Sherri Coale Of
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
she presides over one of the top teams in ColleGe sports, a proGram built for suCCess by teaChinG Championship behavior on and off the Court that’s why the sooners reload eaCh season with players who exCel athletiCally, aCademiCally, in the Community and beyond sherri Coale queenof the Court 114 SOONERSPORTS.COM 2009-10 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball Guide 115 Rare is the coach who embraces the balance of student and athlete like THE BIG DaNCE ACADEMIC SUCCESS Sherri Coale. Even fewer teams have had success while emphasizing Coale’s previous years were just stepping stones to national Coale, who was an Academic All-American and graduated summa cum the books on the same level as the balls. prominence as she guided Oklahoma to its first NCAA Final Four and laude from Oklahoma Christian, is a firm believer in succeeding in the national championship game during the 2001-02 season. The Sooners classroom as well as on the court. Under Coale’s guidance, her teams defeated Duke, 86-71, in the NCAA semifinals and lost to top-ranked have consistently produced some of the highest grade point averages The symmetry is a trademark of Coale’s program. and undefeated Connecticut, 82-70, in the title match. within the Athletics Department and posted a combined team GPA of 3.0 or better for a program record 23 of 26 semesters since 1996. She meticulously prepares her athletes to excel in the classroom By the conclusion of the greatest run in program history, OU had Four teams (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003) have been named to the Top and on the hardwood. In essence, master the game of life and the produced its best record in school and Big 12 Conference history 25 WBCA Academic Team Honor Roll, while 37 players have earned challenges presented on the court will fall like dominoes. (32-4); won its third consecutive Big 12 regular season title; ended the Academic All-Big 12 honors 76 times. season with its highest ranking ever (No. 2 in the Associated Press and Those obstacles have routinely been bulldozed during Coale’s 13 years ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls); and captured its first NCAA Regional One of Coale’s proudest moments was when former Sooner standout as the head coach of Oklahoma. and Big 12 Tournament titles. Stacey Dales became OU’s first player to earn Academic and Athletic All-America honors in the same season (2001-02). Dales also was That season, Coale also had three players selected in the first round of voted the 2002 Verizon Academic Student-Athlete of the Year for all The numbers speak for themselves. the WNBA draft: Stacey Dales (3rd/Washington); LaNeishea Caufield NCAA Division I sports. Dales was later joined on the Academic All- (14th/Utah); and Rosalind Ross (16th/Los Angeles). America list by Theresa Jantzen in 2003 and Caton Hill in 2004. Take for example the six Big 12 Regular Season Championships, the 76 Academic All-Big 12 honors, the four Big 12 Tournament Oklahoma revisited the record books in 2009 with another 32-win SOONER STANDOUTS Championships, the 10 All-District Academic Team members, the 10 season. The Sooners completed another trek through the Big 12, OU’s most prominent player is obviously Courtney Paris. Recruited straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the four Academic All- resulting in its sixth season championship, and the Oklahoma City with her sister, Ashley, out of California, Paris became the first player America Team Members, the six Sweet 16 appearances. Regional. in Oklahoma state history, man or woman, to win AP National Player of the Year. The foundation was laid years ago during a humble upbringing in the The Sooners finished the season No. 4 in the polls following a buzzer- beating heartbreak in the national semifinals to Louisville. Paris set a record nearly every time she stepped on the court. She oil mining town of Healdton, Okla. Those morals have stood as the was the first four-time All-American by the Associated Press and U.S. roots of Oklahoma women’s basketball for 13 years. PaCKING THE LLOYD NOBLE CENTER Basketball Writers’ Association and the first college basketball player “do what you love.” With these outstanding accomplishments and media exposure, ever, regardless of gender or division, to record 2,500 career points and Now they are flourishing on an elite level. Coale has sparked excitement across the state and nation. Oklahoma 2,000 career rebounds. it’s Coale’s motto and the reason has ranked among the nation’s top 20 in women’s basketball home she beCame a Coa So as the Sooners sit on the cusp of the 2009-10 season with the attendance for the last nine years, including four consecutive top-10 Paris ended her career owning 20 NCAA, 57 Big 12 Conference and 69 Ch. biggest national spotlight in program history already glaring in their finishes and a record high third-place finish in 2008 with an average of Oklahoma records -- her most famous being a streak of consecutive her passion has made ou one of eyes, Coale and company are sticking to their roots. 