The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 24

8 SPORTS THURSDAY. APRIL 3. 2008 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.com a 1 WHO'S THE BEST? Wednesday. TODAY Friday Top 5 Game Changers TOP 5 ADVOCATES dvocates 5 Legendary Coaches Top 5 Storied Programs Top 5 Players NOTE: Selections were made with the help of an advisory panel. 2 Celia SlaterExecutive No.

1 Tom Mosca Coach Slater, a former all-state player and leader of three consecutive Class 2A state championship teams at Clearwater Central Catholic, has become one of the most influential people in girls and women's basketball. Slater, who lives in Dunedin, is executive director of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy, which provides training in leadership and coaching skills. "We want to provide a foundation, a sounding board for coaches," Slater said. "We want to grow the sport and the opportunities for women coaches. We've come a long way.

But I can also say we have a long way to go." 3. Craig KeelerCoach A tireless promoter, organizer and championship coach, Keeler bought into the I a I A Jit' Tribune file photo potential of girls basketball, adopting it as his life's work. Keeler built the Academy of the Holy Names into a polished program, compiling a 189-30 record, while making four trips to the state's Final Four and winning the Class 3A title in 1996. In late 1999, he was named The Tampa Tribune Girls Basketball Coach of the Decade. He formed the Tampa Bay area's largest and most successful AAU programs, winning six state championships in 12 years.

Keeler resigned from AHN and followed his wife, Nancy, to New Jersey, where she had accepted a coaching position at Fairleigh Dickinson University. On Jan. 4, 1999, Keeler died of a pulmonary embolism. He was 46. AHN established a Christmas tournament in Keeler's name.

By JOEY JOHNSTON The Tampa Tribune His intention was to coach boys basketball, probably some football, maybe even a little baseball, the sport he played in college. Girls basketball? "What was that?" said Mosca, reflecting on his early career at Robinson High School. "I was offered the girls basketball position once, twice, three times I lost count and my answer was always the same. "No, no, no." But as the 1975-76 season drew closer the inaugural year for Florida's foray into girls basketball Mosca had second thoughts. It was a varsity head coaching job.

It would mean a little more money. He still could assist with Robinson's state powerhouse boys program. OK, why not? At the first practice, he criticized a mental mistake loudly. The player stopped dribbling and immediately began to cry. "I realized pretty quickly that to have success, I could not treat my players like Mosca said.

"I was going to treat them like athletes." As Mosca's teams dominated the early Hillsborough County scene his 1977-78 No. 1-ranked Robinson squad broke out 25-0, and he had two top-ranked Brandon teams begin 30-0 someone offered the definitive description of his methods. "Tom Mosca doesn't coach girls basketball. He coaches basketball, and the players just happen to be girls." Mosca, 62, hasn't stopped. And he hasn't changed.

He's nearing 600 overall coaching victories (all levels). He's the only coach in the Tampa Bay area and maybe the state who's still active in the game after having a team in the initial season of girls basketball. He brought Brandon to a national ranking. In 13 seasons at the University of Tampa, he transformed an also-ran program into a Sunshine State Conference contender and NCAA Tournament qualifier. He just finished his fifth season at Jefferson, where the revived Dragons made the regionals.

Through it all, he remains a salesman. At Brandon, he once challenged fans to attend his team's games and if they didn't enjoy it, he would refund their money. The Tampa Bay Girls Basketball Coaches Association established the Tom Mosca Trailblazer Award for one of its members. "The X's and O's are the same as the men's game, but our game is just played below the rim," Mosca said. "I've heard people say, 'Sure, Mosca hasn't left the girls game; he's not good enough to coach the But the truth is, 4.

Bob CorwinTalent Scout So how did a longtime official with Florida's State Department of Agriculture become a key player in the growth of the Tampa Bay area's girls basketball scene? Easy. He just kept showing up over and over again. In what is now a slick, Internet-based business, Corwin began scouting girls basketball in the 1980s, wearing his familiar khaki pants and blue Windbreaker to every gymnasium in existence. Soon, his word was gold. College coaches called him for recruiting advice.

After all, Corwin had seen the players personally. "The Corwin Index" became one of the most trusted sources for girls basketball information. Corwin was mostly based in the Orlando area, but he "got to know Interstate 4 pretty well," while providing exposure and validation to Tampa Bay area teams. Now he lives in Thomasville, but he still works as an analyst and information source for a variety of entities. 5.

Ed JacksonCoach In Pinellas County, Jackson is known as "The Dean." For good reason. He be gan coaching girls basketball at Pinellas Park in 1979-80 and was there for 16 seasons, including three straight trips to the state's Final Four. He shifted to Lakewood for nine more years. After taking one season off, he took the job at Gibbs, where he just finished his third year. "I've always seen basketball as a way to help young ladies further 'their education," said Jackson, who formed Pinellas County's first girls AAU team in 1981.

"Girls are more coachable, more open-minded, than the guys. I feel like I Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE (2002) In addition to coaching girls high school basketball, Tom Mosca coached at the University of Tampa. I was contacted for several boys jobs years ago. "The whole thing just snowballed. I didn't grow up dreaming of coaching women's sports.

