Monique Reid's journey from Louisville WBB star to the Bellarmine women's basketball staff

Monique Reid traveled the world playing basketball in a decade-long professional career, living in Germany, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

But, in her heart, the former Cardinals standout and recent U of L Hall of Fame inductee knew she would return to Louisville one day.

"This is exactly what I wanted to do," said Reid, who joined Bellarmine coach Chancellor Dugan's staff as an assistant coach. "I just didn't want to retire (from professional basketball) unless I had a plan. I didn't want to retire and hope for a job. I only retired because I knew I had a job."

The Knights, who open their season at 8 p.m. Thursday at San Jose State, are scheduled to play Louisville at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Reid and Dugan became acquainted in June 2022 during the unveiling of former U of L All-American Angel McCoughtry's renovated basketball court at Shively Park.

After learning about Reid's coaching aspirations and having an opening on her staff, Dugan offered Reid a spot a year later, leading Reid to leave Saudi Arabia.

"She's mature. She's got a level head," Dugan said of Reid, who won MVP honors four times, 10 championships and multiple scoring titles in her professional career.

During her final season in Turkey, Reid averaged 30.9 points per game and shot 57.2% from the field. "She brings a wealth of knowledge with her through her playing. Just being able to break skills down, so it's been a really good situation for all of us," Dugan said.

Reid, 33, said she misses playing but is determined to coach. The former first-team All-Big East selection gets her fix competing against Bellarmine players in drills or 1-on-1s.

"I have not had a chance to mourn not playing," Reid said, laughing, "And that's a good thing, too, because I can still play. I don't want to tempt myself with 'I think I can still play.' I still practice with the girls and everything. I don't think until maybe December time once I get rolling with games and stuff, it'll really hit me, but I haven't really had time."

Retiring and joining Bellarmine's coaching staff aren't the only things Reid can celebrate this year. Reid married her longtime partner and was inducted into the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 27. Her accolades as a Cardinal include being part of two Final Four teams that played for national championships in 2009 and 2013. Reid also was a two-time first-team All-Big East pick and the Big East's Most Improved Player of the Year. She's among the top 10 all time in career points (1,725), rebounds (802), made field goals (643) and made free throws (430).

Reid has many memories from her collegiate and professional career, but one stands out to her and likely many Cardinals basketball fans.

Reid's game-winning free throws helped upset then-defending national champion Baylor and star Brittney Griner in the Sweet 16, sending the Cardinals toward their second national championship game appearance with Reid on the roster.

At the time, Reid dealt with the aftermath of suffering consecutive microfractures in her knee and felt relegated to a player-coach role. Coach Jeff Walz decided to play her for 13 minutes, and Reid responded by scoring six points (including 4 of 5 from the free-throw line).

"I've won championships, I've won MVPs, I did all that stuff," Reid said. "But that was something that I had to overcome and really had to fight through adversity to get. That was like a perfect moment for me. I'm super proud of myself for that because I was in a lot of pain while I was doing that."

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Reach sports reporter Brooks Warren at bwarren@gannett.com and follow him on X at @Broookksss.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bellarmine basketball: Louisville Hall of Famer Monique Reid's journey