All Things Basketball with GD - 2023 Season Birthday Edition, Player Spotlight on Ann Meyers Drysdale

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Greetings my peeps and welcome to the All Things Basketball Podcast with your boy GD.

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In this episode this is my birthday special episode.

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I'll be doing a play of spotlight on the great Ann Meyers Drysdale so just sit back,

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relax and enjoy the show.

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Okay guys so we are back once again your boy GD with the All Things Basketball Podcast.

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So this episode is going to be my special birthday episode.

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I always do special birthday episode.

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I did one last year.

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I covered the late great Bob Lanier.

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This year I wanted to do something a little different.

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I was watching the WNBA.

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I watched that weekend all the games that I was able to watch and I was able to catch

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Brittany Griner's home game in Phoenix.

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It was her first game back in Phoenix amongst the home crowd.

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Of course they gave her love and she got love also when she played in LA on that Friday.

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A lot of people came out for that.

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But this was her home game so you know a lot of people in that building was happy to see

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her back on the home court.

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And this one particular person who has very close ties with the Phoenix Mercury.

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In fact she's the color analyst for the Phoenix Mercury and her name is synonymous with women's

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basketball.

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We know her as Ann Meyers but her name now is Ann Meyers Drysdale.

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So let's talk about her guys.

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Ann Meyers Drysdale.

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She was born March 26, 1955 in San Diego, California.

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She grew to be 5'9", 134 pounds.

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She was a guard but she knows something.

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She could play multiple positions.

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She was that good.

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And her full name at birth was Ann Elizabeth Meyers.

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Her parents were Bob Meyers who played, he played guard in his day at the University of

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Marquette and then as a pro he played in Milwaukee for a team called the Shooting Stars.

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So not NBA but another pro league nonetheless.

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And then her mother was Patricia.

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Amongst her siblings 11 children guys.

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So a lot of them took up athletics as well.

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So Ann was number 6 amongst the 11 children.

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It was 5 boys and 6 girls.

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Her older brother Dave.

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He was a former basketball player at UCLA.

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In fact he was all American.

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I'll give a little bit more of that later but he was a three time NCAA champ coached

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by the legendary John Wooden.

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And then later he would be drafted into the NBA and he would play professionally for the

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Milwaukee Bucks.

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And she had an older sister named Patty.

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Patty was the oldest of the children.

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And Patty, she was quite the athlete herself.

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Former basketball player, volleyball, softball also.

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She played at Fullerton Junior College and then later at Cal State Fullerton.

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It was there where her 1970 team won the AIAW national championship.

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This was a predecessor to the NCAA tournaments and those championships.

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She also played AAU ball on the same team with Ann.

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So Ann was younger of course and her older sister Patty was on the team.

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She went on to coach at Pepperdine University as well.

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And she coached there for seven seasons, compiling a 46 and 70 record and let her team to three

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AIAW tournament appearances.

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So Patty, someone that Ann really looked up to as well as her brother Dave of course.

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She was the first star of the family if you will.

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So Ann, growing up in such an ultra competitive household that prepared Ann for the success

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she would later enjoy.

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She started playing basketball at the tender age of four years old guys.

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Talk about starting early.

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Wow.

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She even broke her ankle trying to keep up with her older brother Dave as they were

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doing drills in the house and so forth.

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She broke her ankle.

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But nonetheless Ann persevered and we fast forward to her high school days.

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Initially she attended Connolly High School in Anaheim, California but would move on to

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Sonora High School and that was in La Habra, California.

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And she went to that school because they felt that she was able to flourish better in a

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more competitive environment which Sonora High School provided.

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Ann was a seven letter player in sports like basketball, softball, field hockey, tennis,

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badminton, track and field.

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I mean she did everything but clean up the gym and did.

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And while playing as a basketball player the team compiled an 80 and five record during

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her playing days.

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And she accumulated up to 13 MVPs in a variety of high school sports.

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So talk about somebody covering the whole gamut and was able to do that.

