LAWRENCE — Morgan Paige didn’t think she was close to being ready for a head coaching job just yet, so the emotions she felt during an interview process this past spring varied wildly.

Paige, an assistant coach for Kansas women’s basketball, described it as enlightening and awesome. She described it as terrifying and crazy. In a moment her perspective flipped, as she realized becoming a Division I head coach at the college level wasn’t something so distant in her future anymore.

And while she recalled this story recently in Lawrence, still a member of head coach Brandon Schneider’s coaching staff, the commitment to being prepared for that next interview shone through. Paige, promoted to associate head coach over the summer, is eager to develop as a coach just as this Jayhawks program is looking to build on two NCAA tournament appearances in three years. However surreal it still feels for her, how her life has been changing in recent months, she hasn’t backed down.

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“This spring has been really positive for my growth, but also, like, for my perspective on the sport, what it looks like for me going forward,” Paige said. “But also, like, how I can grow and do my best to put my foot forward later in the process.”

Schneider wasn’t thinking about Paige as a future head coach during the process that saw him hire her from her assistant coaching position at North Dakota State ahead of the 2021-22 season. He was looking for a personality type, because he felt his team needed an injection of positive energy. He hasn’t forgotten the game Kansas played against NDSU during the 2020-21 season, when there was hardly anyone in the building due to the pandemic, and how Paige carried herself on the opposing bench.

But Schneider, who thought Paige fit their shift at the time to more regional recruiting, learned as Paige spent time at Kansas she had aspirations of becoming a head coach. On the heels of Paige having the chance of becoming a head coach this past spring, Schneider said they evaluated everything she’s done as an assistant at each place she’s worked in order to determine some areas she could gain experience in. Even if this hadn’t happened, Schneider thinks it’s a good thing to adjust staff responsibilities every few years so coaches are as well-rounded as possible.

For one, Paige explained, she’d never done scheduling for non-conference games before. She’s also more involved with the team’s budget, as well as the name, image and likeness (NIL) space. Given the brand KU is, the level of basketball the program plays at in the Big 12 Conference, she believes what she sees during her time with the Jayhawks will prepare her for anything.

Paige can laugh about the totality of the interview process this past spring now, how random and fast it all felt. She noted how you can have your own version of what’s going on, and the public can have its version, and explained it was funny the viewpoints on her career at the time were so different. But that won’t happen next time, and depending on how that process unfolds she can become the latest Schneider assistant coach to earn a head coaching job.

“When you do a good job, and you’re a genuine person, I think that what is said about you in certain circles is important,” Schneider said. “And, obviously, her reputation that she’s built for herself in her time in the profession is one that’s really positive and people are taking notice.”

Schneider considers Paige to be someone who has the demeanor and personality to be a really good head coach, not to mention the knowledge of the game. She was recruited at a high level herself, given she played at Wisconsin and graduated from there in 2014, and now she has extensive experience on the other side of that. Whether her path as a head coach takes her to a high-major or a mid-major, or both, she’s seen the differences between the two.

Paige, personally, is focusing on the basketball side of things — offensive and defensive core philosophies — for when she takes over a program. So much of what she’d been doing in the past at Kansas had to deal with recruiting logistics, but now with the change in her title she has more time to look at what she wants her team to be on the court. She also has an experienced head coach in Schneider who she can go to and receive feedback from.

“So, it’s just kind of, again, watching, picking, choosing, figuring out what a Morgan Paige team would look like,” said Paige, who doesn’t feel pressured to go for just any head coaching position because she enjoys her time at KU. “It’s kind of crazy, but it’s — you’ve got to do it, right? You’ve got to spend that time in the study room, in the playbook.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas women's basketball: Morgan Paige strives to become a head coach