Vivian Stringer: From Tragedy to Triumph and Into the Basketball Hall of Fame

Of all the 2009 inductees, C. Vivian Stringer’s path to the pantheon of basketball royalty is the most unlikely and remarkable. Famously resilient, fiercely competitive and uncannily charismatic, Stringer overcame a string of devastating personal tragedies and the humblest of familial circumstances to gain entry into the hallowed hall of sports immortality. Stringer gained almost idol-like status from her basketball pupils for sculpting winning franchises at three separate schools, the first time anyone — man or woman — had ever achieved such a feat in basketball. She has accumulated 825 victories over her august career, the third most winningest coach in history.
Yet Stinger was in utter shock when that call from the Hall came crashing in on her daily routine of molding promising young women on the basketball court.
“It’s surreal; it’s unimaginable. I don’t have the words to express my deep sense of gratitude. …To stand on the same stage as these legends, people that I just really admire, it’s beyond anything that I can explain. It’s a moment that you want to hold onto forever in your life,” says Stringer. “It almost catches my breath to think that I would be honored on this stage and I will have an opportunity to be a part of basketball history. It’s a dream come true — especially for a lady who was a coal miner’s daughter.”
Intertwined with her many successes are setbacks that are spine-chilling. In 1981, Stringer’s 14-month-old daughter was suddenly stricken with spina bifida — never to speak or walk again — yet Stringer led her historically black school to the national championship. In 1991, her husband suddenly died from a heart attack, but that’s the same year Stringer led another team to the Final Four.
That fortitude in the face of adversity is exactly why Stringer’s illustrious colleagues bestowed a shower of accolades on her:
“She became a confidante to the family,” said fellow inductee Michael Jordan said. “It gives me great pleasure to go into the Hall of Fame with her. She’s a true credit to her profession and her sport.”
“There [are] just certain people that have a certain elegance about them, that care about their athletes, that care about their community, and she’s just one of those people. She just has such a grace about her,” said David Robinson.
John Stockton first met Stringer at the Final Four in Detroit last April when the class was announced. Yet Stockton discerned something special about her right away. 
“I’m just so impressed with her on every level. There’s just a presence about her. I can see why she’s successful and why her girls love to come back and be around her. I mean, I was looking forward to coming back and being around her,” he said. –terry shropshire