Duke’s McCallie inducted into Maine Basketball Hall of Fame

Before Duke women’s basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie set foot in Cameron Indoor, her stomping grounds were all over the state of Maine. On Thursday, McCallie was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class.

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The inaugural class of the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame included: Lisa Blais Manning, Rachel Bouchard, Brett Brown, Skip Chappelle, Danny Coombs, Don Crosby, Matt Donahue, Brad Moore, McCallie, Steve Pound, Doug Roberts, Jack Scott, Joe Harrington, Matt Hancock, Jon MacDonald and John Mitchell for the players, Bob Brown, George Wentworth, Richard Whitmore and Paul Vachon for the coaches, Bob Butler for contributor and Jim DiFrederico as an official.

“This is a special time,” McCallie said. “Maine is a basketball state and being a part of this inaugural class is something that I really won’t forget. That is very special to me.”

To be eligible for induction into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame, players must be 20 years removed from playing. Coaches who have been in the game for 20 years are eligible right away. Coaches who didn’t coach for 20 years are eligible 10 years after their last season.

McCallie started her basketball career in high school, where she was known as Joanne Palombo. She played at Brunswick High School and was named All-State for two consecutive seasons. After her promising career in high school, she played for Northwestern University. During her senior campaign, she was named All-Big Ten honorable mention and was on the team that played into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Once she graduated from Northwestern, she started her coaching career. McCallie’s first coaching assignment was back home in the state of Maine at the University of Maine. She coached the Black Bears for eight seasons and led them to seven straight 20-win seasons. Under her direction, Maine appeared in six NCAA Tournaments in a row with a 167-73 record.

After her career at Maine was over, McCallie accepted the position at Michigan State. She was at the helm for seven years and led the Spartans to a 149-75 record. In 2005, McCallie led Michigan State to the NCAA Championship Game. After that season, McCallie was named the National Coach of the Year.

She is entering her eight season as the head coach for Duke. Under her direction, Duke is 202-42 with three ACC Championships and appearances in the NCAA Tournament every year she’s been at the helm. She’s been honored as the ACC Coach of the Year three different times: 2013, 2012 and 2010.

McCallie is in a small group of coaches who have had the amount of success that she has had. She’s one of only three Division I head coaches to coach three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. She’s the first Division I head coach ever to be named coach of the year in four different conferences (ACC- 2010, 2012, 2013; Big Ten- 2005; America East-1999; North Atlantic-1995, 1996).