Stephanie Guidi probably hasn’t had enough college coaching experience to land the job as the next University of Maine women’s basketball coach.

But the 1996 UMaine graduate, who has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Southwest Missouri State, should be an intriguing dark-horse choice.

“I haven’t had a chance to think about it. We just finished our season, I went to the Final Four, I’m heading out to Atlanta to go recruiting on Thursday, and coach A [Katie Abrahamson-Henderson] is going to have a baby in 12 days,” said the 30-year-old Guidi. “I’ll leave my options open.”

Southwest Missouri State head coach Abrahamson-Henderson is a former Maine assistant who was Guidi’s post coach for two years.

Guidi said she was “flattered” to hear her name mentioned as a possible successor to Sharon Versyp, but she acknowledged it would make sense for athletic director Patrick Nero to choose someone with more experience.

Guidi, a Stormville, N.Y., native, cherished her days at Maine, where she became the seventh Black Bear to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds.

“I’ll never have anything bad to say about Maine. I had a fantastic experience there. I can’t tell you how many wonderful people I met there. I wouldn’t choose any other school. I wouldn’t change anything about the time I spent there,” said Guidi.

She said she will never forget the great community and crowd support and said it is similar at Southwest Missouri State.

She said the new coach is going to have to be a “go-getter.”

“You can’t have a laid-back coach. They need somebody who understands what it takes to win there,” said Guidi, adding that the coach must also embrace the community.

“You need community support. If you don’t have it, you’re dead in the water,” said Guidi.

Guidi certainly knows about winning. In her last three seasons at Maine, the Bears went 71-18 and earned two NCAA Tournament appearances.

In her three years at SMS, the Lady Bears have gone 71-25 with two NCAA tourney bids and this year’s WNIT championship.

Prior to going to SMS, she guided her last Brewster High School (N.Y.) junior varsity girls basketball team to an 18-0 record.

Guidi has a multitude of responsibilities at SMS, including recruiting, working with the post players, designing the pre- and postseason conditioning programs, monitoring academic progress, and public relations/community outreach duties.

Guidi is as effervescent and engaging off the court as she was fiery and inspirational on the court.

The former Wheel of Fortune contestant said she took a $22,000-a-year pay cut to leave a tenured teaching position (kindergarten, second grade) in Brewster to accept Abrahamson-Henderson’s offer to join her in Missouri.

“Everyone thought I was crazy. My dad nearly had a heart attack,” quipped Guidi. “But that’s me. I’m a risk-taker. I’m not afraid to fail.”

Guidi has enjoyed her time at SMS.

“I couldn’t ask for a better boss, we’ve got a wonderful staff, and I’ve learned so much in just three years. But I have so much more to learn in this game. It’s a great profession to be in,” said Guidi.

It may be too early in her career to become the head coach at Maine now, but maybe down the road….

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.