More on Coach Hatchell from Mechelle

Hatchell will tackle cancer head-on

There are people who, if you gave them a free pass from work for the rest of their lives, simply wouldn’t take it. Having expectations to face, goals to meet, production to accomplish — it’s just how they are wired.

North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell is that kind of person. Let’s put it this way: Earlier this year, during the build-up to her 900th career victory, she was asked what she might do someday after basketball. And in true Hatchell form, she immediately spoke of the job she’d want after she retired: mowing the giant lawn at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. (she figured it would be a relaxing chore).

That’s Hatchell: She’s thinking ahead to work after work. It’s the way she was raised in the textile-mill town of Gastonia, N.C., outside of Charlotte. It’s how she has operated for the past 40 years as a coach.

And, as everyone who knows her would tell you, it’s how she’ll deal with cancer. She’ll tackle it head-on, with a commitment to a game plan and her trademark relentless optimism.

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“Knock, knock, Naismith Hall of Fame,”

“It’s Tree callin’.” (McClain Prepares For Naismith Induction) “Oh, and you better make room, ’cause there are a whole bunch of red-headed gals comin’ up behind me. They’re comin’ in from all over.”

New Mexico: Soybal to be inducted to Hall of Fame with All-American Red Heads

Utah: All American Red Head excited to be entering basketball Hall of Fame

Georgia: A ‘Red Head‘ heads for hall of fame  (Click, if only for the photo!)

Minnesota: Braham grad headed to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Arkansas: Former Red Head Mason excited to see team in HOF

New Hampshire: Doucette to be inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame

Oklahoma: Famous Redhead named as inductee

Kentucky: Versailles woman heads to basketball hall of fame as part of All-American Red Heads

Missouri: Cairo sisters are HOF material with the Red Heads

Georgia: Naismith Hall of Fame Honor humbling for longtime Gwinnett educator

Minnesota: Sjoquist twins headed to basketball Hall of Fame

Missouri: Red Heads to Hall of Fame: Sarah’s Stories

Louisiana: All-American Red Heads, the first women’s basketball team to make the Hall of Fame

Colorado: Goodson takes pride in time with Red Heads – Longmont Times-Call

Connecticut: Tourtellotte star to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Cindy (Laliberte) Nelson knew she wanted to play basketball beyond her senior year at Tourtellotte High School, but this was 1974.

“I was going to go to UConn after high school, but women’s basketball wasn’t popular, I guess,” Nelson said.

The glory years of UConn had not begun yet and basketball scholarships were non-existent. The NCAA Division I championship was still eight years from becoming reality, and the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was in its second year.

The only outlet for women to continue basketball was teams such as the All-American Red Heads.

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Congrats!

To the All American Red Heads, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2012

If you want more information on the All American Red Heads, go here.

A few years ago I interviewed AARH coach Orwell Moore after the passing of his wife:

The death of Lorene “Butch” Moore, 76, this past April in Caraway, Arkansas marked the passing of an important link in the slender chain of women’s basketball history. Moore amassed 35,426 points in 11 seasons with the All-American Red Heads – a team that barnstormed across the United States between 1936 and 1986.

Moore and her husband, Orwell, 84, joined the Red Heads in 1948 – she as a player, he as coach. The Red Heads played full court basketball by men’s rules, playing 175-200 games a season. Made up of high school All-Americans and college standouts and sporting “red” (real and dyed) hair, the players were serious about winning: From 1936-73, they never won less than 100 games a year. In 1953, they won 134 games. In 1972, multiple All-American Red Heads teams won 558 games and lost 84 – all against men’s teams. “We wanted to show the crowd that we could play basketball,” says Coach Moore. “And if you couldn’t play basketball, you better stay home.”

Crisscrossing the heartland of the country, the Red Heads won over fans with a combination of skill, charm and showmanship. During the half-time show, for instance, Moore would get on her knees and sink 25 free throws in a row. She could also dribble up and when she went for the lay-up bounce it off her head and into the hoop. A great pivot, Coach Moore remembers his wife as “a dynamic basketball player with a dynamic personality and a lot of quick wit.” At about 5’7″, Moore was an uncanny passer who drove opponents to distraction with her shooting ability.

Coach Moore recalls one particularly memorable moment during a game when Moore had already scored 33 points. “The boy who was guarding her – when they threw the ball in to her at pivot – he just grabbed her up and run her out of bounds,” laughs the coach. “He ran her off out of fun and called, ‘Time out! You’re out of bounds!'”

Being part of the team was a deep source of pride for both Coach Moore and his wife. Honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in 1996, the All-American Red Heads have a permanent exhibit in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s something Coach Moore knows in his heart the players deserved, not just because of their skill, but because of the sense of team and family they had.

“I want to be remembered as a Christian,” Coach Moore remembers his wife telling him. “I want to be remembered as a citizen of the United States. And I want to be remembered as an All-American Red Head.”

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Congrats!

Katrina McClain Elected To Naismith Hall of Fame

McClain is Lady Bulldog Basketball’s second Naismith inductee, following Teresa Edwards a year ago.

“One of the things that makes me proud is that both Katrina and Teresa went in (to the Naismith Hall) on the very first opportunity they had as finalists,” Landers said. “That means to me that there’s little question in anyone’s mind about their worthiness.”

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Congrats to

Eastern Michigan’s Tavelyn James, winner of the 2012 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

Tavelyn James, a 5-foot-7 guard for the Eastern Michigan University Eagles, is the 2012 recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s outstanding female collegian 5-feet-8-inches and under who has excelled both athletically and academically.

James, Eastern Michigan’s all-time leading scorer, is one of only 11 student-athletes in Mid-American Conference history to reach 2,000 points. Holding records is nothing new to James, the university’s record holder in more than a dozen different categories. She ranks third on the conference’s career points list with 2,417, field-goals made (248) and three-pointers made (287). James is currently second in Division I women’s basketball this season in points per game, averaging 24.5.

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