2010

wEEK oF ~t I Z 1 df2/e He is currently in his third

JUCO SPORTS HALL Chancellor to represent Warriors in Hall of Fame from school report s DECATUR- When veteran women's basketball coach Van Chancellor was inducted into the East Central Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998, he made the following remarks about his successful career: "I believe this about coaching: make sure the bus is loaded with good players on it and you can be a good loads of talent throughout his 30-plus years of coaching on the hardwood, as evidenced by the 500-plus victo– ries and championships achieved on the high school, college, pro– fessional and international levels. In recognition of his success, Chancellor and representatives of the state's other two-year col– leges will be inducted into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame during a cer– emony scheduled Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at the Jackson Hilton. Activities begin with a reception at 6:15p.m. and will be followed by a 7 p.m. program. A Louisville native, Chan– cellor has been described as a coach who does more than just "coach" talented players to win titles, as explained by one of his former WNBA Houston Comet players following yet another league championship: ·coach Chancellor teaches"'.eam....and he also teaches love." coach." He added: "I'm really lucky to reap the bene– fits of a lot of hard work by so many people." Chancellor has obviously attracted numerous bus- Chancellor

year leading the Louisiana State UniversityTigers, who advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAAWomen's Basketball Tour– nament en route to a 21-10 record. Chancellor began his tenure at LSU in 2007-08 and quickly found success as the Tigers were SEC regular season cham– p~ons and advanced to the NCAA Fmal Four before finishi rr at 31- 6. For his efforts: Chan< 'or was nan1cd Southeastern Coach of the Year by both the coaches and media and was one of four

finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award.

His 2008-09 squad finished 19- 11 and advanced to the second round of the NCAATournament Prior to his return to the col- · lege ranks, Chancellor led the Ho~ston Comets of the Women's National Basketball Association 0"NBA) from 1997-2007. During h1s tenure, the Comets won the league's first four titles and were the only team to make the play– offs in each of the first seven sea– sons of the league. In recognition of his success Chancellor was named WNBA ' Coach of the Year for 1997, 1998 and 1999. The 1998 Comets still h?ld _the record for the highest wmnmg percentage in the his– tory of NBA and WNBA basket– ball with a 27-3 mark (.900). Chancellor was also named Coach of the WNBA's All-Decade Team in June 2006. His overall record was 211-111 for the 10 seasons, which makes him the winningest coach in WNBA his– tory. Chancellor is probably most associated with his success at the University ofMississippi, where he led the Rebels from 1978-97. amassing a 439-154 r~cord during his 19-year tenure. H1s teams advanced to 14 NCAA Tournaments. including four El_ite Eights and three Sweet 16s. H1s 1991-92 squad won the SEC advanced to the Elite Eight prior to finishing with a 29-3 record. On three occasions, Chancellor was named SEC Coach of the Year al Ole Miss. Chancellor also found success on the international level r~gular season championship With a perfect 11-0 mark and

APPEARED IN:

CARTHAGINIAN ____ NEWTON COUNTY APPEAL SPIRIT OF MORTON __j_ MERIDIAN STAR__ _.:~~

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