UMaine Women’s Basketball Coach Bringing Big Names to Clinic

Several Hall of Fame coaches, including former Mississippi and Louisiana State coach Van Chancellor, and other familiar names will participate in the UMaine women’s basketball team’s first Coaches Clinic at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Chancellor also guided the Houston Comets to four WNBA championships and the U.S. national team to an Olympic gold medal. He is a member of both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gary Blair, the coach of the 2011 national championship Texas A&M team, is also expected to attend. Other coaches scheduled to appear are Theresa Grentz, a Hall of Fame coach who was a member of the three-time national championship Immaculata College and has coached at Illinois, Rutgers and St. Joseph’s; NBA/WNBA skill instructor Ganon Baker; current UMaine head coach Richard Barron; and former longtime Colby College men’s basketball coach Dick Whitmore.

There will also be a coaches’ social Sunday evening.

All coaches who attend the clinic are invited to play in an 18-hole golf tournament starting at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 17, at the Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.

Baker will conduct a skills clinic for boys and girls ages 11 and over from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, at Cony High School in Augusta for a fee of $60.

Coaches at all levels, including middle schools, high schools, AAU teams and colleges, are welcome to attend. The preregistration fee is $100 and $150 for those who wish to participate in the golf tournament. Preregistration is due Sept. 10. Those who register the day of the event will pay $125 for the clinic.

Lunch will be provided.

Hollywood Casino Hotel in Bangor is offering a special room rate of $89 per night for Saturday and Sunday. To take advantage of the special rate, call the hotel at 1-877-779-7771 and mention the University of Maine Coaches Clinic special rate.

For more information and to register for the Coaches Clinic and Golf Classic, please contact Tracy Guerrette, director of women’s basketball operations, by e-mail at tracy.guerrette@umit.maine.edu or by phone at (207) 581-1075. Registration on the day of the clinic will begin at 8:30 a.m.