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Anne Donovan
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Anne Donovan (born November 1, 1961 in Ridgewood, New Jersey) is one of the most decorated figures in women's basketball, both as a college player and as a head coach in the WNBA. With the Seattle Storm, she became the first female coach to win a WNBA title, and the only person to have both played to a national women's college title and coached a team to a professional title. She is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
r attending Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, the 6' 8" Donovan was the most recruited player in the nation going into college.
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Encyclopedia
Anne Donovan (born November 1, 1961 in Ridgewood, New Jersey) is one of the most decorated figures in women's basketball, both as a college player and as a head coach in the WNBA. With the Seattle Storm, she became the first female coach to win a WNBA title, and the only person to have both played to a national women's college title and coached a team to a professional title. She is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Amateur career
After attending Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, the 6' 8" Donovan was the most recruited player in the nation going into college. At Old Dominion University (ODU), the center led the Lady Monarchs to the 1979 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women basketball championship (this was before the NCAA disbanded the AIAW). She was the first female Naismith College Player of the Year in 1983. She set ODU career marks for points (2,719), rebounds (1,976), and blocked shots (801), and seasonal marks for most games played (38), most minutes played (1,159), most field goals (377), and field goal percentage (.640). She averaged a double-double for her entire career, with 20 points and 14 1/2 rebounds per game.
Pro career
As there were few professional opportunities for women professional basketball players in the U.S., Donovan played pro ball in Shizuoka, Japan and Modena, Italy from 1983 to 1989.
Coaching career
Upon her retirement as a player, she became an assistant coach at ODU from 1989-1995, then head coach at East Carolina University from 1995-1997.
Her coaching career moved to the pro ranks with a brief stint with the American Basketball League's Philadelphia Rage in 1997-1998. As the ABL folded, she joined the rival WNBA, where she coached the Indiana Fever for the 2000 season, then led the Charlotte Sting to the WNBA Finals in 2001, losing to the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2002, she led the Charlotte Sting to an 18-14 record, losing to the Washington Mystics in the first round.
In 2003, Donovan was hired as the second head coach of the Seattle Storm, inheriting a team with two number one draft picks from 2001 and 2002, the Australian Lauren Jackson and University of Connecticut star Sue Bird. In her first year, Donovan's team narrowly missed the playoffs, but in 2004, after Donovan became director of player personnel and added Betty Lennox, the Storm earned the city of Seattle its first national championship in 25 years.
In the 2005 season, in which Donovan became the first female coach to win 100 games, the Storm made the playoffs but lost in the first round. At season's end, Donovan's contract was extended to keep her in Seattle for several years.
With her 120th victory on August 6, 2006, she became the coach with the third most WNBA victories, passing former Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper. She trails only Van Chancellor and Richie Adubato in victories.
On November 30, 2007 Anne resigned from her position of head coach of the Seattle Storm.
Olympics
A three-time Olympian, she earned gold medals in 1984 and 1988. Her team did not go to the Olympics in 1980, due to the 1980 Olympic boycott.
In January 2006, USA Basketball named Donovan head coach of the 2008 Beijing Olympics US women's team. She had been the assistant coach of the team four years earlier. Her USA team won the Gold medal, beating Australia.
Miscellaneous
- Donovan is 6' 8" (2.03 m) tall
- She wears a size 16 shoe
- Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the 109th commencement ceremony (December 13, 2008) from Old Dominion University in recognition of her recent and past contributions to Women's Basketball.
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