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She became the first high school student to play internationally for a U.S. national team

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when she was named to the team while they were qualifying for the 1975 Feebo World Cup.

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And then later this 1975 Pan Am Games.

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So Ann went to UCLA on a full scholarship.

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She's the first woman to do so.

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And I actually have excerpt of why she chose UCLA.

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And this is what was said.

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This is Ann.

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Ann didn't even sink in.

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For me it was like you're kidding.

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I can go and get an education at UCLA so I didn't really understand the impact that

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it would have in years later.

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I didn't understand the impact of what getting a scholarship would mean and what going to

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UCLA would mean.

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She was also asked in an interview why UCLA.

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Kenny Washington was the woman's basketball coach at UCLA.

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And my brother David and Kenny were roommates when they were playing at UCLA.

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So it kind of fell into place.

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So when David and Kenny came home one weekend Kenny said how'd you like to go to UCLA.

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We'll give you a scholarship.

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I was gobsmacked really.

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I had no words for it to be a senior in high school and have no idea what you're going

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to do.

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And then to be able to go to such a university like that where my brother was was pretty awe-inspiring.

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So needless to say Ann was excited about the opportunity.

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So she goes to UCLA on the full scholarship for the four years.

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And of course UCLA is the same college as her brother Dave attended.

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She was coached by Kenny Washington as we said a former UCLA player who played with

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her brother Dave.

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After her freshman year she was named All-American and at the same time her brother Dave as a

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senior was also named All-American.

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So they became the first brother and sister combination to do this at UCLA.

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And then this feat wasn't duplicated at UCLA until just this past season where Jaime Jaquez

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Jr. and his sister Gabrielle were both named All-Americans.

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Him for basketball and her for basketball as well.

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And would go on to have a stellar playing career at UCLA.

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She would be later coached by Billie Moore.

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Her last two seasons in fact.

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And in her senior year is when Ann would reach the pinnacle.

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UCLA ends up winning the AIAW championship in her senior season and they won it over

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Maryland 90 to 74.

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And on that team with her was Denise Curry another All-American in her right.

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Also in Ann's senior year she was the first player male or female to record a quadruple

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double.

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It was in a game on February 18th 1978 and she did it against Stephen F. Austin University.

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This was a stat line guys.

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20 points 14 rebounds 10 assists and 10 steals.

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Wow.

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Talk about coming up big time.

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And it just that.

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She finished her career at UCLA with a 17.4 point average.

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Also 8.4 rebounds 5.6 assists and 4.2 steals.

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And upon graduation and held 12 of the 13 major school career records.

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And quite the player I must say.

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Internationally starting with the 1975 she played the Pan Am games.

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Also she played in 1975 the FIBA World Cup.

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Then she would go on to play for the 1976 Olympic qualifying team in that tournament.

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And then later she would play in the 1976 Olympics.

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And that was the first well let me hold off on that.

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Then she would go on in 1977.

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She played in the World University games.

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Then in 1979 she would go on to play for the Pan Am games.

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She played in that the FIBA World Cup in 1979.

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Also the Spartaklade.

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She played in that also.

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And in the R. Williams Jones Cup.

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So in total and accumulated four gold medals and three silver medals.

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So pretty awesome stuff.

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And of course it includes the first women's US team to play in the Olympics ever.

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And that was in 1976.

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In fact that team is going to be honored at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

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this September because the entire team was inducted.

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And that team was coached by actually Ann's college coach Billie Moore.

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And on that team was Lucy Harris.

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I did a player spotlight on her last year.

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Also Nancy Lieberman was on that team.

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Patricia Roberts, Cindy Brogdon and a host of others.

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Including Pat Head who we would know later as Pat Summit.

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The great coach of Tennessee.

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And Ann was a starter on this team.

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So pretty prolific stuff guys that's for sure.

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Okay so with Ann's career done at UCLA she was still competing internationally.

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She was the first woman player to be drafted by a pro team in the women's professional

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basketball league which was known as the WBL at the time.

