Coale More Than Deserving Of Hall Of Fame Status

Although she has a lot of coaching left in her, OU coach Sherri Coale has the resume worthy of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Friday, July 24th 2015, 9:40 pm

By: News 9


There will always be debates on who deserves to be inducted into a Hall of Fame. Women’s basketball is no different, despite the lower level of popularity. I mean, when’s the last time you heard a discussion on who was or wasn’t in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame?

There are few people in women’s basketball more deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame than Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale, so Thursday’s announcement that Coale is a part of this year’s class was refreshing and a sign the good ones still get the recognition they deserve.

Now, it’d be quick to dismiss Coale’s candidacy for the simple fact she’s never won a national championship. But the late, former NC State coach Kay Yow didn’t win one either and that didn’t stop her being inducted 10 years before her retirement.

Related Story: Sherri Coale To Enter Women's Basketball Hall Of Fame In 2016

Coale isn’t being inducted because of what she hasn’t done. Her list of accomplishments is plenty impressive and worthy of the Hall. Three Final Fours. Six Big 12 regular season championships. Four Big 12 conference tournament championships. 16 straight NCAA tournaments. More than 400 wins. The list of coaches who have this resume or better is short.

Is she induction worthy at this point in her career? Maybe not, but what she has accomplished in 19 seasons has set a pace that leaves little doubt her resume will be loaded by the time she retires.

Coale has made her mark by making Oklahoma a national commodity in women’s basketball, something no one would have ever imagined. When Coale came to OU from Norman High School in 1996, she inherited a program in shambles, one that was nearly axed. Coale led the program on a steady climb to relevancy, culminating in a national championship game appearance in 2002.

The Sooners didn’t disappear like some one-hit wonders; they’ve stuck around and become a consistent presence in the top-25 while Coale has become one of the most respected coaches in the game.

It’s something to build a program. Pat Summitt did that at Tennessee. Geno Auriemma has built Connecticut into the best program in women’s basketball. But neither had to overcome the reputation Coale had to overcome at Oklahoma. Tennessee played one season of women’s basketball before Summitt was named head coach in 1974 while Auriemma came on board after 11 seasons for UConn.

The Sooners had been playing basketball for 22 years prior to Coale’s cross-town job switch. Nine of those ended under .500, and Coale’s first two teams went a combined 13-41. Coale had to do two things. She had to build a program, but she first had to make her players and the Sooner fanbase believe that Oklahoma was a place where you could experience success.

That’s no easy feat and for Coale to accomplish that at a school that nearly gave up on women’s basketball is oh so impressive.

Coale won’t ever say she’s deserving of this recognition and will no doubt point out many others she feels are much more deserving of acclaim than herself. After all, the humility with which she approaches her job is as impressive as the job she does on the court.

But no amount of humility is going to overshadow the tremendous job Coale has done at Oklahoma or how deserving she is of the Hall of Fame.

There will always be debates on who deserves to be recognized as the greatest in each sport. There should be no debate surrounding Sherri Coale. 

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