2008 Olympic coach Anne Donovan joins New York Liberty’s staff
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After Anne Donovan coached the U.S. women to a basketball gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, the New York Liberty announced today she would join the team as an assistant coach for Pat Coyle’s staff.
‘It is a rare and significant moment for any organization when someone of Anne Donovan’s caliber joins its coaching staff,’ Liberty general manager Carol Blazejowski said in a statement. ‘With Patty at the helm, Anne’s decades of winning experience and a deep and talented roster, we feel we have assembled the components we need to pursue our ultimate goal – bringing New York the WNBA championship it so richly deserves.”
Last year, the Liberty reached the Eastern Conference finals but fell to the Detroit Shock in three games.
Donovan coached most recently with the Seattle Storm, before stepping down after the 2007 season. With a 93-77 record in five seasons, Donovan led the Storm to four playoff appearances and a league championship in 2004. That year’s team included guard Betty Lennox, whom the Los Angeles Sparks recently signed this offseason.
“It is very exciting to have the opportunity to return to the East Coast and join the Liberty family,” said Donovan, who also coached for the Indiana Fever and Charlotte Sting. “Since the league’s inception, I have been impressed with how well this organization has been run, and I look forward to assisting Pat in putting the most prepared and competitive team on the floor each night.”
Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1995, and into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Before winning the gold in 2008 on a team that featured Sparks players Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson and DeLisha Milton-Jones, Donovan was an assistant for the gold-winning U.S. team in 1998 and 2004. She started her coaching career as an assistant at Old Dominion (1989-95) and as head coach for East Carolina (1995-98).
-- Mark Medina