July 17, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - One of the most successful coaches in women's basketball and the head coach for the WNBA East Division All-Star team, Indiana Fever Head Coach Lin Dunn will highlight the first annual Melissa McFerrin Hoops School Coaches Clinic on Saturday, Oct. 24th on the University of Memphis campus. Registration for the clinic is now open at www.coachmcferrin.com.

Dunn, who has guided the Indiana Fever to the WNBA's best record to date at 9-2 record, is no stranger to the college basketball ranks. With a 447-257 record in 25 seasons as a college head coach, Dunn has made stops at Mid-South schools such as Austin Peay State (1970-1976) and Ole Miss (1977-78) before coaching at Miami (1979-1987) and Purdue (1987-1995) after graduating from UT Martin.

A native of Dresden, Tenn., Dunn has guided teams to the NCAA tournament seven different times, including a Final Four appearance with Purdue in 1994. She is in the Athletics Hall of Fame at both Austin Peay and Miami and is the leading coach in school history at three of the four NCAA schools she coached at (Austin Peay, Miami, and Purdue).

At Purdue, Dunn guided teams to three Big Ten conference titles, helping Purdue to seven NCAA tournaments, four Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Final Four appearance. She also recruited and coached three Kodak All-Americans, three Big Ten Players of the Year, two Big Ten Athletes of the Year and future WNBA stars such as Summer Erb, Ukari Figgs, Stacey Lovelace, Michelle VanGorp and Stephanie White. Also active in women's basketball at a national level, Dunn served on the USA Basketball staffs for the 1992 Olympics and the 1990 gold-winning World Championship and Goodwill Games teams. She also served as the head coach of the 1995 bronze medal-winning USA Jones Cup team, and spent eight years on the USA Basketball Team selection committee. She also served the sport as the president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 1984-85 and served on the Kodak All-America Selection Committee from 1982-1988.

Dunn moved to the professional ranks beginning in 1996, when she was named the head coach of the American Basketball League's (ABL) Portland Power in mid-season. One year later, she guided the Power from a worst-to-first run, posting a 27-17 record and a Western Conference championship, earning ABL Coach of the Year honors. Dunn also helped build the franchise to the league's highest marketing revenue and the second-highest attendance, and Portland was in first place in the ABL at 9-4 when the league ceased operations in December of 1998.

But Dunn's pro career continued in the Northwest, as she was named the first coach and General Manager of the WNBA expansion Seattle Storm in 2000. Dunn was part of the organization when it drafted the 2002 NCAA Player of the Year Sue Bird and eventual WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, and she guided the Storm to their first-ever WNBA playoff appearance in 2002. That same season, Dunn finished second in the WNBA Coach of the Year balloting following the 17-15 season. As the head coach of the Storm, she posted her 500th career victory at Indiana, a team that would coincidentally be her next career coaching stop the following season.

Dunn moved back and joined the staff at Indiana in 2003, serving as a scout for former coach Nell Fortner. She was formally added to the staff as an assistant coach in 2004, and spent four years on the bench as an assistant with on-court responsibilities for a Fever defense that allowed the fewest points in the WNBA during both the 2006 and 2007 seasons, both seasons in which former University of Memphis star Tamika Whitmore suited up for the Fever.

Dunn was named the fourth head coach in Fever history on Dec. 12, 2007, and guided the team to the WNBA Eastern Conference Semifinals in her first season, where Indiana fell 2-1 in a three-game series against the defending two-time champion Detroit Shock, finishing with an 18-19 overall record.

Dunn now has over 525 career victories when combining her college and professional coaching experience and will serve as one of four speakers for the day-long coaching clinic, which will also include sessions on NCAA compliance and recruiting, transition basketball and a Tiger basketball practice.

For more information about the clinic, go to www.coachmcferrin.com and click on either the Individual Registration or Staff Registration links on the bottom left hand column. Cost of the clinic is $25 per individual coach and $50 for a coaching staff of three. A four-person coaching staff can also register for $75.

The clinic is open for any and all AAU, High School and Middle School coaches and will take place in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, in the heart of the University of Memphis main campus. The physical address of the building is 495 Zach Curlin Street, Memphis, TN 38152.