THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110463
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
After six years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Old Dominion's Anne Donovan may be getting the opportunity to run her own program.
A three-time women's basketball All-American who was recently elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Donovan is one of three finalists for the vacant head coaching position at East Carolina University.
Donovan traveled to Greenville, N.C., on Monday to interview for the position.
``The decision is going to be made by the end of this week, because of recruiting,'' said ECU women's basketball spokeswoman Carolyn Justice-Hinson in a phone interview.
A selection committee met last week to determine which candidates would be approached. Donovan reportedly is the first person to be interviewed.
A move to ECU would be the first time Donovan has ventured away from Old Dominion in a professional capacity, having joined Wendy Larry's coaching staff after completing her playing career overseas.
There are few people who have better credentials to lead a women's basketball program than Donovan. Although her primary duty is recruiting, Donovan brings a wealth of on-court experience to the program.
She is ODU's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots (her 801 blocks are an NCAA record), and earned Naismith National Player of the Year honors in 1983.
Donovan is a three-time Olympian who led the U.S. team to gold medals in 1984 and 1988, and for six years played professionally in Japan and Italy. In 1994 Donovan was selected to the GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame, and she topped that accomplishment in February with selection to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
She is one of only 10 women in the Hall and the only player, male or female, from a Virginia college to be elected.
The head coaching position at ECU became available when Rosie Thompson resigned her position on March 20, two weeks after the Lady Pirates ended their season with a 72-64 loss in overtime to James Madison in the opening round of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in Norfolk. Thompson's career record at ECU is 26-55.
Thompson may remain with the program as a senior women's administrator.
East Carolina wasted little time in finding a replacement for men's head basketball coach Eddie Payne. The school scheduled a news conference today to name current assistant Joe Dooley. The 29-year-old Dooley, who has been a Pirates assistant since 1991, will become the youngest active Division I head coach in the country. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Anne Donovan
by CNB