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She was drafted by the Houston Angels in 1978 but she never played for that team because

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at the time if you signed a pro contract that means you could not compete in international

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play.

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So Ann knew that so she held off on competing as far as in that pro league.

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So that's when she go on to those several tournaments in 1979.

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And she did play in the league it was in 1979-80 season which was a rookie season.

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She ended up being named Co-MVP along with Molly Bolin.

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And she actually played for the New Jersey gyms at the time.

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Now Ann was able to compete in the WBL that season that I mentioned because in preparing

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for the 1980 Olympics in the midst of that she got a call from Indiana Pacers owner at

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the time Sam Nassie who offered her a contract and a chance to try out for the Indiana Pacers.

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The owner at the time felt with the three point shot being introduced to the NBA that

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she would be a perfect fit for the team as far as three point shooting goes.

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But in order for Ann to accept signing the contract which was $50,000 at the time she'd

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have to give up her amateur eligibility which meant she would be missing the 1980 Olympics.

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Ann thought about it she sought the council family and helping her make this all important

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decision and her family gave their full-throated support and guidance to her.

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Of course you had your naysayers, those that expressed their dismay with her doing this.

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One of those people being the Indiana Pacers head coach at the time Slick Leonard who wasn't

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thrilled at all that his new owner put him in that position where he had to try out Ann

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for the team.

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And also the media at the time thought it was all a publicity stunt by the Indiana Pacers.

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So you had your naysayers there.

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And this would not be of course the first time that Ann has had to compete with boys

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or men as she did so while playing in high school.

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She was on the boys summer league and this was between her junior and senior year in

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high school and she had a real chance to make it to the boys varsity team.

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But much like this instance here you had your naysayers and those that kind of tried to

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talk her out of doing so.

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And they were successful with that and that I think kind of prepared her for this moment.

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And then also Ann would later compete against men and female athletes across all sports

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in a TV series called the superstars but she did this after this tryout by the way.

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She did it from 1980 through 1983.

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She was a three time women's champ in this series and there were times also where she

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had to compete against men including Renaldo Nehemiah, the track star, also another track

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star Edwin Moses, basketball great Rick Barry and also in this competition were men like

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Mark Spitz the famous swimmer also OJ Simpson.

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We know him from football, Joe Frazier the boxer of course legendary boxer and Mark

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Gastineau of New York Jets fame in football.

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So she would be competing amongst those athletes there as well as female athletes like Nancy

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Lieberman her teammate on that 1976 Olympic team as well as Lynette Woodard another basketball

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great in many of a female athletes across the spectrum of sports.

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But let's double back to the tryout.

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So Ann went about this tryout like she does everything else in competition given her

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very all she was preparing herself physically mentally and psychologically.

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She did six to eight hours of workouts each day leading up to the tryouts and the tryouts

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consisted of three days with them having to do two a days which meant two practices in

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a day and these tryouts occurred in September of 1979.

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So Ann understood the assignment and she did very well in these tryouts so much so it

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impressed the coach Slick Leonard although in the final analysis she didn't make the

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roster she did impress all who witnessed those tryouts including coach Leonard who said he

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was proud of what she was able to do during these tryouts.

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So Ann Meyers she makes her mark in NBA history and sports history with this tryout and the

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tryout actually did open a new door for Ann the world of sports broadcasting.

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What happened was her brother Mark who was an attorney at the time negotiated her contract

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with the Indiana Pacers and he made it into a personal service contract which means that

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if she didn't make the team she would still be part of the organization in other capacities

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such as public relations and also broadcasting.

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This would open a huge door for Ann she would then become the first female color commentator

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in the NBA and this was also around the time ESPN first launched their channel as the first

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all sports network so her coming into the broadcasting business coincided with ESPN's

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birth so Ann would go on to a illustrious broadcasting career one that spans over four

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decades including covering the NBA the Indiana Pacers of course we know of and most recently

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the Phoenix Suns she did color commentary for them from 2012 to 2018.

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The WNBA she was the lead analyst when the league first began and she did that from 1997

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to 2002 and most recently she now does color commentary for the Phoenix Mercury.

