KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — There was a common denominator from the 2019 inductees of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. They call this honor the cherry on top of the cake that was their careers.
Joan Cronan is widely known and highly respected in Knoxville. She's received multiple awards for her work as a sports administrator. She served as Tennessee's Women's Athletic Director for 29 years and spent 10 years as the athletic director for the College of Charleston. Cronan's high school basketball coach is in town to celebrate her induction.
"I knew I wanted to be in athletics. I knew I wanted to make a difference and let women compete, but she helped me look at somebody that could be a role model," Cronan said. "It'll be a great weekend to celebrate and it's so much fun for me to show off what Knoxville has."
Cronan's first graduate assistant Beth Bass is also in town. However, she's not here to spectate as she is also a hall of fame inductee. Bass played for East Tennessee State University in the 1980's and was the executive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association from 1997 to 2000.
"[Cronan] taught me a lot and she was a phenomenal woman and mentor," Bass said. "The fact that I'm able to enter the class of 2019 with Joan Cronan...I'm just flattered."
Ticha Penicheiro is a four-time WNBA All Star, WNBA champion and second all time in career assists. However, she admits that her memories from playing against the Lady Vols while playing at Old Dominion make this enshrinement ironic.
"I don't have may great memories from Knoxville. Every time I came here, I got my butt kicked," Penicheiro said. "I'm happy that I'm here now and it's going to be happy times this time."
Ruth Riley was Penicheiro's teammate for one season as members of the WNBA's Chicago Sky. Before that, Riley's Detroit Shock defeated Penicheiro's Sacramento Monarch's in the WNBA Finals. Riley finished her playing career as a two-time WNBA champion and a WNBA Finals MVP.
"When I reflect on my career, it just makes me think of how grateful I am for the teams I played on, the experiences I've had, the championships I've won. This is just putting it all together and saying I'm going down in history with some pretty amazing men and women here in the hall of fame," Riley said.
Valerie Still played only season in the WNBA, but spent played over a decade of professional basketball in Italy. She was an eight-time Italian League All-Star and became the first female to have her jersey retired at the University of Kentucky in any sport. She has only fond memories from playing overseas.
"I think in the United States, we've had issues with sexism, racism. And when I went to Italy...it was just different," Still said. "My existence wasn't based on the color of my skin, it was based on what I was able to do. I think it really expanded who I was."
The hall of fame induction ceremony takes place on Saturday at the Tennessee Theater.