Gail Goestenkors, C. Vivian Stringer Called Upon To Serve As 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Assistant Coaches

March 10, 2004  •  Colorado Springs, Colorado
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A pair of respected and successful collegiate head coaches, Gail Goestenkors of Duke University (N.C.) and C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have been selected to serve as assistant coaches to Van Chancellor (Houston Comets) and the 2004 U.S. Women's Olympic Team. The selections, made by the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee and subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee, complete the 2004 USA coaching staff as WNBA Seattle Storm head coach and three-time Olympian Anne Donovan was previously named an assistant coach for the U.S. squad.

	The final pieces to the puzzle Gail Goestenkors (L) and C. Vivian Stringer complete the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team coaching staff. (Photos: USA Basketball (L) and courtesy Rutgers Athletic Department)

The XXVIII Olympic Games women's basketball competition will feature national teams from 12 nations competing in Athens, Greece, Aug. 14-28, 2004.

"This is a tremendous honor," said six-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Goestenkors, who returns to USA Basketball after serving as an assistant coach on the gold medal winning 2002 USA World Championship Team. "To not only be working with the greatest coaches in the world, but the greatest players in the world, I consider that a supreme honor. I'm very proud to be able to help the USA bring back a gold medal in any way I possibly can."

"I am deeply honored to be asked to assist with our Olympic Team," said Stringer, who returns for her sixth USA Basketball coaching assignment. "The greatest tribute and privilege one can have as a player or as a coach is to represent their country at the Olympic Games. Over the years, I have had many opportunities to coach our U.S. teams all over the world. But, none can be as great and none can be more gratifying than coaching the Olympic Team. I am truly honored to assist coach Van Chancellor and to work with Anne Donovan and Gail Goestenkors. I know that I will learn so much from them, and hopefully I will be able to contribute to such a great staff."

"First of all, it is really great to have Gail back," said Chancellor. "She was such a tremendous asset to our team winning the 2002 World Championship in China. She's a great scout and fit in perfectly. And I'm pleased that we're adding Vivian Stringer, a person with tremendous credentials and outstanding experience. I am really very pleased with our staff right now."

"The Committee is very excited about having Gail Goestenkors and C. Vivian Stringer join Van and Anne on the 2004 staff," said USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee chair Renee' Brown, WNBA Vice President for Player Personnel. "Both coaches bring a lot of experience and success at the highest level. Collegiately, they have both been to the Final Four and both have extensive international basketball experience with USA Basketball. Gail and Vivian have worked with numerous All-Americans and other high-caliber athletes. They know what it takes to win and are invaluable additions to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team coaching staff."

The nine previously announced core group members of the eventual 12-member 2004 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team include Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Shannon Johnson (San Antonio Silver Stars), Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Los Angeles Sparks), Katie Smith (Minnesota Lynx), Dawn Staley (Charlotte Sting), Sheryl Swoopes (Houston Comets) and Tina Thompson (Houston Comets). The final three players will be named at a later date.

The 2004 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team is preparing for the 2004 Athens Olympics with three separate spring training sessions. The first was held Feb. 19-27, and the final two will be conducted March 18-28 and April 2-13. Each training camp will feature available core group members as well as other selected players who will compete for one of the USA Senior National Team's final three roster positions. Following the April training, the U.S. team members, along with Goestenkors and Stringer, will break for the WNBA season and reconvene on Aug. 3 to complete their pre-Olympic training at sites to be announced.

Gail Goestenkors
Goestenkors will be reunited with USA head coach Chancellor and USA assistant coach Donovan on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. The three, with former Syracuse University (N.Y.) head mentor Marianna Freeman, worked together to pilot the 2002 USA World Championship Team to a 9-0 record and the gold medal in China. Goestenkors is also familiar with eight of the core group members as Bird, Catchings, Johnson, Leslie, Milton-Jones, Smith, Swoopes and Staley were all on the ‘02 squad.

The head coach of the silver medal winning 1997 USA R. William Jones Cup Team that posted a 6-1 record, Goestenkors has been a member of the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee since 2000.

The winningest coach in Blue Devil history, Goestenkors currently (all records as of 3/11/04) boasts a 299-87 record (.775) in her 12th season (1992-93 to present) at Duke's helm. Recording 20 or more victories in each of the past seven seasons, dating to 1997-98 and including 2003-04, Goestenkors' winning percentage jumps to an impressive 85.7 percent (204-34). In 2000-01 she became the third-quickest ACC coach to notch 200 victories, reaching that mark in just 277 games (Kay Yow-257 games, Chris Weller-262 games).

The 2003 Naismith, WBCA/Rawlings and Victor Award National Coach of the Year selection, Goestenkors took over a program that had advanced to one NCAA Tournament prior to her arrival and has since piloted the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past 10 seasons, including 2004, reaching the Final Four three times (1999, 2002, 2003), the Elite Eight once (1998) and a pair of Sweet Sixteens (2000, 2001). Currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls, and owning a 27-3 record, the Blue Devils are favorites to again be among the top seeds in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Her most recent squad captured the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season and tournament titles, raising Goestenkors' consecutive championships to five ACC Tournament and four ACC regular season crowns.

