McCallie Inducted into Maine Basketball Hall of Fame Thursday Evening
August 22, 2014
Per Duke Sports Information
BANGOR, Maine — Duke University women’s basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame Thursday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. McCallie is a part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class that featured 16 players, four coaches, one official and one contributor.
“This is a special time,” commented McCallie. “Maine is a basketball state and being a part of this inaugural class is something that I really won’t forget. That is very special to me.”
Blais Manning, Rachel Bouchard and Palombo-McCallie were inducted as players along with Brett Brown, Thomas “Skip” Chappelle, Danny Coombs, Don Crosby, Matt Donahue, Brad Moore, Steve Pound, Doug Roberts, Jack Scott, Joe Harrington, Matt Hancock, Jon MacDonald and John Mitchell. The coaches inducted were Bob Brown, George Wentworth, Dick Whitmore and Paul Vachon. The late Jim DiFrederico was selected to the Hall as an official, and Bob Butler was chosen in the contributor category.
McCallie, who is getting ready to enter her eighth season with the Blue Devils, was a basketball phenom at Brunswick High School in Maine where she earned All-State honors two years in a row. Following her brilliant high school career, Joanne Palombo McCallie accepted a scholarship to Northwestern University. She earned All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades as a senior and led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach P kicked off her coaching career at the University of Maine and took the Black Bears to the pinnacle of New England basketball. Over her eight years at Maine, McCallie guided the Black Bears to seven straight 20-win campaigns, six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a 167-73 overall record. She coached at Michigan State for seven years before accepting the Duke position and led the Spartans to a 149-75 record and an appearance in the NCAA Championship game in 2005. McCallie was named the 2005 National Coach of the Year.
Since taking over the Duke program, McCallie has led the Blue Devils to a 202-42 overall record, three ACC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances each of her seven years, including four straight quarterfinals from 2010-13. McCallie has been named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2013, 2012 and 2010.
McCallie is one of only three Division I head coaches to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament and is the first Division I head coach to be named league coach of the year in four different conferences.
Players become eligible for induction 20 years after their playing days are over. Coaches with 20 years of experience are eligible immediately; those whose careers were less than 20 years must wait 10 years after their last coaching assignment for eligibility.
The mission of the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame is 1) to preserve the history of basketball in the State of Maine; 2) identify and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of individuals and teams; 3) promote the heritage of basketball in the State of Maine.
The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame is housed on the second floor of the new Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. There is an ongoing effort to turn the MBHOF Concourse into a showcase of the history of Maine basketball.
