Danielle Donehew

Last updated

Danielle Marie Donehew (born January 15, 1978) is an American women's basketball executive. She is the former president of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of the Atlanta Dream.

Contents

Early life

Donehew was born on January 15, 1978, to parents Robert Donehew and Marie Mouchet in Atlanta, Georgia. [1] She attended Sequoyah High School in Hickory Flat, Georgia where she played on their basketball, soccer, and volleyball teams. Upon graduating in 1996, Donehew set a school record of earning 11 letters throughout her high school career. [2] Donehew also played on the boys' golf team and was offered the opportunity to be a kicker for their football team. [3] Prior to joining the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team, Donehew was named an All-State honorable mention and Georgia High School Scholar-Athlete of the Year. [1] She also earned awards in other sports and was an all-region and all-state selection in volleyball and an all-region player in soccer. [3] [4] While playing as a guard in her senior year, Donehew was praised by her basketball coach for being "a big-time player who...gives the other kids a lot of confidence." [5]

As a senior at Sequoyah High School, Donehew was recruited by both Georgia Tech and Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball but was only offered a scholarship by Georgia Tech. She was told by the Lady Bulldogs' coach Andy Landers that she could be a walk-on in her freshman year due to her family's financial situation and her grades. Although she was originally upset, her mother convinced her to attend Georgia Tech. [6]

Collegiate career

Donehew played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team from 1996 until 2000. [2] In her freshman year, she played in 26 of 27 games, starting three and averaging 15 minutes a game, and ranked fourth on the team in scoring. [6] Donehew led the conference in three-point field goal percentages and tied the school record for most three-pointers in a single game after recording six against the Maryland Terrapins and Mercer Bears. [1]

As a sophomore, Donehew continued her collegiate success and set a school record of seven three-pointers in one game in an 87-64 win over Charleston Southern. She finished the 1997–1998 season with a career-high 25 points as the Yellow Jackets fell in the second round of the ACC Tournament. [1] The following year, Donehew played in every game for the team and started 12 of them, resulting in her leading the conference in three-point field goals per game. [1] Although not originally the team's starter, she was selected to start their last games of the season after teammate Butlet was moved to point guard. In this role, she finished with a career-high 27 points in a game against North Carolina and averaged 20.5 points per basket. [7]

In her senior year at Georgia Tech, Donehew broke several team records as the Yellow Jackets qualified for the ACC Championship Tournaments. On January 6, she broke Karen Lounsbury's old record of 206 as well as set new career, season, and game 3-pointer records. [8] At the conclusion of the season, she was the team's career leader in three-point field goals and third in conference history. This earned her an honorable mention All-ACC in back-to-back seasons and the 2000 Robert Cup as Georgia Tech's top senior scholar-athlete. [9]

Career

Coaching

After graduating, Donehew was offered a graduate assistant position by Pat Summitt for one year with the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer before being promoted to assistant director. She also served in this role for one year before being promoted again to director of basketball operations for five years. [10]

Executive

After spending seven years with the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer, Donehew was named Executive Vice President of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, the Atlanta Dream, by team president Bill Bolen in April 2008. [11] When Atlanta Dream owner Ron Terwilliger sold the franchise, Donehew moved to the Big East Conference to become associate commissioner for women’s basketball. [10] [12] In recognition of her collegiate accomplishments, Donehew was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's Women's Basketball Legends in 2013. [13]

In 2014, Donehew was named Executive Director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), becoming the third person to lead the association since it was founded. [14] While serving in this role, she oversaw all operational affairs for the WBCA including marketing endeavours, budget, and all WBCA programs, services, and staff. She also led their external affairs in other organizations including the NCAA, USA Basketball, the WNBA, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Sports Foundation. [15]

Donehew served as president of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors for a three-year term before being replaced by Carol Stiff in 2020. [16] In recognition of her accomplishments, Donehew received the 2018 United States Basketball Writers Association Mary Jo Haverbeck Award, "presented annually to recognize those who have rendered a special service to the USBWA." [17] Prior to stepping down as president, Donehew was inducted into the Hall of Fame. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Wright</span> American basketball player

Moses Anthony Wright is an American professional basketball player for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Alfred Joseph Ciraldo was an American sportscaster best known for his work as the play-by-play announcer for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets basketball and football teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MaChelle Joseph</span> American womens basketball coach (born 1970)

MaChelle Kay Joseph is an American women's basketball coach, who served as the head coach for Georgia Tech from 2003 to 2019. Under Joseph, the Yellow Jackets compiled a record of 273–176. Joseph was fired on March 26, 2019, by AD Todd Stansbury and the Georgia Tech Athletic Administration after being accused of abusing and bullying players. She denies these accusations and filed suit against Georgia Tech Athletics, the Board of Regents, and 4 individuals on July 23, 2019. She claims her termination was a culmination of an unlawful campaign of retaliation against her for advocating for gender equity in athletics at Georgia Tech, and that for years, Georgia Tech has provided sub-standard resources to its women's basketball program including in facilities, marketing, travel, and funding, while providing significantly more and superior resources to its men's basketball program. Joseph served as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at GT for 16 years and amassed more wins than any other coach in GT WBB history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sequoyah High School (Georgia)</span> Public high school in Canton, Georgia, United States

Sequoyah High School is a public high school located in Hickory Flat, Georgia, United States. It educates students in grades 9–12. It opened in the fall of 1990 and is one of six high schools in Cherokee County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets</span> Intercollegiate sports team

