Anne Donovan won gold medals in basketball at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and also at the 1983 and 1987 Pan American Games. Donovan, a 6-8 (2.03) center, played college ball at Old Dominion University, and led the Lady Monarchs to the 1980 AIAW title. Donovan was the 1983 collegiate player of the year. During her college career she averaged 20.0 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. Through 2015, her career 801 blocks is still a women’s collegiate record. Because of few opportunities in the US, Donovan played professional ball in Shizuoka, Japan and Modena, Italy from 1984-89.
Donovan later became a highly respected coach. She coached in the WNBA, starting in 2000, with several different teams, including the Indiana Fever, Charlotte Sting, Seattle Storm, New York Liberty, and Connecticut Sun. She also coached at Seton Hall University for a few years. Donovan coached US teams to gold medals at the 2006 World Championships ad 2008 Olympics, and was an assistant coach for the US at the 2004 Olympics and 1998 and 2002 Worlds. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, was in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.
United States