10,253. games with a double-double that lasted 112 games. The top 50 largest crowds to see women’s basketball all occurred Stacey Dales became Coale’s first Olympian and the school’s first two- the nation’s elite proGrams. And the success that comes with them. during Sherri Coale’s tenure, including the record 12,205 that attended time Kodak first team All-America selection. She played on the 2000 off the Court, she Created a tiGht-knit OU’s 2008 win against Oklahoma State. The Sooners first surpassed Canadian National Basketball team that participated in the Olympic the 10,000 attendance mark on Dec. 29, 1999, against top-ranked Games in Sydney, Australia. Dales also repeated her Big 12 Player of family atmosphere that permeates Connecticut (10,713 fans). In 2008-09, OU drew more than 10,000 in the Year and All-Big 12 first team honors in 2001 and 2002. six different home games. the entire staff and team. In addition to these two standout players, Coale has coached three As the victories came, so did Sooner fans. Nearly two million have players to Big 12 Player of the Year honors five times, 15 players to watched an OU women’s basketball game since Coale’s arrival. Coale all-conference honors 33 times and three players to First-Team All- produced her first winning season in 1999 as OU played in front of America status. She has also developed nine players into WNBA draft 1,558 fans per game. Her 2002 Final Four team drew an impressive selections, Dales, Caufield, Ross, Maria Villarroel (2004), Phylesha 6,606 fans per game and all of the attendance records have been re- Whaley (2000), Dionnah Jackson (2005), Leah Rush (2007) and written as last year’s average shot to 9,007. Ashley and Courtney Paris (2009). But Coale’s plan isn’t just taking place on the hardwood floor of Caufield also repeated her All-Big 12 second team honors en route to Lloyd Noble Center. She has worked hard to show the public that the earning honorable mention Kodak accolades. Hill and Ross appeared athletic and academic pursuits of OU players should be challenged to on the All-Big 12 third team, while Dales and Jackson were voted to the fullest. All the while, she was making sure her players understood the Big 12 All-Tournament team. Caufield was voted the Defensive that the methods and rules of her program would make them better Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball News Service and was athletes and better students who would be able to adapt to the outside selected as a Defensive All-American by the Women’s Basketball Journal world once school was completed. in 2001. Jackson, after appearing on the All-Big 12 second team for two seasons, received first team All-Big 12 honors and honorable mention Kodak All-America honors for the 2005 season. 116 SOONERSPORTS.COM 2009-10 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball Guide 117 USA BasKETBALL SERVING OTHERS BEFORE OU CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Coale and her Sooners have also been honored by USA Basketball. Getting her teams involved within the Sooner family and the After graduating from Oklahoma Christian, Coale received her first 1996-1997: Became the eighth coach in program history ... Won her first collegiate game by beating Oral Roberts, 62-50, in the Bertha Teague Classic on Nov. 22, 1996, in Stillwater, During the summer of 2005, the Sooner mentor was named to the USA community has always been a priority for Coale. She believes it’s coaching assignment at Edmond Memorial High School, serving a two- Okla. ... Picked up her first Big 12 win in the league opener against Texas A&M. Basketball Committee by the NCAA. She served on the national board important for her student-athletes to give back to the community that year term as an assistant coach. 1997-1998: Nearly doubled overall win total from previous season and quadrupled Big 12 through 2008. supports them. win total ... Team set four school records ... Tallied six Academic All-Big 12 honors and 10 The next stop was as the head coach of the Norman High School girls’ Big 12 Commissioner’s awards to lead the conference. Previously, Coale had served as an assistant coach on the 2001 USA Each player under Coale’s supervision has participated in the Sooner basketball team from 1990-96. 1998-1999: Produced her first winning season with an overall record of 15-14 ..