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O'Malley Welcomes Stanley and
Summitt WASHINGTON D.C. (April 4, 2002) Thank you for your loyalty and patience as we went through the very important process of finding the right coach and basketball operations staff to lead the Mystics. I am pleased to announce that we have hired a dynamic duo of coaching: Marianne Stanley has been named Head Coach and Pat Summitt will join Mystics basketball operations as a player personnel consultant. Pat and Marianne are two of the most successful coaches in women's collegiate basketball history. Pat Summitt's teams have played in and recorded the most NCAA tournament victories in history. Her record of six NCAA Championships is second only to UCLA's John Wooden who captured 10 during his career. Her last three championships were the first back-to-back victories in women's NCAA history and featured the play of Olympic gold medallist, three-time WNBA All-Star and Mystics forward Chamique Holdsclaw. Marianne complied an impressive 415-224 (.649) record in over 20 years as a head coach, earning four Conference Coach of the Year and two National Coach of the Year honors, and winning three National Championship titles (AIAW - 1979, 1980; NCAA - 1985). Marianne is also no stranger to professional basketball, having served as Assistant Coach for the Mystics in 2001 and for the L.A. Sparks in 2000. There is very little transitioning that our players will need to do to prepare for this season. Marianne has been working with Chamique Holdsclaw, Tausha Mills and Markita Aldridge who spent much of their off-season in Washington. She has been in contact with all of our players to monitor their development and traveled to see many of them play. Pat's first responsibility with the Mystics will be to create a team assessment and advise us on the draft. Pat Summitt's integral knowledge of the current elite college seniors puts us in prime position to maximize our two first round picks for the WNBA Draft on April 19th. I want to once again thank you for your incredible patience throughout this process. I knew we were in good hands with Marianne at the helm throughout the off-season. Once it became apparent that Pat would be joining the Mystics team, we were not ready to make our announcement until after the NCAA tournament ended this year. This summer will be a very special season as we celebrate our Fifth Anniversary in the WNBA and host the 2002 All Star game on July 15, 2002 at MCI Center. Opening night for the Washington Mystics is June 1, 2002 at 6:00 pm at MCI Center. I look forward to seeing you there! Sincerely, Susan O'Malley [Source: Washington Mystics] |
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