After weeks of speculation, it
seems LSU athletic director Skip Bertman has decided Chancellor will lead the
Lady Tigers next season. LSU released a statement this morning saying a “major
announcement” will be made regarding the women’s basketball program. Word has
been on the street for weeks that Chancellor would be the likely choice to fill
the vacant head coaching position.
The head coaching job has been
vacant since Pokey Chatman’s abrupt resignation on March 7. Longtime assistant
coach Bob Starkey took over as acting head coach prior to the Lady Tigers first
game in the NCAA Tournament. Starkey became the third different coach in four
years to lead the LSU women to the Final Four. LSU lost to Rutgers 59-35 in the national semifinal. Rutgers then lost
to Tennessee
in the national championship game. Rumors are that Chancellor is expected to
retain Starkey as part of the new coaching staff.
Chancellor will inherit plenty of
talent in this Lady Tigers team. The LSU women reached their fourth straight
Final Four – a truly grand accomplishment considering the team did not have
include a single senior. LSU will be senior heavy in 2007-08, led by
all-American Sylvia Fowles. With the veteran Chancellor at the helm, the Lady
Tigers will be one of several teams favored to compete for the national
championship next season.
Van Chancellor, born September 27,
1943 in Louisville,
Miss., spent 19 successful seasons
as the head coach of the Ole Miss Lady Rebels. Under his guidance, the Lady
Rebels posted a winning percentage of .740 (439-154) and made 14 NCAA Tournament
appearances. As a collegiate coach, Chancellor ranks 14th in all-time winning
percentage amongst women’s basketball coaches.
Chancellor, who recently retired as
head coach of the WNBA’s Houston Comets, was the longest tenured coach in the
WNBA. His team won the first four WNBA championships, from 1997 to
2000.
The 65-year-old Chancellor had been
the fill-in commentator for Calvin Murphy in Houston Rockets NBA basketball
games during previous seasons.
During the 2004 Summer Olympics,
Chancellor was the head coach of the United States women's Olympic
basketball team, which won a Gold medal.
It was announced just last week
that Chancellor will be enshrined as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in
September 2007.
Tiger Rag will have complete
details from this afternoon’s press conference, complete with notes, quotes and
audio from Bertman and Chancellor.