07 LC 37
0522
Senate
Resolution 671
By:
Senators Cowsert of the 46th, Mullis of the 53rd, Whitehead, Sr. of the 24th and
Hudgens of the 47th
A
RESOLUTION
Commending
Coach Andy Landers; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
Coach Andy Landers is widely recognized throughout the nation as the
personification of excellence in athletics; and
WHEREAS,
Coach Landers is the University of Georgia's first and only full-time women's
basketball head coach; and
WHEREAS,
at 26 years of age he began his career with the University of Georgia in April
of 1979 on the heels of six losing seasons and a struggling program;
and
WHEREAS,
Coach Landers has been named four-time National Coach of the Year and led
Georgia to 15 top ten finishes in either or both the final Associated Press and
USA Today/ESPN national rankings during the last 25 seasons; and
WHEREAS,
the graduation rate is 95.8 percent among four-year letter winners, a mark set
to improve when Cori Chambers and Janese Hardrick become the 47th and 48th of 50
to earn their degrees in the coming months; and
WHEREAS,
Coach Landers is the state's winningest college hoops head coach with the
December 3 win over Georgia Tech and the fourth major college women's hoops
coach to reach 750 career wins with UGA's victory at Richmond on December 21,
2006; and
WHEREAS,
he has coached three National Players of the Year, six players with a combined
12 Kodak All-American certificates, 12 chosen in the Womens National Basketball
Association (WNBA) draft, and seven first-round picks in the last seven years,
and a total of 17 Lady Bulldogs have gone on to play for the WNBA;
and
WHEREAS,
two players, Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain, were the backbone of the United
States National Team for more than a decade with Edwards winning a Gold Medal as
co-captain in 2000 having won Gold in 1984 and two more with McClain in 1988 and
1996; and
WHEREAS,
Coach Landers has been elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and will
be inducted on June 9, 2007; and
WHEREAS,
his role as a coach is to act as an instrument of inspiration and enthusiasm to
his players; to create a positive learning environment by encouraging
competitive instincts; and to instill the values and positive characteristics of
hard work, dedication, and integrity; and
WHEREAS,
he is a shining example of the important impact that the efforts of individual
coaches make on the quality of athletic training received by the young people of
this state, and it is abundantly fitting and proper that his superlative
accomplishments be recognized appropriately.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body heartily
and gratefully commend Coach Andy Landers for his years of sacrifice, foresight,
accomplishment, and contributions on behalf of women's basketball in Georgia and
the nation and for the positive influence he has had upon the lives and futures
of countless young people.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Coach Andy Landers.