A life that included so many successes, building women’s basketball in every way, is over much too soon.
Anne Donovan, a champion by every measure, a game-changing player and coach whose imprint on the game of basketball will continue for decades to come, has died at the age of 56, Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.com reported Wednesday night.
Donovan, a 6’8 paradigm-shifting center, grew up dominating the opposition in Paramus, NJ, before heading to Old Dominion to win the 1980 AIAW (forerunner to NCAA tournament) championship and reach the 1982 Final Four. Donovan remains the NCAA’s all-time leader in blocked shots, with 801.
An Olympian as a player, Donovan repeated the feat as a head coach, leading the 2008 USA Basketball team to gold.
In 88 Anne came off the bench late in the gtame and made a few key plays that sent the US on the way to gold.
— Mel Greenberg (@womhoopsguru) June 13, 2018
This came four years after she returned to the U.S. (following a stint as assistant coach on USA Basketball’s 2004 gold medal-winning team) and led the Seattle Storm to a WNBA championship, the first in team history.
Last year, I had the privilege of speaking with Anne about another of her triumphs: taking what was the worst WNBA team in league history, by defensive rating, and turning them into WNBA finalists. The idea was to make sure a vital moment in WNBA history wouldn’t be lost forever. I had no idea how urgent the need to talk to Anne was.
Of course, Donovan’s decision to hire an assistant—at the ludicrously small price of $5,000, all the franchise was willing to pay—turned out to be a fortuitous choice for all of basketball. That assistant, Cheryl Reeve, managed to carve out a career of her own that includes four WNBA titles already.
“Devastating news to hear of the passing of Anne Donovan,” Reeve told High Post Hoops Wednesday night. “Anne is the reason I am coaching in the WNBA. I’m so thankful for the memories we shared in our time together in Charlotte and through our years competing in the WNBA. Just over a week ago Anne sent a message of encouragement to me. My heart goes out to Anne’s family.”
Donovan went on to coach the New York Liberty, Seton Hall, and the Connecticut Sun before resigning from the latter position after the 2015 season.
But an avid follower of the league, Donovan still hoped for another opportunity. Her engagement with the game she’d given so much to hadn’t abated, even during what turned out to be her final days.
Anyone who crossed paths with Anne Donovan is crushed by this awful news. She was a kind, thoughtful person who gave so much to basketball. She was just at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Knoxville this weekend, where her former HS coach, Rose Marie Battaglia, was inducted.
— Michael Voepel (@MAVoepel) June 13, 2018
I definitely looked for any reason to chat with Anne Donovan when I got the chance, mostly because it represented both an opportunity to learn from someone who knew more about the game than virtually anybody, and because this Jersey boy never quite got the stars out of his eyes about the chance to chat with the greatest player the state may have ever produced (though Carol Blazejowski may have a claim as well, and I’d defer to Mel Greenberg on this).
Regardless of that joyful debate, the loss is undeniable. Anne Donovan, despite managing to accomplish so much in her time on earth, is gone far too soon.