Gail Goestenkors Selected As Assistant Coach For 2002 USA World Championship Team

Aug. 13, 2002

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 13, 2002) -- Successful and internationally experienced collegiate head coaches Marianna Freeman of Syracuse University (N.Y.) and Gail Goestenkors of Duke University (N.C.) have been selected to serve as assistant coaches to Van Chancellor (Houston Comets) with the 2002 USA Basketball Women's World Championship Team. The selections, made by the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee and approved by the USA Basketball Executive Committee, complete the 2002 USA coaching staff as WNBA Charlotte Sting head coach Anne Donovan was previously named an assistant coach to the U.S. squad.

The 14th FIBA World Championship for Women will feature national teams from 16 nations competing in nine cities in the People's Republic of China Sept. 14-25. The U.S. will face Russia, Lithuania and Chinese Taipei in preliminary round play Sept. 14-16.

"We're really excited about adding two experienced college coaches who have coached in really great leagues and who really understand the game," said USA and Houston Comets head coach Van Chancellor. "Coach Anne Donovan and I discussed the addition of these two and we're very excited about having them join the staff."

Gail Goestenkors

"It's a tremendous honor and privilege and I look forward to working with, and learning from, the very best coaches and players in the world," said 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Goestenkors, who returns to tackle her second coaching assignment with USA Basketball.

"Having been overseas before with the Jones Cup team was a tremendous experience for me," continued Goestenkors. "I'm actually looking forward to being an assistant coach, working for somebody else and helping them in any way that I can. I think that scouting will be something that will be very important for us. I feel that I'm really looking forward to tackling that to help the team, because the games come very quickly. There is not a lot of time to prepare for each game. So it's very important that you're as knowledgeable about the teams that you're playing as you are about your own team. Obviously Van and Anne have a very great knowledge of the pro players for us. It will help for me to become very familiar with the teams that we'll be competing against."

The head coach of the silver medal winning 1997 USA R. William Jones Cup Team which posted a 6-1 record, Goestenkors has been a member of the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee since 2000.

The winningest coach in Blue Devil history, Goestenkors currently boasts a 237-82 record (.743 winning percentage) in a decade (1992-93 to present) at Duke's helm. Additionally, in 2000-01 she became the third-quickest ACC coach to notch 200 victories, reaching that mark in just 277 games (Kay Yow-257 games, Chris Weller-262 games).

A four-time ACC Coach of the Year (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002), Goestenkors took over a program that had advanced to one NCAA Tournament prior to her arrival and has since piloted the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past eight seasons, reaching the Final Four twice (1999, 2002), the Elite Eight once (1998) and a pair of Sweet Sixteens (2000, 2001).

Her most recent squad, a team featuring eight young players (the top three scorers included one freshman and two sophomores), posted a school record 31 victories and marched to the 2002 NCAA Tournament Final Four. Compiling a 31-4 overall record, Goestenkors' 2001-02 team earned Duke's first unblemished ACC record (16-0) to capture her fourth ACC regular season title (1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002). The Blue Devils then went on to earn their third consecutive ACC Tournament crown before moving on to the NCAA Tournament. Duke's overall conference record of 19-0, which includes a 3-0 record in ACC Tournament play, marked the first time an ACC team had gone undefeated in both the regular season and the conference tournament in league history.

Leading Duke to a then school record for wins after compiling a 22-9 record in 1994-95, Goestenkors' squads have eclipsed that record four times, earning 26 victories in 1995-96, 29 in 1998-99 and 30 in 2000-01, before reaching the 31-win mark this past season.

Her efforts at Duke have not gone unnoticed. In addition to being a four-time ACC Coach of the Year, Goestenkors was named the 2002 National Coach of the Year by Gballmag.com, 2000 National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times, in 1999 earned the Victor Award as the National Coach of the Year, was a three-time Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist (2000, 2001 and 2002) and collected 2001 and 2002 District II Coach of the Year honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Prior to taking over the reins at Duke, Goestenkors worked as an assistant coach for six seasons (1986-87 to 1991-92) at Purdue University (Ind.) during which time the Boilermakers went 135-42 (.763 winning percentage). With Goestenkors assisting on the sidelines, Purdue posted five consecutive 20-win seasons and made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1988-92), twice advancing to the Sweet Sixteen (1990, 1992). She also aided the Boilermakers to their first Big Ten Conference championship in 1991.

A success as a player and coach, Goestenkors was an NAIA All-American as a player at Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), where in four years (1980-81 to 1984-85) she helped her teams to a 114-13 record (.893 winning percentage), as well as a second place, third place and two Final Eight finishes in the NAIA Tournament. Earning team and conference MVP honors, Goestenkors was also an academic all-conference selection at Saginaw Valley.