In 2002-03, Goestenkors' squad posted a school record 35 victories and marched to the 2003 NCAA Tournament Final Four. Compiling a 35-2 overall record, her squad earned Duke's second unblemished conference record (16-0) to capture her fifth ACC regular season title (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003). The Blue Devils then went on to earn their fourth consecutive ACC Tournament crown before moving onto the NCAA Tournament. Duke's overall conference record of 19-0, which included a 3-0 record in ACC Tournament play, marked only the second time an ACC team had gone undefeated in both the regular season and the conference tournament in league history. Her 2001-02 Blue Devils squad set the ACC standard with a perfect 19-0 record and in all, Goestenkors' squads strung together an ACC record 51-game winning streak that ran from Feb. 2001 through Feb. 2004.

Leading Duke to a then-school record for wins after compiling a 22-9 record in 1994-95, Goestenkors' squads have since eclipsed that record five times, earning 26 victories in 1995-96, 29 in 1998-99, 30 in 2000-01 and 31 in 2001-02 before reaching the 35-win mark in 2002-03. The 35 victories denoted not only a record number of wins at Duke, but raised the bar in the conference record books as well.

Her efforts at Duke have not gone unnoticed. In addition to her 2003 National Coach of the Year honors, Goestenkors was named the 2002 National Coach of the Year by Gballmag.com, 2000 National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times, in 1999 earned the Victor Award as the National Coach of the Year and was a three-time Naismith finalist (2000-02). Additionally, Goestenkors is a six-time ACC Coach of the Year (1996, 1998-99, 2002-04) and five-time WBCA District Coach of the Year (1995, 2001-04).

Prior to taking over the reins at Duke, Goestenkors worked as an assistant coach for six seasons (1986-87 to 1991-92) at Purdue University (Ind.) during which time the Boilermakers went 135-42 (.763). With Goestenkors assisting on the sidelines, Purdue posted five consecutive 20-win seasons and made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1988-92), twice advancing to the Sweet Sixteen (1990, 1992). She also aided the Boilermakers to their first Big Ten Conference championship in 1991.

A success as a player and coach, Goestenkors was an NAIA All-American as a player at Saginaw Valley State University (Mich.), where in four years (1980-81 to 1984-85) she helped her teams to a 114-13 record (.893), as well as a second place, third place and two Final Eight finishes in the NAIA Tournament. Earning team and conference MVP honors, Goestenkors was also an academic all-conference selection at Saginaw Valley.

C. Vivian Stringer
Returning to the USA Basketball sidelines after a 13-year hiatus, Stringer is no stranger to international basketball, having served on five previous USA Basketball coaching staffs. An assistant coach for the 1980 USA R. William Jones Cup Team that earned the bronze medal, Stringer was tabbed head coach for four subsequent squads. She headed up the 1982 U.S. Olympic Festival East Team that earned the bronze, the silver medal winning 1985 USA World University Games Team, the 1989 USA World Championship Qualifying Team that earned a berth in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, and in 1991 Stringer was the head coach for the USA Pan American Games Team that claimed the bronze medal.

Stringer brings over 31 years (1971-72 to present) of coaching experience to the 2004 staff. In 2000 she became the only coach to pilot three different programs to the NCAA Final Four, having done so in 1982 at Cheyney State University (Pa.), in 1993 with the University of Iowa and in 2000 she guided Rutgers to the Final Four. Now in her 32nd season, Stringer has compiled an impressive 695-238 record (.745) (all records through 3/11/04) as a collegiate head coach and her 695 victories rank as the fourth most wins in women's basketball history.

Arriving at Rugers for the 1995-96 season, the same year Rutgers moved to the Big East Conference from the Atlantic 10 Conference, Stringer spent two years adjusting her squad to Big East play. In 1997-98, her squad posted a 22-10 record and advanced to the ‘98 Sweet Sixteen. The following year her Scarlet Knights went 29-6 and made it one step further - to the 1999 NCAA Elite Eight. In 2000, Stringer made history when she and Rutgers marched to the Final Four for the third time with as many programs.

Rutgers returned 10 letterwinners and four starters from Stringer's 2002-03 team that posted a 21-8 overall mark and a 13-3 record to finish second in the Big East. The squad finished 2003-04 with an overall record of 21-11, 10-6 in the Big East, and advanced to the 2004 Big East Tournament championship game. Seeded seventh, Stringer guided Rutgers past No. 10 Seton Hall, upset No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 6 West Virginia before falling to No. 5 Boston College.

Stringer began her coaching career at Cheyney State, where in 11 seasons (1971-72 to 1982-83) she posted a 251-51 record (.831). She then took over the helm at Iowa and coached her squads to nine NCAA Tournaments in 12 seasons (1983-84 to 1994-95), rolling up a 269-84 record (.762). In addition to Iowa's 1993 Final Four appearance, Stringer's Hawkeye teams advanced to the 1987 and 1977 Elite Eight, 1989 Sweet Sixteen and five times played their way into the second round (1986, 1990-92, 1994).

Further bolstering Stringer's credentials, the 2001 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee was named National Coach of the Year in 1982, 1988 and 1993. Earning the 1982 Wade Trophy, Stringer was the 1988 Converse Coach of the Year and in ‘93 earned the Naismith honor. Additionally, 1993 brought Stringer National Coach of the Year accolades by Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Converse and the Black Coaches Association. A four-time Naismith finalist (1999-2001, 2003), Stringer has been named District Coach of the Year five times (1983, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1998), was the 1991 and 1993 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year and in 1998 she was named the Big East Conference Coach of the Year.

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