Kori Ellis
10-15-2004, 01:20 PM
Locked on Sports: Donovan could shatter NBA's glass ceiling
By DAVID LOCKE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Editor's note: David Locke is the radio play-by-play commentator for the Seattle Storm
As the NBA season begins, the guillotine aimed at coaches is again being sharpened. This season, no different than any other, will knock coach after coach into the unemployment line.
Each time a team fires a coach, it will search for a new one. And each time it will miss one of the best candidates available.
The team will miss out on a coach who has taken two teams to the title game.
It will miss out on a coach who has molded a team and won a championship.
It will miss out on a Hall of Fame player who is one of the few greats to translate their brilliant playing skills into superb teaching skills.
It will miss out on an Olympic gold medalist.
It will miss out on a coach who has taken at-risk players and shaped them into team players.
It will miss out on a coach who turned a young, immature player with a world of talent into a mature, unstoppable force.
Moreover, the team will miss out on one of the best coaches in basketball.
The team officials will miss for only one reason. The coach is a woman.
They will miss out on Anne Donovan.
Why? Why can't Donovan coach men? Why shouldn't an NBA team hire the best available candidate, not the best available male candidate?
Listen to your own argument closely and I'll bet it is filled with holes. My guess is it is the same argument that used to be used for why women couldn't be CEOs of companies.
Last time I checked, eBay seemed fine under the guidance of Meg Whitman.
When hiring a coach, what qualities are you looking for? You want a coach who knows the game, maintains structure, relates to the players, reaches the players and commands respect.
That's Donovan.
Her in-game coaching at the WNBA level would easily translate to the men's game. The game is different, the athletes are different, but the coach's ability to feel the game and understand its flow is the same.
The play calls are different. The game is more one-on-one, but the principles are similar. It is about getting your best players in the best position to make plays for themselves or their teammates. It is about players knowing their roles.
Donovan's ability to reach each player individually is remarkable. Her willingness to take a player with a questionable reputation and work her strengths into the team concept won Seattle a championship.
Betty Lennox, WNBA Finals MVP, was a question mark. In training camp, Donovan put the clamps on Lennox, forcing her to play in tight confines. When Lennox proved she could play in the team concept, Donovan released the reins on Lennox.
Tuesday night, Lennox gave Donovan the ultimate compliment. "I want to thank Anne Donovan. She is the first coach that believed in me. She brought more out of me than I knew I had in myself."
Donovan's brilliance is that nobody gets a free ride. Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson are asked to live by a higher standard, not skate by on separate rules because they are superstars.
In the opening game of the season, when rookie Nicole Ohlde of Minnesota was dominating inside, Donovan looked at Jackson during a timeout and screamed, "She is playing like the MVP, do something about it."
Jackson scored 14 points in the next five minutes and Seattle won. The message was larger. There may be superstars, but there are no favorites.
Great coaching is universal, and that is great coaching.
The subtler moves are at the heart of Donovan's genius. After driving her players relentlessly all season, she pulled back and let them play in the playoffs. In the conference finals, she openly talked about how her team would win the decisive Game 3. She was trying to convince a club that was shell-shocked by the end of Game 2. It worked.
There is no question she is a brilliant coach. Why couldn't she coach in the NBA?
The common argument is the players wouldn't respect a woman. Is this argument any different than the Neanderthal concept that a woman couldn't be a CEO or general managers because those below her wouldn't respect her?
In addition, last time I checked, players' respect for coaches is not at an all-time high across the NBA, anyway.
Moreover, many of the players in the NBA are coming from families in which women raised them. Is it possible a woman may actually reach the players better?
Three men in the history of basketball have gone into the Hall of Fame as a coach and a player. Donovan is on the path to being the first woman. If someone has the guts and the brains, it is a path that will go through the NBA.
David Locke hosts "Locked on Sports" from 7-10 p.m. weeknights on Sports Radio 950 KJR-AM. His column usually appears Wednesdays in the P-I. You can e-mail him at [email protected].
