By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Last fall, Milan "Mimi" Bolden-Morris made national headlines as a graduate assistant coach with Michigan's football team. It was an interesting first career step for a former college basketball player.

When the season ended, and it came time to choose what would come next, Bolden-Morris had no particular destination in mind. But she knew what she was after, and that took her to William & Mary as director of basketball operations for Erin Dickerson Davis' basketball team.

"I wanted to be at a place where I would be allowed to grow and bloom," said Bolden-Morris, whose hiring was announced June 14. "Not every environment has allowed me to do that, but I knew coming to work for Coach E and being on a staff where everybody's trying to grow that I would fit right in.

"Whatever it is I learn, whatever it is I'm able to provide, I'll be around people who will push me to be the best version of myself. It just happened that I did play basketball and it's something I'm really comfortable with. But I think my position or perspective I have is what will mold me into the woman God called on me to be."

Bolden-Morris was raised on the southeastern coast of Florida, where she was the Sun Sentinel's All-Palm Beach 6A Player of the Year. She remains the career-leading scorer at Cardinal Newman High with 2,025 points. She signed with Boston College, where in two and a half seasons she averaged 7.5 points a game and made 143 3-pointers.

After graduating in December 2020 with a degree in communications, she enrolled at Georgetown mid-season and was immediately eligible. In one and a half seasons (44 games), she averaged 11.5 points a game and knocked down 107 baskets from behind the arc. Her 83 threes as a senior is tied for third on the program's all-time list.

Tied with her for third, as well as the sole occupant of first and second, is Sugar Rodgers. In addition to being Georgetown's all-time leading scorer, she was a Hoya assistant in Bolden-Morris' senior year and is going into her second season on the Tribe's staff.

"She's a great person and super-loyal, so I knew she wouldn't work for anyone who wouldn't be the same," Bolden-Morris said of Rodgers. "I knew automatically I was going to be in a safe space and in a position where I'd be challenged."

Rodgers had only good things to share with Davis about Bolden-Morris.

"I just told her, (Bolden-Morris will) be a phenomenal coach, and anything you ask her to do, she's going to get it done," Rodgers said. "She brings a lot to the table. She's very intellectual and a great person to be around. And she's always had those leadership qualities."

Bolden-Morris didn't play organized basketball until middle school. Until then, her primary interest was football, which is a way of life in Palm Beach County. Her younger brother, Mike, played, and their father was his coach.

"I was his water girl probably since I could walk," she said.

Her mother wouldn't let her suit up and compete, but it was OK for Mimi to serve as quarterback during receiving drills. Her arm strength came as a surprise to the guys (excluding Mike, of course). She later joined a flag football league and played mostly receiver because she threw too hard.

During her senior season at Georgetown, she earned some pocket money by teaching kids to play flag football. She also helped out with the Hoyas' football team.

Mimi wanted to get more involved, so her mother suggested reaching out to Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. She had something of an "in" there — Mike was going into his senior season as a Wolverines' defensive end.

"I thought about all football has done for me in my life, and I wanted to be a part of that," she said. "I didn't know how because especially where I'm from, not many people did what I did.

"It was a whole lot of faith and my mom calling Coach Harbaugh asking for the opportunity. I was so grateful to have it and be around so many good people."

It was a magical ride. With Mike having an all-conference season, Michigan finished 13-1, its only loss coming in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Mimi was there every step of the way, including blowouts of Ohio State at the Horseshoe and Purdue in the Big Ten championship, as a graduate assistant.

Bolden-Morris was the first female to be on a Power Five staff since Carol White at Georgia Tech in 1985.

"I was around a great group of guys, a great group of athletes, who were willing to work and accept me as family," Mimi said. "I was like a big sister in a new role that I had little understanding of, but everyone was so willing to accept me.

"Sometimes it's not about what you know but the kind of person you are. You can impact people that way."

That's what Bolden-Morris wants to do in her new job. In fact, she brought that up in her interview with Davis.

"For her to talk about how she can be a resource to them physically, mentally and spiritually, that aligned with what we're trying to do here," said Davis, who was a Georgetown assistant just prior to Bolden-Morris' arrival.

"In talking with Sugar and some players I knew when I coached there, everybody had great things to say about her. I just knew it would be a great fit."

She also gives the Tribe's coaching staff another shooter. Combined, Bolden-Morris, Davis, Rodgers and assistant Kenia Cole made 791 3-pointers in their college careers.

Asked who would win a staff 3-point contest, Davis playfully suggested she'd be the one to beat. Milan-Morris wasn't so sure.

"I'm very biased," she said, "but I think we'll have to test that out."