Sunday, May 9, 2004

Max Ortiz Bill Laimbeer

2OO3 Michiganians of the Year

Bill Laimbeer: His dedication to women's sports sparks a team's shocking turnaround

By Jerry Green / The Detroit News

Bill Laimbeer Age: 46 Residence: Orchard Lake Occupation: Coach of the Detroit Shock Why honored: For guiding a last-place Shock team to the WNBA championship in 2003 Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

Bill Laimbeer went into coaching women’s basketball with the same intensity as he did as the perceived villain on the Pistons’ back-to-back NBA championship teams.

He started with a mission — to create an awareness of women’s sports in Michigan — and succeeded in record time by coaching the Detroit Shock to the WNBA championship in 2003.

Just one season earlier, the Shock were on the brink of extinction because of a poor record and low attendance figures.

“We won a championship, fine,” said Laimbeer, who performed an instrumental physical role on the Pistons’ NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. “But bringing women’s basketball to the forefront was very important, not only to me, but to our organization and women in the state of Michigan.”

And from the top, Laimbeer has received accolades for his achievements as a coach and leader. The Shock, which played their first season in 1998, started the 2002 season 0-13, including 0-10 before Laimbeer was hired. With a few key trades and draft picks over the next season, Laimbeer turned the Shock around, finishing the 2002 season 8-7 before last year’s WNBA championship run that included a 25-9 record.

“When Bill Laimbeer was named head coach in Detroit, he reinvigorated the entire Shock organization and re-energized a city that was longing to embrace a winner,” said WNBA commissioner Val Ackerman. “He has also served as a wonderful ambassador for the sport of women’s basketball since joining the WNBA and has proven to be an invaluable asset to the league.”

Laimbeer played college ball at Notre Dame, where he earned a degree in economics in 1979. He helped the Irish reach the Final Four in 1978 and the regional finals in 1979, where they were eliminated by eventual national champion Michigan State. He was drafted by Cleveland in 1979 before being traded to Detroit in 1982.

Laimbeer has altered his public persona since he retired as a player in 1993. Once he thrived on the Bad Boy image that characterized the Pistons. Now, while he still carries that attitude into his other role in basketball, as an analyst on Pistons’ television broadcasts and national ESPN broadcasts, he has become a proponent for community service. In addition to coaching and broadcasting, Laimbeer remains committed to the NBA’s Read To Achieve Program.

“That’s a great thing, because reading is so fundamental to being successful,” Laimbeer said. “People like myself or the Pistons or the Shock players help people get into reading, that’s positive.””

Chris and Bill Laimbeer have two children, Eric and Keriann, who plays prep basketball for Detroit Country Day. Keriann’s participation in athletics served as Laimbeer’s motivation to become coach of the Shock and work on behalf of women’s and girls’ sports.

“It’s growing every day,” Laimbeer said. “It just doesn’t get the publicity that it should.”

Laimbeer has worked diligently at promoting the Shock. And he is a caring coach.

“Bill is a unique person,” said player Cheryl Ford. “We don’t get to go home for the Fourth of July. (So) he brings us to his home for a barbecue and we can ride jet skis on the lake.

“I love the energy and the intelligence he brings to the team.”