The biggest note of change for the Western Kentucky women’s basketball team is that there is no change.

Greg Collins is the new name that fills the title of WKU’s head coach. Beyond that, he assures there won’t be a different Lady Topper program.

Collins worked at the hip with Michelle Clark-Heard to rebuild WKU into a consistent conference champion. Now with Heard coaching at Cincinnati, Collins takes the same approach to keep the program at the top.

“There won’t be any difference,” Collins said during his introductory news conference Wednesday at Diddle Arena. “There wasn’t any style of play that wasn’t consistent with what Michelle and I believed. We weren’t working on different agendas. It’s the same thing. There won’t be a great change.”

That continuity also helped WKU athletic director Todd Stewart make a swift hire once Heard accepted the Cincinnati position last week after six seasons at her alma mater.

Collins, 52, took more of a behind-the-scenes role as the team’s associate head coach the last four years while Heard worked at the forefront of her program, building close relationships with players, recruits and the fanbase.

Collins takes a similar approach as that responsibility now falls on his shoulders, though it won’t be in the exact same manner for obvious reasons.

“The biggest challenge will be Michelle is an embracer and she builds on that relationship,” Collins said. “She cared for them deeply and they talked all the time. I care for them in the same way, but not the same manner. They’ll text me, ‘Coach, my car won’t start. Coach, I need help with this class. Coach, what am I going to do with my life?’ They’re probably not going to come to my office to talk about hair, although I ask them to. It’ll be different, but in some ways it’ll be the same.”

Knowing there won’t be any change in practice routines or an overhaul in WKU’s style of play rests well with players.

“We’re comfortable around him and we know a lot about him,” sophomore Whitney Creech said. “I don’t think it’ll be much of a change because they have the same coaching style. It’ll be a comfortable transition for us.

“We’re very fortunate for that. There’s a lot of programs when you lose a coach they’ll bring in a whole new person. So, to have him and Jasmine here, two people we’re comfortable with, that’ll make it easier for us.”

Jasmine Bowden, who was a graduate assistant for the team last year, will be promoted to a full-time position. Melissa Kolbe, a WKU assistant the last three seasons, has joined Heard in Cincinnati.

WKU’s identity with a motion offense and constantly-changing defenses will continue to be a staple in the Collins era, so long as it fits the style of the current roster. The Lady Toppers will work to fill the shoes left by Tashia Brown and Ivy Brown, who made up for 52 percent of WKU’s points last season.

Creech will be a crucial role player in that transition, along with rising seniors Sidnee Bopp and Kayla Smith, redshirt junior Dee Givens and rising sophomores Raneem Elgedawy, Sherry Porter, Nichel Tampa and Terry Smith.

Becoming eligible to play next season are junior Alexis Brewer and sophomore Arame Niang. Brewer, who prepped at LaRue County and Bardstown, played two seasons at West Virginia before transferring closer to home. Niang will add a 6-foot-3 forward presence with three years of eligibility after playing previously in Japan.

“It’s a big challenge,” Creech said. “We lost a lot of our scoring from last year. It’ll be a challenge ahead, but I think we’re ready to follow his lead and I think he’ll lead us in the right direction.”{&end}