North Carolina State University Athletics
CARR: A Coaching Couple That Clicks on the Court
12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
AJ Carr, a 51-year veteran of the sports writing ranks, has joined the GoPack.com staff as a contributing writer. A Wallace, N.C., native and a graduate of Guilford College, Carr spent more than 42 years on the staff at the Raleigh News & Observer, covering generations of Wolfpack sports. Both of his sons, Greg and Brad, are NC State graduates.
BY A.J. CARR
RALEIGH, N.C. - When Jon Harper showed up to work a girls basketball camp at the University of Tennessee in 1997, Kellie Jolly perked up.
“It was love at first sight,’’ she explained. “I grabbed my roommate and said: ‘That guy is exactly who I’m attracted to.’”
They met, soon began dating and got married two years later, punctuating what she called a “fairy tale story.”
Kellie Jolly Harper got more than a husband. She also landed an astute assistant coach who is trying to help her put the NC State women’s basketball team back in the national limelight.
As a coaching couple, they have clicked on the court for nine years. They are compatible. They are competitive. In fact, they used go at each other with such aggression that both decided early on it would be best to stop having shooting contests and one-on-one games.
“She never beat me,’’ said Jon, who was a standout all-around athlete. “She didn’t like that. It’s the way we are wired. We figured it is better if we are always on the same team.”
Kellie, a star point guard on three national championship basketball teams at Tennessee, concurred.
“It was getting pretty heated,’’ she said. “Even in pickup games it is best we are on the same team.”
MANNING HIS JOB
If Jon had an ego the size of many macho men, this husband-wife coaching combination would have ended quicker than some Hollywood marriages. He understands his wife’s head-coaching role, his role, and their common goal.
He doesn’t have to be “The Man,” yet he mans a significant position in the Wolfpack women plans. He scouts, recruits, and works mostly with guards in practice. During games, resourceful Kellie relies on his expertise and knack for knowing when to call time outs, change defenses, sub, and crunch-time strategy.
Not that she always heeds his advice. In this year’s game against Texas Christian, Jon noticed a Wolfpack player who was struggling and told Kellie: “Get her out of there!” When that player made another mistake, Jon snapped: “I told you!”
Kellie responded by jabbing him in the leg. But it all ended well as State secured the win. Now they laugh about that jawing and jabbing episode.
“His strength is in game management,’’ Kellie said. “It’s easy for him to comprehend, to know who to foul at the end of a game, what play to call. He’s really good in those situations. When the game is on the line I’m going with what he says most of the time.”
Kellie welcomes input from her staff, which also includes Richard Barron and Stephanie McCormick, and gives them ample credit, Jon said.
But when all is said and done, she is the one who has to take the heat in defeat as well as receiving unsolicited praise in victory.
MR. VERSATILE
While his wife carved a special niche at Tennessee as a player and Dean’s List math major, Jon made his mark athletically and academically as well.
He starred as a kicker in football and as a 6-7 guard/small forward in basketball at Tucker High near Atlanta, earning all-county honors in both sports. He also played some baseball and golf.
“He can do anything, softball, bowling, golf; it’s just very natural for him,” Kellie said.
Had Jon gone to a Division I-AA or mid-major school, he could have played football or basketball in college, but enrolled at Auburn instead.
“I think I would have had a good shot at making the basketball team my freshman year if I had walked on,’’ he said. “My sophomore year [coach Cliff Ellis] didn’t take any walk-ons.”
Harper considered transferring to Coker College (S.C.) to play football, but his grades weren’t up to speed. He confessed being a good-time-Jon rather than a good student as a freshman. Then he settled down, made the Dean’s List two years and graduated with a degree in Health Promotion/Sports Management.
After one season as an assistant high school football coach and a brief stint in the business world, he joined Kellie on the UT-Chattanooga women’s basketball staff. Since then it has been a husband-and-wife hoops story.
They share the same passion for the game and have the same Christian values, which is reflected in their coaching. Neither uses profanity and they don’t allow Wolfpack players to curse.
Asked if he would like to be a head coach, Jon said “it isn’t feasible” for two reasons. No. 1, he can’t imagine being apart from his wife; No. 2, they wouldn’t want to compete against each other.
Though operating on different time clocks (she’s a morning person, he’s a night owl), they’ve successfully worked side-by-side nine seasons. It seems to suggest that a couple which coaches together stays together.
DOMESTIC DUTIES
Away the court, at their home in Apex, Jon and Kellie relax watching sports on TV and often talking more basketball.
For the record, Jon takes out the garbage and does the laundry. When it’s meal time -- though Kellie likes to cook and Jon likes to fire up the grill -- they usually eat out because of time demands and erratic schedules.
As for hobbies, it’s horseback riding for Kellie in the off season and golf for Jon, who once carried a four-handicap.
“I’d like to play in amateur tournaments [after the season],’’ he said. “I love the game.”
Off the court, Jon is a laid back, friendly hulk who smiles often, talks easily, and offers a hand shake that could crush a coconut. It’s the games -- any games -- that cause him to flip on that competitive switch.
That will to win is partly why Kellie likes having him on her staff and sitting next to her on the bench.
