UGA Women’s Coach Goes For Win No. 800

Greg McGarity was a fledgling assistant sports information director in the fall of 1979 when he made a call to the man who would become as much of a fixture at Georgia as Sanford Stadium’s hedges.

McGarity was at Stegeman Coliseum when Andy Landers picked up win No. 1. Tonight he hopes to be among the first to congratulate Andy Landers for win No. 800 at Georgia if the Lady Bulldogs defeat
Savannah State.

“Gosh, I still remember that day, McGarity said. Coach (Vince) Dooley asked me to call this guy out of Roane State Community College in Tennessee to gather information to do the release about who he’d hired to be the women’s basketball coach. Needless to say, that call was quite interesting. to get to know him. Needless to say, that conversation was unusual. After talking to Andy for what must have seemed at least an hour, I really didn’t know what to expect. But I knew that other person on the line was dreaming big dreams and had a tremendous vision for Georgia women’s basketball at a time when basketball at Georgia was virtually non-existent.”

Landers and No. 8 Georgia (4-0) will go for win No. 800 of his tenure at 7 p.m. today in Stegeman Coliseum against Savannah State (1-1). Landers is in his 34th season at Georgia and stands on the brink of becoming just the eighth basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to reach the 800-win plateau at an NCAA Division I school. Landers’ first win was 88-69 against Piedmont in the 1979-80 season opener.

“Being one place for 34 years doesn’t mean anything, but being at Georgia for 34 years means a lot, Landers, 60, said. I’ve lived her more than I have anywhere in my life. So it’s home. It’s really, really good people, so I feel blessed to have had a job at at an institution like Georgia in a conference like the (Southeastern Conference) and to have had the support of all the people who have supported us. That’s dream stuff. Then you sprinkle in on top of that some people like (Teresa) Edwards and (Kelly and Coco) Miller and (Tweety) Nolan and (Jasmine) Hassell — that’s a good life.”

Landers is one win away from joining an exclusive group of college basketball coaches who have won 800 games at the same major college — Pat Summitt (1, 098 at Tennessee), Jim Boeheim (892 at Syracuse), Dean Smith (879 at North Carolina), Adolph Rupp (876 at Kentucky), Mike Krzyzewski (857 at Duke), Jim Phelan (830 at Mount. St. Mary’s) and Geno Auriemma (806 at Connecticut). Landers has also led Georgia to 29 NCAA Tournament bids, 19 trips to the Sweet 16 and made the Final Four five times, including runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1985.

UGA Women’s Coach Goes For Win No. 800

Athens Banner-Herald

http://onlineathens.com/dogbytes/basketball/2012-11-19/uga-womens-basketball-coach-landers-goes-win-no-800

Greg McGarity was a fledgling assistant sports information director in the fall of 1979 when he made a call to the man who would become as much of a fixture at Georgia as Sanford Stadium’s hedges.

McGarity was at Stegeman Coliseum when Andy Landers picked up win No. 1. Tonight he hopes to be among the first to congratulate Andy Landers for win No. 800 at Georgia if the Lady Bulldogs defeat Savannah State.

“Gosh, I still remember that day, McGarity said. Coach (Vince) Dooley asked me to call this guy out of Roane State Community College in Tennessee to gather information to do the release about who he’d hired to be the women’s basketball coach. Needless to say, that call was quite interesting. to get to know him. Needless to say, that conversation was unusual. After talking to Andy for what must have seemed at least an hour, I really didn’t know what to expect. But I knew that other person on the line was dreaming big dreams and had a tremendous vision for Georgia women’s basketball at a time when basketball at Georgia was virtually non-existent.”

Landers and No. 8 Georgia (4-0) will go for win No. 800 of his tenure at 7 p.m. today in Stegeman Coliseum against Savannah State (1-1). Landers is in his 34th season at Georgia and stands on the brink of becoming just the eighth basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to reach the 800-win plateau at an NCAA Division I school. Landers’ first win was 88-69 against Piedmont in the 1979-80 season opener.

“Being one place for 34 years doesn’t mean anything, but being at Georgia for 34 years means a lot, Landers, 60, said. I’ve lived her more than I have anywhere in my life. So it’s home. It’s really, really good people, so I feel blessed to have had a job at at an institution like Georgia in a conference like the (Southeastern Conference) and to have had the support of all the people who have supported us. That’s dream stuff. Then you sprinkle in on top of that some people like (Teresa) Edwards and (Kelly and Coco) Miller and (Tweety) Nolan and (Jasmine) Hassell — that’s a good life.”

Landers is one win away from joining an exclusive group of college basketball coaches who have won 800 games at the same major college — Pat Summitt (1, 098 at Tennessee), Jim Boeheim (892 at Syracuse), Dean Smith (879 at North Carolina), Adolph Rupp (876 at Kentucky), Mike Krzyzewski (857 at Duke), Jim Phelan (830 at Mount. St. Mary’s) and Geno Auriemma (806 at Connecticut). Landers has also led Georgia to 29 NCAA Tournament bids, 19 trips to the Sweet 16 and made the Final Four five times, including runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1985.