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Also she would be an announcer during the 1984 Olympics also for ESPN she would work

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there doing both men's and women's NCAA basketball and she's been with them since 1983.

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She also did the Goodwill games she did in 1986 1990 and 1994 she's also done NCAA women's

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softball and also volleyball and now to her obtaining the surname Drysdale. Ann met her

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future husband Don Drysdale. Don Drysdale the former LA Dodger and Hall of Fame pitcher

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they met while Ann was competing in the superstar series the ABC series and that was during

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1980 they started out as friends and then it later blossomed into a full-fledged relationship

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and then the two would marry November 1st 1986 thus becoming the first Hall of Fame couple

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in their given sport to marry and once again making history of course with her marriage

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and the marriage was only for over six and a half years Don unfortunately passed away

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July 3rd 1993 from a heart attack and that occurred in Montreal Canada and he was age

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56 and actually that occurred 20 days before his birthday they had three children together

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Don Jr Darren and daughter Drew who was born in March of 1993 just months before Don's

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passing and Myers Drysdale she has an autobiography I love the title of it you let some girl beat

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you the story of and Myers Drysdale and that came out on May 15th 2012 she was the author

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and co-author of the book was Johnny Ravina and the forward was written by Julius Irving

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so Julius Irving had a high amount of respect for Ann Meyers and her game so guys that is

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Ann Meyers career in a nutshell let us talk about her accolades shall we four time Kodak

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All American at UCLA she won the Honda Sports Award and that was given to the most outstanding

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woman's college basketball player and that was in 1978 also in 1978 she got the Broderick

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Cup for most outstanding woman athlete in collegiate sports so she was inducted into

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the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 she was inducted into the UCLA

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Athletics Hall of Fame as the first woman to do so and that was in 1988 her number 15

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Jersey retired along with teammate Denise Curry as well as UCLA men's basketball greats

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Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton and this happened in 1990 the criteria for getting

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your jersey retired you have to have been a three time all American she was inducted

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into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 she is the first woman to compete

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in the Celebrity Golf Association Championship that was in 1994 her player Jersey was retired

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at her alma mater Sonora High School in 1995 she was inducted into the National High School

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Hall of Fame in 1995 as well she was presented with the Mel Greenberg Media Award and this

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is given by the women's college basketball association and this occurred in 1999 and

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this award goes to a member of the media who has best displayed a commitment to women's

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basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women's game so she got that

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award most recently who received that award Holly Rowe from ESPN and was also inducted

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as a charter member into the women's basketball Hall of Fame also in 1999 she was named as

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a wooden all time all American by the wooden award in conjunction with the LA Athletic

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Club and this was in 2001 and so fittingly so because she spent a lot of time with John

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Wooden John Wooden being have coached her brother so and had access to John Wooden was

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able to get those pearls of wisdom from him so and also received a NCAA Silver Anniversary

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Award on the 25th anniversary of her UCLA team winning their national championship joining

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William Naulis, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton as the only UCLA athletes to receive this

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prestigious award and was also inducted into inaugural class of the FIBA Hall of Fame as

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one of three recipients who were US citizens the other two being coach Dean Smith of course

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the University of North Carolina and Bill Russell when he played for the University

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of San Francisco and was a sports ambassador for the Special Olympics the Southern California

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Division and she did that for over 30 years she's been involved in that organization and

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also she is a board member of the Lot Impact Trophy and this is given to college footballs

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defensive impact player of the year and this award is named after pro great Ronnie Lott

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so who says UCLA doesn't get along with USC so they did in this regard so that is her accolades

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that's all her accolades there a couple of quotes that I have from her and then I'm going to close

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it out this is Ann talking about the WNBA of which she's been such a part of that what I say about

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the WNBA the passion not only that the fans have for the teams but the players in playing the game

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you'll find watching them play that you'll get caught up and appreciate the passion they have

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for their work so that's Ann talking about the league that she covers and that is the WNBA this

