Van Chancellor
LSU | |||||||||||||||||||||
Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Overall | 530–195 (NCAA) 211–111 (WNBA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||||||||
Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2007 (profile) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Van Winston Chancellor (born September 27, 1943) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached University of Mississippi women's basketball,
Early years
Chancellor played two years of basketball at East Central Junior College in Decatur, Mississippi, before transferring to Mississippi State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics & physical education in 1965.
During his senior year at Mississippi State, he served as head coach of the boys' basketball team at Noxapater High School. Chancellor went on to coach boys' and girls' basketball at Horn Lake High School and Harrison Central High School in Mississippi. He received his master's degree in physical education from the University of Mississippi in 1973.
Coaching career
Ole Miss
Chancellor spent 19 seasons (1978–1997) as the head coach of the
Chancellor's teams won at least 20 games 15 times, including a school-record 31 wins in 1978–1979. He also led the Rebels to top 20 final rankings 13 times, with top 10 finishes four times (#5 in 1992, #6 in 1985, #8 in 1987, and #10 in 1984).
Chancellor led Ole Miss to the Elite Eight at the
Houston Comets
When the Women's National Basketball Association started with eight expansion teams in 1997, Chancellor had applied for six of the teams with doubt that he would be hired. However, he was hired by the Comets (as owned by Leslie Alexander, part of the plan for certain teams to be operated by NBA owners), to coach the team, and he believed that the team would be special from the very get go due to the talents of Cynthia Cooper (who had led USA to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics and silver in 1992 while playing in European leagues) in practice. Houston was bolstered by fellow player allocation Sheryl Swoopes (who had led Texas Tech to the 1993 NCAA title) and WNBA draft pick Tina Thompson to make a Big Three trio, all of whom would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[4] The 1997 season did not go without hitches, as Thompson and Cooper wanted less rigid patterns from Chancellor when it came to offensive sets, which they responded by setting ball screens on the perimeter; Swoopes did not play until the second half of the season due to her pregnancy. They won four of their first seven games before closing out the season on a 14-7 run to finish 18-10, the best record of the eight teams; in the four-team playoff, they won both games (including a 65-51 victory over the New York Liberty, who had beaten Houston three out of four times in the regular season) to win the inaugural WNBA championship. To build chemistry, he set up a three-player committee composed of a young player, a mid-level player, and an older player. Chancellor cited the help of NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich in asserting the importance of training camp and the nature of motivating college players.[5]
In the
Cooper retired after the 2000 season ended, and Swoopes missed the 2000 season with an Anterior cruciate ligament injury. Their playoff dominance ended with their first playoff loss (in a straight two-game sweep) to the Sparks in 2001. Cooper briefly returned in 2003. They lost in the first round two more times before they missed the playoffs in 2004 with a 13-21 record, Chancellor's only losing season as coach. They won one postseason series after the 2000 season ended.
Under Chancellor, the Comets were the only team in the WNBA to make the playoffs in each of the first seven seasons of the league. His 1998 Houston Comets team holds the record for highest winning percentage in the history of both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball with .900 when the Comets went 27–3. In 10 years with the Houston Comets, Chancellors’ teams posted a 211–111 record (.655), making him the winningest coach in the history of the WNBA. Chancellor was named the WNBA Coach of the Year three times (1997, 1998, 1999) He coached the Western Conference All-Star Team three times during his career and was named the coach of the WNBA's All-Decade Team in June 2006.