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are eight men's and seven women's teams that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletics and the Football Bowl Subdivision. Georgia Tech is a member of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football</span> College Football Bowl Subdivision team; member of Atlantic Coast Conference

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football program represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the NCAA Division 1 Collegiate Competitors in the sport of American football. The Yellow Jackets college football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Georgia Tech has fielded a football team since 1892 and, as of 2020, has an all-time record of 740–518-43 through the 2020 season. The Yellow Jackets play in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia, holding a stadium max capacity of 55,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball</span> Basketball team

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in NCAA Division I basketball. The team plays its home games in McCamish Pavilion on the school's Atlanta campus and is currently coached by Damon Stoudamire. Bobby Cremins led his team to the first ACC tournament victory in school history in 1985 and in 1990 he took Georgia Tech to the school's first Final Four appearance ever. Cremins retired from Georgia Tech in 2000 with the school's best winning percentage as a head coach. The Yellow Jackets returned to the Final Four in 2004 under Paul Hewitt and lost in the national title game, losing to UConn. Overall, the team has won 1,352 games and lost 1,226 games, a .524 win percentage.

Kasha NiCarra Terry is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA. Terry is 6'3" tall and weighs 185 lbs (83.9 kg).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigitte Ardossi</span> Australian basketball player

Brigitte Ardossi is a basketball player from Australia. She played junior basketball for a Werribee team, playing in the Big V League/Victorian Basketball League. As a junior, she also represented Victoria in national competitions. She attended Georgia Tech, where she played basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team all four years that she was at the school. While there, she earned a number of honours related to her on court performance. She has also played basketball in France in 2010. She was a member of Canberra Capitals in the WNBL during the 2011/2012 season. In 2010, she was drafted by the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.

Jasmina Perazić is a Serbian-American basketball coach and a former basketball player. Perazić was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. She is the current head coach of Division II Georgian Court University, a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Stevens (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Barbara Stevens is the former head coach of the Bentley University women's basketball team. Stevens had previously served as head basketball coach for Clark University and Massachusetts. Stevens was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. She was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2018–19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team represented Georgia Institute of Technology during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Returning as head coach was MaChelle Joseph in her 16th season. The team played its home games at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Georgia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 17–13, 7–9 in ACC play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the second round of the ACC women's tournament to North Carolina. Despite having 17 wins, they were not invited to a postseason tournament for the first time since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Alvarado (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1998)

Jose Alvarado is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is nicknamed "Grand Theft Alvarado" due to his ability to create steals. Alvarado represents Puerto Rico internationally since 2022. He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Banks III</span> American basketball player

James Alton Banks III is an American professional basketball player for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Texas Longhorns. In 2020-21 he led the Israel Basketball Premier League in blocked shots per game.

Carol J. Stiff is an American women's basketball executive. She is the vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN and president of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's board of directors.

The 2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in November 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in December 2020 and will conclude in March with the 2021 ACC women's basketball tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

The 2021–22 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in November 2021 and will conclude on February 27, 2022. After the regular season, the 2022 ACC women's basketball tournament will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC for the 22nd time in 23 years.

The 2022–23 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2022, followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in November 2022 and concluded on February 26, 2023. After the regular season, the 2023 ACC women's basketball tournament was held at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC for the 23rd time in 24 years.

Elizabeth Dixon is an American professional basketball player. She most recently played for the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. She played college basketball at Louisville and Georgia Tech.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "#10 Danielle Donehew". ramblinwreck.com. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Danielle M. Donehew". ccshof.net. Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Resnak, Alex (May 1, 2019). "Donehew earns Hall of Fame induction after diverse career". Tribune Ledger News. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  4. ↑ Mayeux, Louis T. (March 12, 1996). "With playoffs on the line, Donenew earns fanfare". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved November 28, 2020– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Awtrey, Stan (March 1, 1996). "Donehew Steadies Sequoyah in OT". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved November 28, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Rogers, Carroll (December 18, 1997). "Oh heck: Tech to the rescue". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved November 27, 2020– via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Parker, Wendy (January 25, 1999). "Jackets Stun No. 7 Tar Heels". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved November 28, 2020– via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Bricks, Peter (February 3, 2000). "She reigns 3-pointers at Tech". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved November 28, 2020– via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "ACC ANNOUNCES 2001 WEAVER-JAMES-CORRIGAN POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS, SCHOLAR ATHLETES". goheels.com. February 28, 2001. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. 1 2 Johnson, Greg (October 13, 2014). "Local Favorite". ncaa.org. NCAA . Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Announces Danielle Donehew as Executive Vice President". oursportscentral.com. April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  12. ↑ Altavillia, John (March 13, 2010). "Donehew Now On Other Side Of UConn-Tennessee Rivalry". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kira Orr Announced as ACC Women's Basketball Legend". goduke.com. January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Associate Commissioner Danielle Donehew named WBCA Executive Director". theamerican.org. July 2, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Executive Director: Danielle M. Donehew". wbca.org. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  16. ↑ Voepel, Mechelle (June 22, 2020). "ESPN exec Carol Stiff named president of Women's Basketball HOF board". EPSN.com. ESPN . Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Danielle M. Donehew Named 2018 USBWA Mary Jo Haverbeck Award Winner". cosida.com. February 21, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.