Van Chancellor has won WNBA championships and Olympic gold medals.
By taking over an LSU program that’s been to four consecutive Final Fours, Chancellor will have as good a chance as he’s ever had before to win his first NCAA title next season.
Chancellor was hired as the women’s basketball coach at LSU on Wednesday, succeeding Pokey Chatman.
He said he intends to keep the coaching staff left behind when Chatman abruptly resigned March 7.
Chancellor, 63, was the women’s coach at Mississippi from 1978-97 before leading the WNBA Houston Comets to four straight championships (1997-2000). He also coached the U.S. team to a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and has a 38-0 record in international competition.
Kentucky: Coach Mickie DeMoss abruptly resigned after four seasons, saying she wants to step away from the game after 30 years. Her career record is 116-124, including 71-56 at Kentucky.
California: Joanne Boyle spurned coaching her alma mater Duke and verbally agreed to a seven-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season.
UCLA: The daughter of John Wooden expressed optimism that the 96-year-old Hall of Fame coach will be released today from a hospital where he has been treated for a reaction to a combination of medications.
“Dad is feeling better and we hope he will be released (today),” Nan Muehlhausen said. “The doctors wanted him to have some solid food in his system before they let him go home.”
Harvard: Tommy Amaker was hired to coach the Crimson less than a month after he was fired by Michigan. Frank Sullivan’s contract was not renewed after the Crimson went 12-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy League last season, and 178-245 over 16 years. Harvard hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 1946.
Wichita State: Scott Sutton, who led Oral Roberts to its first consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, said he is withdrawing from consideration to be Mark Turgeon’s successor as coach of the Shockers.
South Alabama: Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz has been granted permission to talk to school officials about their coaching vacancy.