“He has humility, is supportive [and] he’s a good coach; sometimes that’s overshadowed because of his relationship with me,’’ she said.
To put a different spin on an old adage, behind this successful woman, there’s a good man.
BY A.J. CARR
RALEIGH, N.C. - When Jon Harper showed up to work a girls basketball camp at the University of Tennessee in 1997, Kellie Jolly perked up.
“It was love at first sight,’’ she explained. “I grabbed my roommate and said: ‘That guy is exactly who I’m attracted to.’”
They met, soon began dating and got married two years later, punctuating what she called a “fairy tale story.”
Kellie Jolly Harper got more than a husband. She also landed an astute assistant coach who is trying to help her put the NC State women’s basketball team back in the national limelight.
As a coaching couple, they have clicked on the court for nine years. They are compatible. They are competitive. In fact, they used go at each other with such aggression that both decided early on it would be best to stop having shooting contests and one-on-one games.
“She never beat me,’’ said Jon, who was a standout all-around athlete. “She didn’t like that. It’s the way we are wired. We figured it is better if we are always on the same team.”
Kellie, a star point guard on three national championship basketball teams at Tennessee, concurred.
“It was getting pretty heated,’’ she said. “Even in pickup games it is best we are on the same team.”
MANNING HIS JOB
If Jon had an ego the size of many macho men, this husband-wife coaching combination would have ended quicker than some Hollywood marriages. He understands his wife’s head-coaching role, his role, and their common goal.
He doesn’t have to be “The Man,” yet he mans a significant position in the Wolfpack women plans. He scouts, recruits, and works mostly with guards in practice. During games, resourceful Kellie relies on his expertise and knack for knowing when to call time outs, change defenses, sub, and crunch-time strategy.
Not that she always heeds his advice. In this year’s game against Texas Christian, Jon noticed a Wolfpack player who was struggling and told Kellie: “Get her out of there!” When that player made another mistake, Jon snapped: “I told you!”
Kellie responded by jabbing him in the leg. But it all ended well as State secured the win. Now they laugh about that jawing and jabbing episode.
“His strength is in game management,’’ Kellie said. “It’s easy for him to comprehend, to know who to foul at the end of a game, what play to call. He’s really good in those situations. When the game is on the line I’m going with what he says most of the time.”
Kellie welcomes input from her staff, which also includes Richard Barron and Stephanie McCormick, and gives them ample credit, Jon said.
But when all is said and done, she is the one who has to take the heat in defeat as well as receiving unsolicited praise in victory.
MR. VERSATILE
While his wife carved a special niche at Tennessee as a player and Dean’s List math major, Jon made his mark athletically and academically as well.
He starred as a kicker in football and as a 6-7 guard/small forward in basketball at Tucker High near Atlanta, earning all-county honors in both sports. He also played some baseball and golf.
“He can do anything, softball, bowling, golf; it’s just very natural for him,” Kellie said.
Had Jon gone to a Division I-AA or mid-major school, he could have played football or basketball in college, but enrolled at Auburn instead.
“I think I would have had a good shot at making the basketball team my freshman year if I had walked on,’’ he said. “My sophomore year [coach Cliff Ellis] didn’t take any walk-ons.”
Harper considered transferring to Coker College (S.C.) to play football, but his grades weren’t up to speed. He confessed being a good-time-Jon rather than a good student as a freshman. Then he settled down, made the Dean’s List two years and graduated with a degree in Health Promotion/Sports Management.
After one season as an assistant high school football coach and a brief stint in the business world, he joined Kellie on the UT-Chattanooga women’s basketball staff. Since then it has been a husband-and-wife hoops story.
They share the same passion for the game and have the same Christian values, which is reflected in their coaching. Neither uses profanity and they don’t allow Wolfpack players to curse.
Asked if he would like to be a head coach, Jon said “it isn’t feasible” for two reasons. No. 1, he can’t imagine being apart from his wife; No. 2, they wouldn’t want to compete against each other.
Though operating on different time clocks (she’s a morning person, he’s a night owl), they’ve successfully worked side-by-side nine seasons. It seems to suggest that a couple which coaches together stays together.
DOMESTIC DUTIES
Away the court, at their home in Apex, Jon and Kellie relax watching sports on TV and often talking more basketball.
For the record, Jon takes out the garbage and does the laundry. When it’s meal time -- though Kellie likes to cook and Jon likes to fire up the grill -- they usually eat out because of time demands and erratic schedules.
As for hobbies, it’s horseback riding for Kellie in the off season and golf for Jon, who once carried a four-handicap.
“I’d like to play in amateur tournaments [after the season],’’ he said. “I love the game.”
Off the court, Jon is a laid back, friendly hulk who smiles often, talks easily, and offers a hand shake that could crush a coconut. It’s the games -- any games -- that cause him to flip on that competitive switch.
That will to win is partly why Kellie likes having him on her staff and sitting next to her on the bench.
“He has humility, is supportive [and] he’s a good coach; sometimes that’s overshadowed because of his relationship with me,’’ she said.
To put a different spin on an old adage, behind this successful woman, there’s a good man.
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