Class of 2001 – Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

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Holly Warlick

A backcourt whiz whose playmaking prowess earned her recognition as “the best player in the South” during her career as a Tennessee Lady Vol
Joined the Lady Vol basketball squad as a walk-on as a scholarship 400-meter track athlete and became the first player in the history of University of Tennessee athletics (men or women) to have her jersey retired at the end of her career in 1980
Helped the Lady Vols reach the Final Four three times altogether, including their first appearance in 1977 as well as a national runner-up finish in 1980
Earned Kodak All-America honors as a senior in 1980
Previously held UT records for most assists (14) and steals (9) in a game, most assists in a season (225), and most games in a career (141)
A member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team
International experience also included berths on U.S. teams that participated in the Jones Cup, Pan American Games, and World Championships
Played professionally with the Nebraska Wranglers in the Women’s Professional Basketball League in 1981 and was a WPBL All-Star as the Wranglers captured a league title

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Rosie Walker

Member of 1980 U.S. Olympic team
Also represented the United States at 1979 Pan American Games
A two-time Kodak All-American at Stephen F. Austin State University
Set 10 records during her two-year career at SFA
Came to SFA after helping Panola College win a pair of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) titles in 1977 and 1978
Twice tabbed as a junior college All-American (1977, 1978)
Was also selected as the MVP of the NJCAA Tournament in 1978
Won a gold medal at the 1979 FIBA World Championship for Women
Played professionally with the Nebraska Wranglers in the Women’s Professional Basketball League, leading the Wranglers to a league title in 1981
Averaged 26.0 points and 14.4 rebounds per game for the Wranglers while shooting 69.5 percent from the floor

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Hazel Walker

A 7-time AAU All-American
Played for five different teams during her 14-year amateur career, winning four AAU national championships with the Tulsa Business College Stenos (1934) and Little Rock’s Lewis and Norwood Flyers (1937, 1940, 1941) as well as posting four runner-up finishes and advancing to the Final Four three more times
Named Most Valuable Player of the 1942 AAU National Tournament and proclaimed National Free Throw Champion six times (1938, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1946)
Also won a pair of International Free Throw titles (1944, 1945)
Selected as the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1940
Involved in professional basketball for 19 years, including three seasons with Olson’s All American Red Heads (1946-49) before beginning her own barnstorming squad, Hazel Walker’s Arkansas Travelers (1949-65), which played only men’s teams using men’s rules
Playing career spanned 37 years (1928-1965), from high school until her retirement as a professional player at the age of 51

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Vanya Voynova

Nominated as the best athlete in Bulgaria in 1959
Collected one gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the European Championships as a member of Bulgarian national teams in the 1950s
Also helped Bulgaria claim a bronze medal at the 1964 World Championships
Paced the “Slavia” team to a dozen Bulgarian national champion titles (1953-1965)
Became one of the most prominent sport journalists and basketball officials in her country upon completing her playing career

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C. Vivian Stringer

The master builder of basketball programs
Is the only collegiate coach (men’s or women’s) to have directed three different schools to berths in the NCAA Final Four
Ranks as the third all-time winningest coach in collegiate women’s basketball history with an overall record of 644-199 compiled during a total of 29 seasons at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers
Became the third women’s collegiate coach to reach the 600-win plateau
Collected 500 wins in the fewest games (613) of any women’s collegiate coach and was the second youngest coach to reach that mark
Tabbed for National Coach of the Year accolades three different years, receiving the honor in 1982 (Wade Trophy), 1988 (Converse), and 1993 (Naismith, Converse, Sports Illustrated, USA TODAY, Black Coaches Association, and Los Angeles Times)
Has led her teams to 15 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and has posted 20+ wins in a season 22 times
Has also garnered conference coach of the year recognition twice (1991 and 1993) from the Big Ten during her tenure at Iowa and once (1998) from the Big East as the coach at Rutgers
Led the United States to a bronze medal at the 1991 Pan American Games
International experience also includes coaching in Mexico in 1979 and touring China in 1981 as head coach of the U.S. Select Team as well as coaching the USA’s entry in the 1985 World University Games and the 1989 World Championship Zone Qualification tournament

