Lindsay Whalen returns to the #Gophers as the new Women's basketball Coach!!!!

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Surprised to hear she will continue to play for Lynx while being coach. Hope she has an experienced staff.
 

Coyle has now hired three big name coaches within days of their respective job openings. A far contrast to the committee and search agency approach we used to take.

Go Gophers!!
 



Coyle has now hired three big name coaches within days of their respective job openings. A far contrast to the committee and search agency approach we used to take.

Go Gophers!!

I agree with that. The committee approach always seemed so odd.
 


Surprised to hear she will continue to play for Lynx while being coach. Hope she has an experienced staff.

Different seasons, and basketball recruiting is completely different. Don't see this as a negative at all.
 



Different seasons, and basketball recruiting is completely different. Don't see this as a negative at all.

Isn't most (or at least a good portion of) recruiting done on the AAU circuit during the summer?

Still, long term great move.
 

I like the hire as well but my concern with her playing is that year one is very important. And given the lynx go far in the playoffs, she wouldn’t be with the team full time until a couple weeks before the start of the season.
 

If only GopherHole has a seperate section for men's and woman's basketball, if only...
 

I'm jazzed! Awesome hire, recruit the hard nose players like she is.... great character, even a better person. Go Gophers!!
 



She'll be at a disadvantage (maybe just a small one) with recruiting, but this is awesome!
 

Surprised to hear she will continue to play for Lynx while being coach. Hope she has an experienced staff.
Actually, there is precedent for this in the WNBA/NCAA. And, the WNBA season is more compressed this year - last game of the finals will be weeks earlier than this past season, which we wrapped up first week of October.
 

Wow. One of my co-workers who I talk Gophers sports with said she was hoping for this. Neither one of us saw it as a possibility since she is still playing. Home run!
 

Why is she going to be a good Big Ten head coach? That is so much different than being a player.

How come nobody has ever lobbied for "Fire Thibs, Hire Garnett", yet in this instance with womens basketball it is seen as a perfect fit?

A common thread I see with all of Coyle's coaching hires, in contrast to how previous ADs were perceived/what previous ADs did, is that if Coyle's new coaches fail, Coyle isn't in any kind of position to be a fall guy for the failures. They are their own fall guys and he will be in a position to step on them if they fail.
 

Welcome back Lindsay! I like the hire. Recruiting evaluation is definitely in the summer, so in year one she will be at somewhat of a disadvantage. But, how many coaches can walk into a recruits home and show them the WNBA Championship rings? I'm sure she has relationships, networks through playing that other coaches dream of. The typical AAU, high school coaches relationships will come and be easier with her name recognition.

Why think she can coach? She plays like a coach on the floor surpassing most point guards by a pretty big margin with this ability. She wins on whatever team she is a part of...AAU, Gophers, Connecticut, USA Basketball, Europe, Lynx.
She is a leader. She will establish her competitive, tenacious personality in her teams. She'll do great!

I'm guessing she'll retire after this WNBA season. She needs to play this year to fulfill her obligation to her teammates and their goal to win another WNBA title. All good. Do the right thing.
 

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that a head coaching job of this level is awarded to a person who never coached, never managed people, and never ran any program of any kind up until this point?

I'm a big Whalen fan, but I'm a little worried about her skills in managing people, recruiting, and laying out a vision for the program.
If someone with such little experience were to succeed at this, it would be Whalen, but for a Big Ten job, I don't know how people are calling it a home run hire when it's not an experienced choice.
 

Why is she going to be a good Big Ten head coach? That is so much different than being a player.

How come nobody has ever lobbied for "Fire Thibs, Hire Garnett", yet in this instance with womens basketball it is seen as a perfect fit?

A common thread I see with all of Coyle's coaching hires, in contrast to how previous ADs were perceived/what previous ADs did, is that if Coyle's new coaches fail, Coyle isn't in any kind of position to be a fall guy for the failures. They are their own fall guys and he will be in a position to step on them if they fail.