During his time as head coach of the Comets, Chancellor also served as a television analyst for women's college basketball, working for both ESPN and SEC-TV. In the fall of 2006, Alexander announced the sale of the Comets.[8] On January 3, 2007, Chancellor resigned.[9]
USA Basketball
Chancellor served as coach in international competition for the United States National Team. His teams won first place at the 2002 Opals World Challenge, a gold medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championships, and a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Chancellor served as the head coach to the National team in the 2002 World Championships, held during September in three cities in China, including
LSU Lady Tigers
In his first year as head coach at LSU, Chancellor led the Lady Tigers to an SEC championship game and to the Final Four. He was also named 2008 SEC Coach of the Year.[11] Chancellor resigned on March 16, 2011. He spent the rest of his contract as an assistant to Athletic Director Joe Alleva. Chancellor spent four seasons at LSU.[12]
Post-coaching career
Chancellor continued his work as a color commentator after retirement, working
Personal life
Chancellor is married to Betty and they have 2 children and 4 grandsons.[14]
Head coaching record
Ole Miss Rebels
Year | Record | Notes |
---|---|---|
1978–79 | 31–9 | AIAW State Tournament champions |
1979–80 | 23–14 | |
1980–81 | 14–12 | |
1981–82 | 27–5 | NCAA First Round |
1982–83 | 26–6 | NCAA Second Round |
1983–84 | 24–6 | NCAA Second Round |
1984–85 | 29–3 | NCAA Elite Eight |
1985–86 | 24–8 | NCAA Elite Eight |
1986–87 | 25–5 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1987–88 | 24–7 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1988–89 | 23–8 | NCAA Elite Eight |
1989–90 | 22–10 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1990–91 | 20–9 | NCAA First Round |
1991–92 | 29–3 | NCAA Elite Eight |
1992–93 | 19–10 | |
1993–94 | 24–9 | NCAA Second Round |
1994–95 | 21–8 | NCAA First Round |
1995–96 | 18–11 | NCAA First Round |
1996–97 | 16–11 |
Houston Comets
Year | Record | Playoff record | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | 18–10 | 2–0 | WNBA Champions |
1998 | 27–3 | 4–1 | WNBA Champions |
1999 | 26–6 | 4–2 | WNBA Champions |
2000 | 27–5 | 6–0 | WNBA Champions |
2001 | 19–13 | 0–2 | |
2002 | 24–8 | 1–2 | |
2003 | 20–14 | 1–2 | |
2004 | 13–21 | – | |
2005 | 19–15 | 2–3 | |
2006 | 18–16 | 0–2 |
USA Basketball
Year | Team | Event | Record | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | U.S. National Team | WBCA All Star Challenge | 1–0 | – |
2002 | U.S. National Team | Opals World Challenge | 4–0 | 1st Place |
2002 | U.S. National Team | FIBA World Championships | 9–0 | Gold Medal |
2004 | U.S. National Team | Pre-Olympics Exhibition Games | 16–0 | – |
2004 | U.S. National Team | Olympics
|
8–0 | Gold Medal |
LSU Lady Tigers
Year | Team | Record | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007–2008 | LSU | 31–6 (14–0 SEC) | NCAA Final Four
|
2008–2009 | LSU | 19–11 (10–4 SEC) | NCAA Second Round
|
2009–2010 | LSU | 21–10 (9–7 SEC) | NCAA Second Round
|
2010–2011 | LSU | 20–14 (8–8 SEC) | SEC Tournament Quarterfinals; did not make NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament |
See also
References
- ^ "Van Chancellor Bio @ LSUSports.net". Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ^ "Van Chancellor – 2007 Naismith Hall of Fame Inductee". Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
- ^ "In the WNBA's Early Days, Houston's Comets Came Around Every Year". May 14, 2021.
- ^ "WNBA excellence – Coach van Chancellor".
- ^ "The Heart of the Comets: The Story of Kim Perrot".
- ^ "Cooper's career ends with 4th crown". Houston, TX: ESPN. AP. August 26, 2000. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ "Houston's Comets, the rise and fall of the WNBA's first dynasty". October 18, 2016.
- ^ "COMETS: Van Chancellor Resigns as Head Coach of Houston Comets".
- ^ "FOURTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN – 2002". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
- ^ "Chancellor, Fowles Receive SEC's Top Annual Honors". Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
- ^ Bill Feig (March 16, 2011). "LSU women's basketball coach Van Chancellor steps down, accepts assistant to AD position". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- Houston Baptist University. February 25, 2022.
- ^ "Van Chancellor". LSUSports.net. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
External links
- LSU Lady Tigers bio Archived August 8, 2018, at the Wayback Machine