25th Anniversary ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Page
by Debbie Antonelli
ACC Women's Basketball Television Analyst
On the eve of celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the ACC Tournament, I thought I would throw out some stuff for the fans of the ACC to consider. Topic . . . best backcourts in the history of the ACC. Why not! There have been some good ones! There are no special criteria for the best. Taking a team to the Final Four would probably be a given since you have to have great guard play to advance and survive post season. I was thinking about it so I decided to write about it and see what the fans think. There are some fans out there that have been following ACC basketball for a long time, longer than me. Let me jog your memory with some of these oldies but goodies.
Clemson: Jim Davis has been there long enough that he should know who has been the best for him... Was it Itoro Umoh and Amy Geren? Umoh ran the point and set up one of the best three point shooters in ACC history, Amy Geren. Umoh was the MVP of the 1999 ACC Tournament. Geren could shoot with range. Umoh and Geren took Clemson to three consecutive ACC Tournament Title games and won the title in 1999. How about Scott and Floyd? Krystal Scott and Chrissy Floyd have been playing together three years. Scott is power at the point guard spot and Floyd is as silky smooth as one can get. They have unfinished business to take care of and are yet to be determined.
Duke: Hillary Howard and Nicole Erickson took the Dukies to the Final Four in 1999. Howard is the all time assists leader in Duke history and Erickson is one of the top free throw shooters and three point shooters ever to wear a Duke uniform. Playing in the title game in 1999 only to lose to the Champions, Purdue was quite an accomplishment.
How about Georgia Schweitzer and Alana Beard off last year's 30 win team? Scheweitzer was a two time ACC Player of the Year and a Kodak All American last year. She is currently on the roster of the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Alana Beard is Alany Beard and if you haven't seen her play, you better start paying attention. She is a current sophomore who needs no introduction if you have been paying attention and a candidate for National Player of the Year.
Florida State: Jen Robinson is the all time assist leader. She played along side April Traylor when Traylor was a senior. I think last year's backcourt accomplished much with Brooke Wyckoff playing the small forward position and Traylor and Lakeshia Springle running the show out front. This is a hard one to figure since head coach Sue Semrau is building her tradition. I would have to say last year's team accomplished more than any other FSU team. . . so I will go with it!
Georgia Tech: Kisha Ford is the best all around guard to play at Georgia Tech. She is currently on the roster of the Miami Sol in the WNBA. . . that's how good she is. She played in the backcourt with Tina Martin. How about when Georgia Tech won the NIT in 1992? The back court had Karen Lounsbury who could shoot it.
Maryland: There are so many to choose from. . . Chris Weller has taken three teams to the Final Four. In 1978, it was senior Tara Heiss and freshman Betsy Bailey. In 1982 it was Debbie Lytle and Marsha Richardson. The 1989 team that went to the Final Four had Vicky Bullet, center and the all time leading scorer and rebounder in Maryland history on that team. Deanna Tate was the point guard and arguably the best guard ever at Maryland. Subrena Rivers played in the backcourt and as a small forward that year. When I asked Head Coach Chris Weller who was her best backcourt ever, she replied, "Deanna Tate and anyone." That's how good Tate was.
North Carolina: They have had some good ones. In 1994, Marion Jones and Tonya Sampson gave the Heels and the ACC their first NCAA Championship. Sampson was a Kodak All American and Jones has gone on to be the fastest woman in the world. It is no wonder she is the all time steals leader in ACC History. Pam Leake was a pretty good guard for the Heels as one of only five two time ACC Players of the Year. Leake won those honors in 1985 and 1986 and she was a Kodak All American in 1986. She played along side point guards Pam Hammond and Eileen Shea in leading the Tar Heels to the 1984 ACC Tournament Title.
NC State: The modern day version of the best backcourt ever at NC State would include Tyneshia Lewis, currently of the Houston Comets and Kristen Gillespie who took the Wolfpack and Kay Yow to the Final Four in 1998. Maybe one of the best teams ever at NC State featured Andrea Stinson of the Charlotte Sting and Danyle Parker who played the point. That was the team that had Rhonda Mapp and Sharon Manning on the frontline in 1992. Elite Eight finish that year. Back in the day, names like Ginger Rouse, Trudy Lacy and Connie Rogers are now a part of Wolfpack lore. Not to age them or myself, but I grew up watching those teams play in the late seventies.
Virginia: Debbie Ryan has taken three teams to the Final Four in 1990, 1991 and 1992. The constant. . . Dawn Staley and Tammy Reiss. Need I say more? Arguably the best backcourt ever in the ACC. Both were Kodak All Americans in 1992 and Staley was the National Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992.
Wake Forest: Lisa Stockton and Amy Privette Perko were pretty good. Stockton is now the Head Coach at Tulane and Privette is the President and General Manager of the Fayetteville franchise of the NBDL. They are number 5 and number 2 respectively in career scoring and 6 and 3 in career assists.
One sidebar. . . why do you think guard play is so good in the ACC. . . the coaches. Think about this. . . Jim Davis, Gail Goestenkors, Sue Semrau, Sylvia Hatchell, Chris Weller, Debbie Ryan and Charlene Curtis were all guards! Kay Yow was a slashing scorer from the forward position (who can still shoot it) and Agnus Berenato was a "post up-give me the ball now- kind of player" on the block. Berenato gives her guards the perspective of how hard it is to work on the block for position and how frustrating it gets when "you guards" don't throw it in there! Goestenkors was an NAIA All American at Saginaw Valley State (The Valley) and if you were watching the NCState/Duke game, you saw some of her all-American form dug out and dusted off from the video archives. Debbie Ryan's exploits at Ursinus are legendary on the basketball floor. You know she was in charge at the point and you know she made it fun. . . especially when they played Immaculata! Charlene Curtis was a 1,000 point scorer at Radford. She says she did have some assists! Sylvia Hatchell played some "D" and took it to the hole. Opponents initiated their offense away from Hatchell's side of the floor! She was too tough! Sue Semrau was a three point shooter long before the three point line was incorporated into the game. Bring it on in a game of horse! Weller, she could "old school-back door you to death." And then there is Jim Davis. . . the only guy in the league. . . and the only player that could throw down a dunk in his day. . . it just happened to be at Mac's Diner in Clemson. . . the best cheeseburger in the ACC!
In my job, you get to meet all kinds of people and work with different personalities. The coaches in the ACC are some of the best in the business. I consider myself lucky to be able to work with them, watch them practice, watch them teach, watch them mold and shape, and see the softer, more personal side of all nine of them. The state of ACC basketball is and will continue to be in good hands with the coaches that represent the league. As a former player and current broadcaster, I couldn't be more proud of being a member of the "ACC family" which will be celebrated in a first-class manner.
