Basketball takes Chancellor on moving journey

By Kevin Tresolini

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Van Chancellor reflected Thursday on a life of basketball, humbled by where it had taken him and eager for the next chapter to commence.

A trip to the Olympics, where he'll coach the United States women's team, caused the Mississippi native to pause for some perspective. As he did, he tugged at the USA Basketball logo adorning his shirt.

``When I think about where I came from, a rural farm in Mississippi, and I put this stuff on, every time I almost kind of cry when I look at `USA basketball' `` said Chancellor, the former Ole Miss women's coach who now guides the WNBA's Houston Comets.

``I sometimes have to really pinch myself and say, `Are you the coach of this team?' I wonder, `Is this an out-of-body experience?' I get on the bus and I look at all these great players we have, and how easy they are to deal with. It's amazing. This is a tremendous honor for me.''

The U.S. players, nearly two generations removed from their 60-year-old coach, have become quite comfortable under his leadership. They have never lost under Chancellor, going 29-0 and winning the 2002 world championship in his tenure.

``The best thing about Coach Chancellor is he's been around so long and seen just about everything,'' said U.S. player Sheryl Swoopes, who also plays for Chancellor with the Houston Comets of the WNBA. ``He's seen it all and he knows it all. He's very laid back, but when you go to practice, he knows exactly what he wants to get out of you.

``I think he's very deserving of being the Olympic coach. He would never say that, but he is.''

The U.S. women, 34-3 all-time in Olympic competition, are seeking their third consecutive gold medal. Chancellor's first Olympic stint begins Saturday (Aug. 14) when the U.S. faces New Zealand at Helliniko Indoor Arena.Chancellor guided Ole Miss to a 439-154 record and 14 NCAA Tournament berths during 19 seasons before moving to the Comets for the WNBA's inaugural 1997 season. The Comets promptly won the league's first four titles.

His Mississippi roots run deep. Chancellor excelled as a player at Louisville High. As a coach at Noxapater, Horn Lake and Central Harrison high schools, his teams went 638-191 and won two state titles.

``I've gotten a lot of things in my lifetime I probably didn't deserve,'' Chancellor said. ``This is probably another one. But if it wasn't for Tina (Thompson, another U.S. Olympian who plays for the Comets) and Sheryl, I wouldn't be here, because they're great players. The reason I'm here is the success these two have had.''

Despite his long association with basketball, Chancellor is hardly set in his ways. Thompson said his open-mindedness appeals to the players.

``He's different and unique in his own right,'' Thompson said. ``He's so open in terms of his style of play. We change plays almost every day depending on something he saw in a game or practice.

``There's so much room to grow and evolve in our system. He allows players to play. That's allowed him to have success. He's very unique in that he doesn't do things by the book.''

That included Thursday's practice when, unsatisfied with what he saw, Chancellor kept the players on the court an hour longer than expected. The team did most of its preparation in the spring, before the WNBA season, before reuniting recently. Chancellor's primary concern is getting it to play as a unit.

``If you asked them at about 12 o'clock, they would have thought we were playing in the gold medal game,'' he said. ``Practice got pretty intense. We've got to move the ball better, share the ball better. It's time now to get down to business.''