Your kidding right? You seriously don't remember people suggesting KG become an Assistant head coach for the Wolves. KG never wanted too, but many Wolves people wanted him to. He may have done it for Flip.
 

It's definitely unique an puts on the map from a conversation perspective. From a recruiting standpoint it's very interesting. Imagine being recruited by someone while watching them play in the WNBA Finals on tv. It's interesting to me examining the opportunities/barriers for recruiting with the Lynx/Lynx players, etc. Are recruits going to be "accidentally" running into Maya Moore while on their visit, kind of like what happens at OSU football, UNC basketball, etc.? Will recruits be allowed to visit Lynx facilities? For a girl who wants to play at the highest levels, there isn't a coach out there that has more recent experience/know-how of what it takes toget there.
 

Maybe the Lynx will have a few practices over at the University to help Lindsay with her commute. Be an excellent time to have a recruit visit!
 

Great hire, although it's silly she plans to continue to play with the Lynx this year. Especially with her never having been a coach. I predict she won't play after consideration.
 

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that a head coaching job of this level is awarded to a person who never coached, never managed people, and never ran any program of any kind up until this point?

I'm a big Whalen fan, but I'm a little worried about her skills in managing people, recruiting, and laying out a vision for the program.
If someone with such little experience were to succeed at this, it would be Whalen, but for a Big Ten job, I don't know how people are calling it a home run hire when it's not an experienced choice.

Do you really feel the future was brighter with Marlene than it will be with Lindsay?
 

Maybe the Lynx will have a few practices over at the University to help Lindsay with her commute. Be an excellent time to have a recruit visit!
I bet playing the Lynx home championship games at the Barn sweetened the prospect. We sure loved going to the games there!
 

Welcome back Lindsay! I like the hire. Recruiting evaluation is definitely in the summer, so in year one she will be at somewhat of a disadvantage. But, how many coaches can walk into a recruits home and show them the WNBA Championship rings? I'm sure she has relationships, networks through playing that other coaches dream of. The typical AAU, high school coaches relationships will come and be easier with her name recognition.

Why think she can coach? She plays like a coach on the floor surpassing most point guards by a pretty big margin with this ability. She wins on whatever team she is a part of...AAU, Gophers, Connecticut, USA Basketball, Europe, Lynx.
She is a leader. She will establish her competitive, tenacious personality in her teams. She'll do great!

I'm guessing she'll retire after this WNBA season. She needs to play this year to fulfill her obligation to her teammates and their goal to win another WNBA title. All good. Do the right thing.
She worked extensively with Sylvia Fowles to help her develop her game.
 

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that a head coaching job of this level is awarded to a person who never coached, never managed people, and never ran any program of any kind up until this point?

I'm a big Whalen fan, but I'm a little worried about her skills in managing people, recruiting, and laying out a vision for the program.
If someone with such little experience were to succeed at this, it would be Whalen, but for a Big Ten job, I don't know how people are calling it a home run hire when it's not an experienced choice.

I believe she majored in People Management at the University.
 

So when does Bueckers commit after hearing of the Whalen hire? Today? Tomorrow?
 

I think its fine that she is going to continue playing. Its likely one, maybe two more seasons. As with most Gopher programs, they need continuity and if this goes well, I'd be surprised if Whalen left for another job.

Also, had she decided to retire suddenly from the Lynx, she would be putting her team in a very tough spot. She is a starting guard for them. Can't just bail weeks before the season. No one expected this to be her career path (this quickly) so it may take a year to get comfortable.

This will be good for attendance and recruiting. You solve those two parts of the equation, and you'll be a winner.
 

Do you really feel the future was brighter with Marlene than it will be with Lindsay?

No.
I think there may have been other more qualified hires who have recruited, visited high schools, actually coached, before.

In no way am I saying she doesn't know basketball. It's more of a question of whether she was the best hire and whether going from zero experience to coaching in the Big Ten is too big of a step or not for her.
 




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