By DAVID LOCKE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Editor's note: David Locke is the radio play-by-play commentator for the Seattle Storm
As the NBA season begins, the guillotine aimed at coaches is again being sharpened. This season, no different than any other, will knock coach after coach into the unemployment line.
Each time a team fires a coach, it will search for a new one. And each time it will miss one of the best candidates available.
The team will miss out on a coach who has taken two teams to the title game.
It will miss out on a coach who has molded a team and won a championship.
It will miss out on a Hall of Fame player who is one of the few greats to translate their brilliant playing skills into superb teaching skills.
It will miss out on an Olympic gold medalist.
It will miss out on a coach who has taken at-risk players and shaped them into team players.
It will miss out on a coach who turned a young, immature player with a world of talent into a mature, unstoppable force.
Moreover, the team will miss out on one of the best coaches in basketball.
The team officials will miss for only one reason. The coach is a woman.
They will miss out on Anne Donovan.
Why? Why can't Donovan coach men? Why shouldn't an NBA team hire the best available candidate, not the best available male candidate?
Listen to your own argument closely and I'll bet it is filled with holes. My guess is it is the same argument that used to be used for why women couldn't be CEOs of companies.
Last time I checked, eBay seemed fine under the guidance of Meg Whitman.
When hiring a coach, what qualities are you looking for? You want a coach who knows the game, maintains structure, relates to the players, reaches the players and commands respect.
That's Donovan.
Her in-game coaching at the WNBA level would easily translate to the men's game. The game is different, the athletes are different, but the coach's ability to feel the game and understand its flow is the same.
The play calls are different. The game is more one-on-one, but the principles are similar. It is about getting your best players in the best position to make plays for themselves or their teammates. It is about players knowing their roles.
Donovan's ability to reach each player individually is remarkable. Her willingness to take a player with a questionable reputation and work her strengths into the team concept won Seattle a championship.
Betty Lennox, WNBA Finals MVP, was a question mark. In training camp, Donovan put the clamps on Lennox, forcing her to play in tight confines. When Lennox proved she could play in the team concept, Donovan released the reins on Lennox.
Tuesday night, Lennox gave Donovan the ultimate compliment. "I want to thank Anne Donovan. She is the first coach that believed in me. She brought more out of me than I knew I had in myself."
Donovan's brilliance is that nobody gets a free ride. Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson are asked to live by a higher standard, not skate by on separate rules because they are superstars.
In the opening game of the season, when rookie Nicole Ohlde of Minnesota was dominating inside, Donovan looked at Jackson during a timeout and screamed, "She is playing like the MVP, do something about it."
Jackson scored 14 points in the next five minutes and Seattle won. The message was larger. There may be superstars, but there are no favorites.
Great coaching is universal, and that is great coaching.
The subtler moves are at the heart of Donovan's genius. After driving her players relentlessly all season, she pulled back and let them play in the playoffs. In the conference finals, she openly talked about how her team would win the decisive Game 3. She was trying to convince a club that was shell-shocked by the end of Game 2. It worked.
There is no question she is a brilliant coach. Why couldn't she coach in the NBA?
The common argument is the players wouldn't respect a woman. Is this argument any different than the Neanderthal concept that a woman couldn't be a CEO or general managers because those below her wouldn't respect her?
In addition, last time I checked, players' respect for coaches is not at an all-time high across the NBA, anyway.
Moreover, many of the players in the NBA are coming from families in which women raised them. Is it possible a woman may actually reach the players better?
Three men in the history of basketball have gone into the Hall of Fame as a coach and a player. Donovan is on the path to being the first woman. If someone has the guts and the brains, it is a path that will go through the NBA.
David Locke hosts "Locked on Sports" from 7-10 p.m. weeknights on Sports Radio 950 KJR-AM. His column usually appears Wednesdays in the P-I. You can e-mail him at [email protected].