Marynell Meadors
Encyclopedia
Marynell Meadors is a women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She is currently the head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream
of the Women's National Basketball Association
and was one of the original eight head coaches when the WNBA started in 1997.
and began playing basketball at a young age. shooting at a backboard mounted against a willow tree. According to Meadors, she decided in seventh grade to become a basketball coach. After graduating from Hillsboro High School
, she attended Middle Tennessee State University
not far from Nashville. She graduated with a B. S. in Physical Education in 1965 and with an M. S. in Physiology of Exercise in 1966.
was passed. In 1970, women's basketball became a varsity sport. She would coach twenty seasons at Tennessee Tech, finishing with a 363-138 (.724) lifetime record. Meadors would win six consecutive Tennessee state championships, four Ohio Valley Conference
championships and two Metro Conference
championships.
Looking for opportunities on a larger stage, she would coach at Florida State University
from 1986 to 1996 where she led the Seminoles to two NCAA tournament appearances and the 1991 Metro Conference Championship. She left Florida State after the 1995-96 season to take over coaching duties of the Charlotte Sting.
Meadors also served as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh
from 2003 to 2005.
. It was the first year of the WNBA's existence, and she led the Sting to a 15-12 record. In 1998, the Sting finished 15-13. However, during a 5-7 start in 1999, Meadors was fired after an 82-56 loss to the Cleveland Rockers
.
Between coaching jobs, Meadors would become director of scouting for the Miami Sol
in 1999, before the team began play in 2000. She would keep the job until the team folded in 2002. Meadors would then be hired as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh University women's basketball team and coach there between 2003 and 2005.
In April 2005, Meadors was hired as an assistant coach by former Washington Mystics
head coach Michael Adams
. Adams resigned from the Mystics in the same month to join the coaching staff at the University of Maryland
, and new Mystics head coach Richie Adubato
kept Meadors on the coaching staff. Meadors would remain with the Mystics during Adubato's stint with the Mystics, and would finish 2007 with Tree Rollins
as head coach. (The Mystics would go 50-52 while Meadors was on the coaching staff.)
to become the coach of the new, Atlanta Dream
WNBA franchise in Atlanta. Meadors presented detailed plans for the new franchise in an interview, and had a master list of WNBA players and college players, with notations as to which players might be protected and which college players might be worth acquiring. "I wouldn't give them the list until they hired me," said Meadors.
With the new team forced to acquire much of its talent from an expansion draft, and with key players being injured or not signing, the Dream endured an 0-17 start to the season and only won four games during their inaugural season.
The next year, the Dream went 18-16, finishing second in the Eastern Conference, and making the playoffs. This tied for the largest win turnaround in WNBA history of 14 game win total from the previous year (Detroit Shock 9 wins in 2002; 25 wins in 2003).
As general manager, Meadors was responsible for convincing veteran Chamique Holdsclaw
to return from retirement, drafting rookies Angel McCoughtry (forward) from Louisville and Shalee Lehning (guard) from Kansas State, and getting Michelle Snow and Sancho Little in the supplemental draft from the folding of the Houston Comets.
Meadors was named WNBA Coach of the Year receiving 30 votes, finishing ahead of Lin Dunn of the Indiana Fever who received 6 votes.
In 2010, the Dream went 19-15, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference, and making the playoffs despite new ownership. Likewise, they lost Snow and Holdsclaw to the San Antonio Silver Stars. In the playoffs, the swept through No. 1 seed Washington and No. 2 seed New York to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time in their history. Despite losing to the Seattle Storm in 3 straight games close games, the Dream are the only pro-basketball team in Atlanta to make it to a championship final.
Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...
of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
and was one of the original eight head coaches when the WNBA started in 1997.
Biography
Meadors grew up in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and began playing basketball at a young age. shooting at a backboard mounted against a willow tree. According to Meadors, she decided in seventh grade to become a basketball coach. After graduating from Hillsboro High School
Hillsboro Comprehensive High School
Hillsboro High School is a comprehensive high school in Nashville, Tennessee. Established in 1939, the school is one of fifteen high schools in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. The school offers the IB Diploma Programme.-History:...
, she attended Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
not far from Nashville. She graduated with a B. S. in Physical Education in 1965 and with an M. S. in Physiology of Exercise in 1966.