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Linda K. Sharp

Coaching career spans 31 seasons with stints on all levels from elementary, junior high and high school to the collegiate and professional ranks
Served as the head coach at the University of Southern California for 12 years, compiling a 271-99 worksheet
Guided the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 1983 and 1984 and a total of three appearances in the Final Four
Earned WCAA Coach of the Year honors, the Wade Coach of the Year, and Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1984
Selected as the Pac-10 conference coach of the year three times
Was 138-85 in eight seasons at Southwest Texas State University
Served on NCAA Basketball Rules Committee for seven years
Involvement with USA Basketball includes coaching in the 1979 Olympic Festival (silver medal), the 1981 Jones Cup (silver medal) and the 1987 World University Games

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LaTaunya Pollard

A prolific scorer at Long Beach State University
Tallied 3,001 points during her collegiate career, scoring at a 23.5 ppg clip
Selected as the best collegiate player in the nation in 1983 as the Wade Trophy winner
Was a three-time Kodak All-American (1981, 1982, 1983)
Established numerous school scoring records, including points in a game (48), which still stand as marks at the school
Came to Long Beach State following a distinguished high school career at Roosevelt High School in East Chicago, Indiana, which included a pair of state championships (1977, 1979) as well as recognition as Miss Basketball in Indiana
Was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, which boycotted the Moscow Games
Played professionally in Europe for eight years, setting a single game scoring record of 99 points in the Italian Championship League

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Phyllis Holmes

Has been involved with the sport of basketball as a player, coach, administrator, and official
Served as president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 1988-89, marking the first time that a woman was selected to head a national body which governed both men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics
Coordinated the first NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship, setting the foundation for the tournament which has grown from a field of eight teams to 32 teams
Coaches award presented annually to the championship coach at the NAIA Tourney is named in her honor
Served as a coach and administrator at Greenville College, her alma mater, for 24 years
Has been actively involved with USA Basketball, serving as an assistant coach and manager for a variety of U.S. teams in international competition, including the 1981 World University Games and 1983 Pan American Games and World Championships
Was instrumental in the formation of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
Has served on numerous committees, including Kodak All-America, Wade Trophy, AIAW and NCAA Rules Committees
Received the First Lady Award from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union

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Theresa Grentz

A 27-year coaching veteran with stints at St. Joseph’s (two years), Rutgers (19 years), and Illinois (six years)
Began her coaching career following a distinguished playing career at Immaculata College, where she was a member of the Mighty Macs’ three AIAW national championship squads (1972, 1973, 1974)
Was hired as the first full-time women’s basketball coach in the nation when she took the reins at Rutgers in 1975
Led Rutgers to an AIAW title in 1982, marking the final championship in the AIAW’s existence
Ranks as the seventh winningest active coach in women’s collegiate basketball with an overall record of 577-227
Has a wealth of international coaching experience, including serving as the head coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, which earned a bronze medal in Barcelona
Has also helped USA teams collect medals as coach of the 1990 Goodwill Games and World Championships (gold), 1985 Jones Cup (gold) and 1981 Maccabiah Games (silver)
Has been recognized as conference coach of the year four times by the Atlantic 10 while she was at Rutgers and twice by the Big Ten during her tenure at Illinois
Has served as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)

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Van Chancellor

Head coach and general manager of the Houston Comets has guided team to four consecutive WNBA Championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), making a clean sweep of the league’s titles in the first four years of the WNBA’s existence
Selected as the WNBA’s Coach of the Year three times (1997, 1998, 1999)
Served as coach in the WNBA’s first two All-Star Games, leading the West to back-to-back victories in 1999 and 2000
Joined the Comets after 19 highly successful seasons at the University of Mississippi where he compiled an overall record of 439-154
Led Ole Miss to an SEC regular season championship in 1992
Tabbed SEC Coach of the Year three times (1987, 1990, 1992)
Won a pair of Mississippi high school championships (1977, 1978) at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport
Also won a national title as an AAU coach, leading his team to a 15-under championship in 1974

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