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is regarding her tryout we'll give you that quote and then we'll close it out it was the best decision

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I have ever made in my life when I was in high school I played on the boys summer league team

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between my junior and senior year in high school which I mentioned earlier I had planned on playing

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on the boys varsity team during the regular school season but a lot of things were said

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when you're in high school emotions are changing and you're physically changing so you care about

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what people say so even though I had played on the summer league team as much as I wanted to play

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on the boys varsity team I let people talk me out of it after UCLA all of a sudden I get a call from

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the Indiana Pacers Sam Nassi who's the new owner and lives in California he said how would you like

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a tryout my brother Dave was already playing for the Bucks and I looked back five years before that

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and said well people talk me out of it one time I'm not going to let them talk me out of it a

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second time I thought it was an opportunity of a lifetime it was not an easy decision for me but

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once I made the decision I thought I'm just going to put everything into it I know physically

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mentally and emotionally it was the best I was ever prepared to play the game of basketball

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I probably worked out six to eight hours a day just trying to train for this one opportunity

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certainly publicity was involved and I don't deny that but I was never one that went out and

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started and then well I'll read this last one and this is about her getting a fair shot in that

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tryout with the Pacers it was difficult for a slick Leonard who was the coach because he came from

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a generation where women were in the home raising a family and not out on the basketball court with

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a bunch of guys I'm sure he was put in a very difficult position but I was 24 years old and

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focused on me and nothing else and trying to do the best that I could did I get a fair shake I would

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have liked to have gone on to the next round of the free agent rookie camp I went through the three

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day process we have two practices a day so we had six practices and then I was basically let go even

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though it was a personal service contract where I was working for the organization when slick told me

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hey you did great we love that you came out here but we're going to move on I was not happy I was

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hurt I was broken I thought I had played well enough to go on to the next level but it opened so

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many doors and gave me the opportunity to meet Don and my life changed so that pretty much tells

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the story there and like I said that opened up an opportunity for her to meet her future husband

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when she went on to compete in the superstar series so all right with that said that is it

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so Ann Meyers Drysdale, we salute you we thank you for all of you done for the game of basketball

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especially women's basketball I first started watching college basketball any of the big games

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especially on ESPN that was the voice I heard and she knew what she was talking about she was

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very well versed in the game and I definitely appreciated my time watching women's basketball

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with her doing the color commentary that's for sure and much like today you have now Rebecca Lobo

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who's fantastic in the booth think of her I think of Sarah Kustov she does next game but she also

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covers some WNBA as well and there's others as well that I can name but and my set the standard

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when it comes to women doing color commentary in the booth for basketball so Ann Meyers Drysdale

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we salute you we appreciate you all that you've given to the game and so on and so forth and may

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you continue to do so and be a bright light on the women's game of basketball as you always have

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done with that thousand watt smile that you have as well we appreciate you all right guys so that's

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going to do it for me this is my birthday special edition episode guys you know where to find me

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all things basketball with gd.com I'm on all the platforms so on so forth Youtube all those places

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so all right guys and you can support me through Anchor, Buy Me a Coffee all that's on my website so

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go there guys all right so that's it for me I'll come back conference finals are wrapping up just

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about so I'll give you a full breakdown of that I still have to break down the next season I'll do

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that as well and few news items that's out there that has to be addressed I'll jump on those as well

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all right guys that's it all right so I thank you once again for listening and we'll talk soon

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so my peeps if you like what you're listening to you can go to my website

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allthingsbasketballwithgd.com you can also email me at thatsportsduegd at gmail.com

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to support this podcast you can go to my paypal and that email is thatsportsduegd

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at gmail.com also on my Anchor page I have a support button there that you can also use

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to help the podcast I'm on all the major platforms like Anchor, Spreaker, Google Podcasts, Amazon,

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Soundcloud, Youtube, Castbox, Radio Public, Podchaser just to name a few and also you can

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find me on social media, facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok, clubhouse and fanbase so

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once again I thank you for listening and supporting this podcast and take care and be safe