Atlanta Dream 's Marynell Meadors Named 2009 WNBA Coach of the Year
October 2,2009
The Atlanta Dream’s Marynell Meadors was named the recipient of the 2009 WNBA Coach of the Year Award, the WNBA announced today. Meadors received 30 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Indiana’s Lin Dunn finished second with six votes while Phoenix’s Corey Gaines placed third with four votes.
“There are a lot of great coaches in this league, so for me to receive this award with a second-year franchise is a tremendous honor,” said Coach Meadors. “I did not do this alone. I have a great coaching staff in Carol Ross, Fred Williams and Director of Basketball Operations Sue Panek. It’s a credit to them and to our entire franchise. Everyone got behind us and did what they needed to do to make us successful. I’m accepting this honor really for all of us.
Meadors becomes the first coach to win the award within the franchise’s first two years (excluding Houston) after she engineered a 14-win improvement in 2009 over the Dream’s inaugural season record. The 2008 Dream won four games, the second lowest win total in WNBA history. One year later, Meadors steered Atlanta to an 18-16 record, a second place finish in the Eastern Conference and the franchise’s first playoff berth. The 14-win improvement marks the second largest one-season turnaround in league history (2003 Detroit Shock, 9-23 to 25-9).