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OCTOBER 2023 29 into the game. Tekshia Ward ('91) came across a screen on the baseline to post up, but Staley had trouble getting her the ball, so she went by the bench and said, "Stop running that play, give me the ball and I'm going to score." Ryan listened and ran the "Chicago" play — Staley stood out front, everyone else on the baseline flattened out, and Staley went one- on-one and scored. The game ultimately went into overtime, which resulted in a great UVA victory and its first Final Four trip. For Ryan, the most incredible part of the story was walk-on Carmela Franklin ('90), who had practiced every day with stress fractures in her shins. During the big game, Tennessee had a guard who was crushing UVA. Ryan asked the bench, "Is there anybody here who can stop her? This is ridiculous!" Franklin jumped up and said, "I will stop her." Ryan said, "If you have the guts to say that, get in the game." When Ryan looked at the stat sheet during the post-game press conference, she real- ized Franklin stopped the Tennessee guard completely from scoring the rest of the game. Ryan felt exhilarated. Although they ultimately fell short of winning the championship, it was an exciting experience for the Cavaliers. The team had a three-year Final Four run but did not win it all. Ryan will never forget going into overtime in 1991 and they "unfairly had a three-point basket taken away from Tammi Re- iss during regulation and should have won." The 1990s turned into 2000s and time flew by with more incredible women and memories. During Jenny Boucek's ('96) recruiting process, she remembered a lot of schools promised a starting spot as a first-year plus other things, but Coach Ryan stood out as the only coach who said, "I don't know if you will ever play here." Boucek didn't think that was a common recruiting practice which told her two things: One, this (UVA) is a great program, and two, this is an honest lady. Boucek wanted both of those things. "Coach Ryan has been honest with me every second of every day ever since," Boucek said. "It is one of the many things I love about her. "As I've gotten older, one of the things I really value is someone who could instill in me what has become a passion — edu- cation, diversity, and differences in men and women are something to celebrate — beauty and power in differences. … She was someone put on this earth to make the world a better place, and her consistent truth telling was always motivated by love." During her 36-year UVA coaching career, Ryan treasured so many great memories of her team and players. She faced a scary bump in the road when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2000 but believes it spurred her on to be the best coach she could be. Ryan tried to ignore it, put on a brave face, and kept going, but she ran into things she never thought she would. Some other colleagues across other schools tried to tell recruits Ryan might die, but she overcame that by living and presenting a healthy lifestyle. Her players and coaches had no idea how much she leaned on them during that time and how great they were to her. "There was nothing better than the Uni- versity of Virginia for me," Ryan said. "I loved every single second of being Coach Deb- bie Ryan and wanted my players to shine. I wasn't interested in being the one who received all of the praise and accolades. I wanted the program to succeed but I wanted them to shine as they were so deserving. They were successful on and off the court. "Now, when I see a player doing so well who might have even been a challenge in college, it warms my heart. They become your children. It was an honor for me ev- ery single second and I would never say anything different regardless of what I had to face. It's like having 150 of your closest friends whenever you want them." Ryan finished her coaching career with an overall record of 736-323. She made the NCAA Sweet 16 12 times, including 11 con- secutive years (1987-97), participated in the NCAA Tournament 24 times, made consecu- tive Final Four appearances from 1990-92 and won 11 ACC regular-season champion- ships. Ryan was honored as the Naismith Coach of the Year in 1991 and the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 1991, earned ACC Coach of the Year honors seven times, was a head coach six times for the USA Basketball organization, was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and also into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. "Debbie is Virginia women's basketball," said Audra Smith ('92). "She established the program with grace and class. Debbie em- powered every young woman she coached to be the best version of herself that she could possibly be. After being a student-athlete un- der Debbie's tutelage, I had the opportunity to be one of her assistant coaches for 10 years and learned so many valuable lessons." When Ryan's coaching career concluded after the 2010-11 season, she volunteered to help with the Seattle Storm for the 2011 WNBA season, reuniting with Boucek. Then Josh Scott, a development officer for cancer programs at UVA Hospital, asked her to be involved in an event for pancreatic cancer patients at Larry Sabato's home in his Lawn Pavilion. After that experience in the fall of 2011, Scott encouraged Ryan to take a position with the UVA Health System Development office, which began another fulfilling journey of help- ing people. In the spring of 2023, Ryan retired from the UVA Health System and now enjoys her free time continuing to connect with her basketball and Health System friends. Staley continues to be a very special friend. During her recruiting experience, Ryan remembered Staley greeting her at 6 a.m. with Hostess donuts and strawberry milk. Ryan was so touched that Staley spent her money on her. She has always been impressed that Staley has the biggest heart and continues to carry the torch as a spokeswoman for collegiate women's bas- ketball by simply being herself. "College coaches have a lasting impact on your life," Staley said. "Debbie is that for me — a great teacher, influencer, and director but most importantly she cares. There are count- less times she has shown up and supported me professionally and personally." When Ryan talks about her basketball family, she sincerely believes they make her life so much richer. "My players are everything to me, every- thing," Ryan said. "I don't care what they did in athletics — it's about what they are doing now, and I just love them all. I'm all in on every single player, even the ones who played for other coaches after I left. "It's one big family and I just think it's an amazing thing what they go through and how much they believe in what they did at UVA and how it influences what they do now. It's absolutely incredible." — Jess Armistead