Colorado University Athletics
Ceal Barry To Coach USA Women's Pan American Team
September 15, 2011 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER ? University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame coach Ceal Barry will don the whistle and clip board once again, returning to the bench as the head coach of the USA Basketball Women's 2011 Pan American Games Team, the national organization announced on Thursday.
Barry, who retired as CU's women's basketball coach following the 2004-05 season after a storied 22-year career, will embark on her fifth USA Basketball head coaching assignment, guiding the Pan American Games Team which will compete Oct. 21-25 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“The opportunity to coach in the Pan Am Games is very exciting for me,” Barry said. “(CU-Boulder) Chancellor (Phil DiStefano) and (athletics director) Mike Bohn have encouraged me to participate, and so I decided to go for it.? USA Basketball and (national team director) Carol Callan, in particular, are first-class in how they run their organization, so I am looking forward to a wonderful experience with the Pan Am selected team and coaching staff.”
Barry will be joined on the bench by a pair of legendary women's basketball figures in their own right. She will be assisted by former University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan (1977-2011) and former WNBA coach and USA Basketball standout Jennifer Gillom. Both Ryan and Gillom are Women's Basketball Hall of Fame members.
“It's an absolute thrill and honor to join the coaching staff for the Pan American games,” Gillom said. “Ceal Barry and Debbie Ryan will greatly add to the depth of knowledge and experience on our staff.”
“It is the highest of honors to be chosen to coach USA Basketball and I am very proud to be representing our country in the Pan Am Games,” Ryan added. “I am very excited to work with Ceal and Jen. They are both tremendous coaches, talented colleagues and exceptional people.” ?
The official, 12-member USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The coaching selections were made by the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee, which also will select the team's players.
Training camp for the 2011 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Team will take place Oct. 15-18 in Houston, prior to the team's departure for Guadalajara. ?The U.S. women will play in preliminary round Group A, along with Argentina, Mexico and Puerto Rico, while Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Jamaica comprise Group B. Preliminary round play for the women's basketball competition runs Oct. 21, 22 and 23, with the semifinals on Oct. 24, and the finals on Oct. 25.
“Ceal Barry represents all that is right about leadership and coaching of young women,” Bohn said. “She will bring a competitive spirit and focus that will positively impact the entire team.”
Barry's last assignment with USA Basketball was coaching the 2004 U.S. Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, which went undefeated en route to the gold medal. She also led the 1992 USA Select Team to a 4-1 record, the 1988 USA R. Williams Jones Cup Team to a silver medal and the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival East Team to a bronze medal finish.
As an assistant coach for the red, white and blue, she helped the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team and the 1994 USA Goodwill Games Team to gold medals, the 1994 USA World Championship Team to a bronze medal, a seventh-place finish with the 1993 USA Junior World Championship Team and a 2-2 record with the 1990 USA Junior National Team.
Barry compiled a record of 427-242 from 1983 to 2005 at Colorado, leading the Buffaloes to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances including six times to the Sweet 16 and three times in the Elite Eight. She recorded 13 20-win seasons, four Big Eight Conference championships, and five postseason conference tournament titles, including the inaugural Big 12 Championship title in 1997.
Her overall collegiate coaching record was 510-284 in 26 seasons, leading the University Cincinnati for four seasons before coming to Boulder in 1983. Barry is currently in her 29th year overall at CU and seventh as the school's Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator. She oversees the sports of men's and women's basketball, women's golf, soccer and volleyball while also supervising several Student Services arms of the department including sports medicine, strength & conditioning, academics and student wellness.
Current CU women's basketball head coach Linda Lappe, who played for two of Barry's NCAA Tournament teams (2002, '03), lauds USA Basketball's choice to lead the Pan American Games team.
“We are so happy that the University of Colorado is once again associated with USA Basketball,” Lappe said. “Ceal will do a fantastic job of leading this year's team to the Pan Am Games and hopefully they can bring home the gold!”
The Pan American Games are a multi-sport competition held every four years in the year preceding the Olympics. Organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), the Games are open to men and women representing countries from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Overall, the USA women in Pan American Games competitions have won seven of 14 gold medals, as well as four silver and two bronze medals, compiling a 72-12 overall record.