Marianna Freeman

"I am so excited about this opportunity," said Freeman. "One of the greatest experiences in my life was with the junior teams in 1996 and 1997, with Rene (Portland), Jim (Lewis) and Kay (James). And then I got the call to be a part of another USA Basketball team. I was excited that God has blessed me again with this opportunity. I feel so honored and blessed to be able to represent my country, especially at a time like this. It is a great time to be able to do something like this for your country.

"Being a part of this coaching staff is going to be exciting, You've got coach Chancellor. He's done a phenomenal job at the highest level of basketball in the U.S., coaching in the WNBA and winning four championships. Then you have Anne Donovan, who has done an incredible job with the Charlotte Sting, going from a 1-10 position last year to the WNBA finals. You also have Gail at Duke, who has built a tremendous program that's well respected all across the country. Then I add myself to that mix and I feel that what I bring is the ability to work together towards a common goal. One of my best skills is to be able to adapt and help bring out the best in each person that I work with. I am willing to do whatever it takes for us to achieve our goal. I'm extremely excited about being in this position, to learn from such great coaches and to be a part of this team. I have a sense of the team spirit, putting the team first and accomplishments first, and I think that's what I add to this team."

Freeman, who recently completed her ninth season (1993-94 to present) at the helm of Syracuse University (N.Y.), returns to USA Basketball for her third coaching assignment. An assistant on the 1997 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team that claimed the gold medal, Freeman served in 1996 as an assistant for the USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that captured the silver medal and qualified the United States for the '97 FIBA Junior World Championship.

In 1993-94 Freeman took the reigns of a Syracuse program that had not produced a winning record since 1990 and had not finished above .500 in the Big East Conference since 1988. Following a pair of rebuilding years, Freeman piloted the Orangewomen in 1996 to a 14-14 overall record, a tie for first in the Big East Seven, while advancing to the Big East Tournament semifinals. Additionally, Freeman guided her 1995-96 squad to a 62-59 victory over then No. 2 ranked Connecticut, marking the first time in 25 years the Orangewomen had defeated a top five ranked team.

Continuing her rebuilding, Freeman recently completed her most successful season at Syracuse and the program's best in over a decade. Finishing with an 18-13 record overall, the most wins since the 1987-88 season, Freeman guided the Orangewomen into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988, while earning Syracuse's third appearance in NCAA history. For her efforts, Freeman was honored as the 2002 National Female Coach of the Year by the Black Coaches Association, 2002 New York co-Coach of the Year by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York and also collected the 2002 Vivian Stringer Female Coach of the Year award from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

During her tenure at Syracuse, Freeman has been honored for her work both on and off the court. She was a finalist for the 1994 and 1995 National Student-Athlete Day Giant Steps Outstanding Female Coach award, while earning the 1998 Spirit of American Women award from Girls Incorporated and in 1999 Freeman collected the Syracuse Citizen of the Year and Girl Scouts Leadership awards.

Prior to accepting the position at Syracuse, Freeman spent 10 years (1983-84 to 1992-93) as an assistant to Stringer at the University of Iowa. During that time, the Hawkeyes posted a sparkling 237-60 record for a .798 winning percentage, advanced to eight NCAA Tournaments, one Final Four and won or shared six Big Ten Conference titles. Freeman began her coaching career as the head coach at Delaware State College, where she spent two seasons (1982-82 to 1982-83) before joining the Iowa staff.

A 1993 Cheney State University (Pa.) Hall of Fame inductee, Freeman graduated from Cheney State in 1979 where she played for Stringer, while earning her bachelor's degree in recreation. As a senior Freeman was team captain for the Cheney State squad that went undefeated, while collecting the Coca-Cola High Spirit award and the College President's Award of Excellence in Basketball in the process.

The 2002 USA Basketball World Championship Team includes: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm); Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever); Tamecka Dixon (Los Angeles Sparks); Shannon Johnson (Orlando Miracle); Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks); DeLisha Milton (Los Angeles Sparks); Katie Smith (Minnesota Lynx); Dawn Staley (Charlotte Sting); Sheryl Swoopes (Houston Comets); Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) and Natalie Williams (Utah Starzz). One additional player will be named at a later date.

The United States, which earned the gold medal at the inaugural World Championship in 1953, earned its sixth gold medal with an unblemished 9-0 record in the 1998 World Championship in Germany. All told, the USA owns a 71-20 overall record (.780 winning percentage) in World Championship play and has won six golds, one silver and one bronze medal in the 12 previous FIBA World Championships in which the U.S. competed.

The USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee, which is charged with the selection of the team and coaching staff, consists of nine members and a non-voting chair. WNBA Vice President of Player Personnel Rene

Gail Goestenkors Selected As Assistant Coach For 2002 USA World Championship Team

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