THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502090023
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Anne Donovan has been keeping tall company.
Last year the former center for the Old Dominion University women's basketball team was inducted into the GTE/CoSIDA Academic Hall of Fame - along with Bill Walton, probably the best-passing big man ever.
This week she was voted into the really big show, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. - along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer and shot-blocker.
Donovan belongs in that kind of company. Her 801 blocked shots remain the NCAA record for men or women. (The large-college record for men's blocks is 453, by Alonzo Mourning of Chesapeake.)
It has been a dozen years since Donovan was the first woman awarded the Naismith Trophy as national player of the year, and a dozen years since she made the All-American team for the third and final time.
Now an assistant women's basketball coach at ODU, she still receives a small bundle of admiring letters and cards every day.
``People remember Donovan for a variety of reasons,'' wrote reporter Jim Ducibella, ``all of them right.''
At 6-foot-8, Donovan was gifted with height, but her skills were earned with sweat.
``The good Lord blessed me with great height, but not much else,'' she said. ``I had a great work ethic and the realization that it was going to take a lot of hard work to get where I wanted. Yes, I was a little closer to the rim, but there's a lot more to the game than that.''
Her last competitive game was the 1988 Olympics gold medal match against a Yugoslav team with a 6-10 center. The American team was trailing when she entered the game and immediately blocked two shots, scored several baskets and made two steals, propelling her team to victory.
Only the truly great ones are inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, a mecca for basketball-loving tourists. When Donovan is formally inducted this spring, she should feel at home.
Anne Donovan has been keeping tall company.
Last year the former center for the Old Dominion University women's basketball team was inducted into the GTE/CoSIDA Academic Hall of fame - along with Bill Walton, probably the best-passing big man ever.
This week she was voted into the really big show, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. - along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer and shot-blocker.
Donovan belongs in that kind of company. Her 801 blocked shots remain the NCAA record for men or women. (The large-college record for men's blocks is 453, by Alonzo Mourning of Chesapeake.)
It has been a dozen years since Donovan was the first woman awarded the Naismith Trophy as national player of the year, and a dozen years since she made the All-American team for the third and final time.
Now an assistant women's basketball coach at ODU, she still receives a small bundle of admiring letters and cards every day.
``People remember Donovan for a variety of reasons,'' wrote reporter Jim Ducibella, ``all of them right.''
At 6-foot-8, Donovan was gifted with height, but her skills were earned with sweat.
``The good Lord blessed me with great height, but not much else,'' she said. ``I had a great work ethic and the realization that it was going to take a lot of hard work to get where I wanted. Yes, I was a little closer to the rim, but there's a lot more to the game than that.''
Her last competitive game was the 1988 Olympics gold medal match against a Yugoslav team with a 6-10 center. The American team was trailing when she entered the game and immediately blocked two shots, scored several baskets and made two steals, propelling her team to victory.
Only the truly great ones are inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, a mecca for basketball-loving tourists. When Donovan is formally inducted this spring, she should feel at home. by CNB