruiting, alumni relations and summer camps.
2016 marks Talisa Rhea’s first season as the Storm’s manager of basketball operations. Her duties include overseeing all player personnel matters, acting as the primary contact for all team travel needs and overseeing film exchange. She spent the 2015 campaign as an intern with the basketball operations department.
Following her undergraduate career, Rhea played professionally in Poland for one season, August 2012 through March 2013, with Centrum Wzgorze Poland. Rhea graduated from Seattle University in 2012, where she was a captain of the women’s basketball team her senior year. She played her first three collegiate seasons at Oregon State before transferring to Seattle.
The Storm holds the number one selection in the upcoming 2016 WNBA Draft, which marks the second time in franchise history that the team has drafted first overall in back-to-back seasons. Storm 360 Memberships, starting at $179, are still available by calling (206) 217-WNBA (9622) or by visiting StormBasketball.com.