College coaching
Meadors was allowed by MTSU to begin coaching women's sports, and coached basketball at MTSU before it was a varsity sport and before Title IXTitle IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
was passed. In 1970, women's basketball became a varsity sport. She would coach twenty seasons at Tennessee Tech, finishing with a 363-138 (.724) lifetime record. Meadors would win six consecutive Tennessee state championships, four Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
championships and two Metro Conference
Metro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...
championships.
Looking for opportunities on a larger stage, she would coach at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
from 1986 to 1996 where she led the Seminoles to two NCAA tournament appearances and the 1991 Metro Conference Championship. She left Florida State after the 1995-96 season to take over coaching duties of the Charlotte Sting.
Meadors also served as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games...
from 2003 to 2005.
Professional coaching
In 1997, Meadors was hired as the head coach and general manager of the Charlotte StingCharlotte Sting
The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....
. It was the first year of the WNBA's existence, and she led the Sting to a 15-12 record. In 1998, the Sting finished 15-13. However, during a 5-7 start in 1999, Meadors was fired after an 82-56 loss to the Cleveland Rockers
Cleveland Rockers
This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...
.
Between coaching jobs, Meadors would become director of scouting for the Miami Sol
Miami Sol
The Miami Sol was a women's basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena. The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems...
in 1999, before the team began play in 2000. She would keep the job until the team folded in 2002. Meadors would then be hired as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh University women's basketball team and coach there between 2003 and 2005.
In April 2005, Meadors was hired as an assistant coach by former Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
head coach Michael Adams
Michael Adams (basketball)
Michael Adams is a former NBA player and basketball coach.After starring at Boston College, the 5'10" point guard was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 3rd round with the 66th pick of the 1985 NBA Draft...
. Adams resigned from the Mystics in the same month to join the coaching staff at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, and new Mystics head coach Richie Adubato
Richie Adubato
Richard Adam "Richie" Adubato was a basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams: the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic...
kept Meadors on the coaching staff. Meadors would remain with the Mystics during Adubato's stint with the Mystics, and would finish 2007 with Tree Rollins
Tree Rollins
Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins is a retired American professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic. He was primarily known under his playing name, Tree...
as head coach. (The Mystics would go 50-52 while Meadors was on the coaching staff.)
Atlanta Dream
On November 27, 2007, Marynell Meadors was hired by owner Ron TerwilligerRon Terwilliger
J. Ronald Terwilliger is the Chief Executive Officer of Trammell Crow Residential. He is primarily known for being the principal owner of the Atlanta Dream, a franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association ....
to become the coach of the new, Atlanta Dream
Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...
WNBA franchise in Atlanta. Meadors presented detailed plans for the new franchise in an interview, and had a master list of WNBA players and college players, with notations as to which players might be protected and which college players might be worth acquiring. "I wouldn't give them the list until they hired me," said Meadors.
With the new team forced to acquire much of its talent from an expansion draft, and with key players being injured or not signing, the Dream endured an 0-17 start to the season and only won four games during their inaugural season.
The next year, the Dream went 18-16, finishing second in the Eastern Conference, and making the playoffs. This tied for the largest win turnaround in WNBA history of 14 game win total from the previous year (Detroit Shock 9 wins in 2002; 25 wins in 2003).
As general manager, Meadors was responsible for convincing veteran Chamique Holdsclaw
Chamique Holdsclaw
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw is a professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association most recently under a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars...
to return from retirement, drafting rookies Angel McCoughtry (forward) from Louisville and Shalee Lehning (guard) from Kansas State, and getting Michelle Snow and Sancho Little in the supplemental draft from the folding of the Houston Comets.
Meadors was named WNBA Coach of the Year receiving 30 votes, finishing ahead of Lin Dunn of the Indiana Fever who received 6 votes.
In 2010, the Dream went 19-15, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference, and making the playoffs despite new ownership. Likewise, they lost Snow and Holdsclaw to the San Antonio Silver Stars. In the playoffs, the swept through No. 1 seed Washington and No. 2 seed New York to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time in their history. Despite losing to the Seattle Storm in 3 straight games close games, the Dream are the only pro-basketball team in Atlanta to make it to a championship final.