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Van Chancellor photo
Van Chancellor photo
Van Chancellor
Hometown: Louisville, MS
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Renowned championship basketball coach at Noxapater, Horn Lake, Harrison Central, Ole Miss, the WNBA Houston Comets, the U.S. Olympic Team, and LSU, Coach Van Chancellor hails from Louisville and graduated from Louisville High where he was an All-Conference player. Coach Chancellor played two seasons of JUCO basketball for East Central CC in Decatur before graduating in 1965 from Mississippi State. He is a 40 plus year coaching veteran from 1965 to present date. He began his career at Noxapater from 1965-67 and at Horn Lake from 1967-73. He led Harrison Central girls team to 1977 & 1978 state titles. Van developed the Ole Miss Lady Rebels into a national women’s college basketball powerhouse from 1978-1997. He guided the Lady Rebels to the NCAA Tournament 14 times with 7 Sweet Sixteen and four Elite Eight appearances including 13 top 20 final rankings and top 10 finishes on four occasions. He led the Lady Rebels to the 1992 SEC Championship and an overall record of 439-154, the school’s all-time winningest women’s hoops coach. He joined the professional ranks in 1997 where he coached the Houston Comets for 10 seasons and guided the team to the first four WNBA titles in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Van led the U.S. Olympics women’s basketball team to a perfect 38-0 mark including the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the Olympic Gold Medal in 2004. Coach Chancellor was named SEC Coach of the Year 3 times (1987, 1990, 1992), National Women’s Coach of the Year (1992), USA Basketball Coach of the Year (1999 & 2002—won award twice, Larry Brown was the only other two-time recipient), and WNBA Coach of the Year on 3 occasions (1997, 1998, 1999). He also received the WNBA Western Conference All-Star coach in 1999, 2000, & 2001. He is the All-time winningest WNBA coach with mark of 211-111 and was named WNBA Coach of the Decade in 2006. Under Chancellor, Comets were the only pro sports franchise in the U.S. to win four straight championships in the past decade. He has been selected to amazing 6 athletic Halls of Fame including East Central CC Athletic Hall of Fame (1998), the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2001), the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame (2002), the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the MAC Hall of Fame (2007), and the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame (2007). Coach Chancellor has served as color commentator on TV and radio women’s basketball broadcasts since 2004.