But that became my place in the sport and I wouldn't have had it any other way." found a niche." Jackson, 59, has one final goal. He wants to coach his 4-year-old granddaughter, Amaria Webb, in high school. No. 1 Carol Stiff ESPN Executive 3. Sue DonohoeExecutive Donohoe attended the first Women's Final Four in 1982 as an assistant coach with Louisiana cheapest ticket was $1.75," Donohoe said.

By KATHERINE SMITH The Tampa Tribune 1 And there were plenty of seats. That hasn't been the case in more than a decade. Ticket prices have risen to $162, and arenas have sold out every year since 1993. The growth and popularity of the game can be traced to the NCAA's commitment to women's basketball, with Donohoe, the vice president for Division I women's basketball as its tireless leader. Always on the lookout for ways to increase exposure, the NCAA currently is considering starting the NCAA Tournament In 1995, there were only seven NCAA Tournament games available on televi don't have that luxury," Stiff said.

After graduating from South a week later so it wouldn't coincide and compete for an audience with the men's event. Donohoe was promoted to her current position in 2003 after overseeing the Division I Men's Championship as its director. Donohoe has been an advocate for women's basketball dating back to her days as a student-athlete at Louisiana Tech. She got into coaching at her alma mater, but also had stints at the University of Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin State University as an assistant coach.

llittiliP' iNfessssifit (A ern Connecticut State University in 1983, where she played basketball and field hockey, Stiff was the assistant women's basketball coach at Western Connecticut State. She later served stints as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's head coach and the first assistant women's basketball coach at Brown University. She joined ESPN in 1990, first as a program planner. In her current job, Stiff is responsible for the programming acquisition and scheduling for a variety of sports on ESPN and ESPN2, including women's basketball. "Since my days of Chuck Taylor canvas sneakers to seven pairs per athlete of Nike sneakers, a lot has happened," said Stiff, who was inducted into the Connecticut Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

"From the game sion. Today, it's pick a game, any game. ESPN really came onto the scene in 1996 when it acquired the television rights to the full tournament. Not all the first- and second-round games were shown, but when ESPN renewed its deal in 2003, the "worldwide" leader in sports" began showing all the games. Stiff, a former player and coach, saw some untapped potential in women's basketball.

As ESPN's Senior Director for Programming and Acquisitions, Stiff believed in more exposure for a sport that had been neglected. "In the women's game, we have four years to devel op these characters and show off the attributes that 4. Nora FinchAdministrator Whenever Nora Finch is invited to speak at public occasions, she always accepts with a warning: She does not pull any punches. Once at a sports club banquet, Finch said "There are still lots of people who don't want to see women play sports. They want to see them pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen." With that mindset, Finch has gone about showcasing women in the athletic world.

The former coach, ranked the 12th Most Influential Person in Women's Athletics in the 20th Century by the Orlando Sentinel, has a voice and isn't afraid to raise it to call attention to a sport she is passionate about. In 1981, Finch served as the chair for the inaugural NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, a title she ESPN photo Carol Stiff itself to the talent level on the they bring to the game, where in the men's game, we court to the exposure, the numbers are unbelievable." held until 1988. In 1987, the WBCA awarded her its first Special Recognition Award for Athletics Administrators. Before joining the administration ranks, Finch coached collegiately at Wake Forest (1971-73) and Peace College (1973-77). 5.

Mel GreenbergSportswriter Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Mel Greenberg's nicknames alternate between "The Guru" and "The Godfather." Oh, and we can't leave out "Mr. Women's Basketball." For 38 years, Greenberg has covered a 2. Betty Jaynes Coach And Executive t. Jaynes thought it was important to recognize the best women's players in the nation and honor them in some dis- Vf tinguished fashion. That's why when she was the head coach at Madison College Jaynes helped launch the Kodak Worn- en's All-American Basketball Team.

Jaynes' basketball career began at Madison College, now James Madison University, from 1970 to 1982. She led her team to an AIAW champi- onshlp In 1975. Following her coaching career, Jaynes became the first CEO of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 1996, an organization she helped develop, serving first as its executive director. Under Jaynes, the WBCA has grown into a membership organiza- tion. Jaynes was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

variety of sports for the Inquirer, but none more passionately than women's basketball. Without Greenberg, there would be no AP or Coaches Top 25 poll. In an effort to bring attention to women's basketball from a nationwide audience, Greenberg implemented the original Top 25 poll In November of 1976. Greenberg, who is the only member of the media to attend every NCAA Tournament, received the first media award from the WBCA in 1991. Since then, the award has been named for iiT Wv Greenberg and is given annually to a journalist who displays a commitment to women's basketball and helps promote the sport.

Past winners of the award Include Robin Roberts in 2001 and Ann Meyers-Drysdale in 1999. For his efforts, Greenberg was Inducted Into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. lamps Maritann nhntn Betty Jaynes helped honor top players..