Legendary Rutgers Women’s Basketball Coach Theresa Grentz was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend, an honor presented to her by Cathy Rush, NBA Legend Charles Barkley, and Grentz’s Rutgers successor and fellow Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer.
“Going into the Hall with my college teammate Maryanne Crawford Stanley is surreal. There are only two other teammates who went into the Hall on the same night,” Grentz said referencing John Wooden and Charles Murphy. “I am still overwhelmed and extremely grateful.”
“The lesson learned is that to succeed you must lend a deaf ear to your critics, but always stay your course. Things will change. For me it was Title IX. Don’t ever sell yourself short, there will always be obstacles in your path. You just need to follow your dreams, and never let those impediments to become stumbling blocks. Rather make them stepping stones to reach your goals.”
Grentz coached Rutgers from 1976 to 1995, winning 434 games, and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament nine times. She also coached Rutgers to the AIAW Division I Championship by beating Texas in 1982.
After departing Rutgers in 1995, she would resume her head coaching career at Illinois where she coached the Illini for 12 seasons, including five trips to the NCAA tournament. She wrapped up her coaching career with two seasons at Lafayette from 2015 to 2017.
As a player, Grentz owns gold medals at the 1990 FIBA World Championship for Women and 1990 Goodwill Games, as well as the 1985 William Jones Cup. She also represented team USA at the 1973 World University Games in Moscow.
