Ignatius L Hoops
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http://www.startribune.com/same-bar...reer-where-she-starred-as-a-player/500101892/
Kent Youngblood:
But what she can’t escape is her history of success and the expectations that come with it.
“There is a lot of pressure,” Fred Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. As a player, he was a part of the 2003-04 Timberwolves team that made it to the Western Conference finals. (When, he said, he watched a whole lot of the Gophers women’s team that was making a run of its own.) Before that he owned Ames, Iowa. He grew up, starred in high school and won a state title there. He stayed there to become a standout at Iowa State. In 1993, he got write-in votes for mayor.
“You care so much for the people, the fan base, the people who supported you your whole life,” Hoiberg said. “But I never would have taken the job at Iowa State if I didn’t think I could be successful. And I’m certain Lindsay is the same way. Look at her past. To get where she got with her career, you have to have both talent and work ethic.”
Hoiberg returned to coach at Iowa State for five seasons, from 2010 to 2015, that included four trips to the NCAA tournament and one trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
“I’ve always admired Lindsay,” Hoiberg said. “She always did things the right way. You know she’s a student of the game.”
Like Hoiberg, Whalen has never been a head coach. Like Hoiberg, Whalen surrounded herself with people she could trust in hiring a staff. Like Hoiberg, who brought much of Flip Saunders’ playbook with him to Iowa State, Whalen has borrowed from her WNBA coaches, Reeve and Mike Thibault with the Connecticut Sun.
...
Gophers assistant Danielle O’Banion — who was an assistant when Whalen played at the U — is most struck by how much Whalen hasn’t changed since her playing days.
Like she did as a captain, Whalen treats people in the program like family. Everyone Whalen deals with gets a nickname. Birthdays are remembered.
“That Lindsay is still here,” O’Banion said.
And the competitiveness? She’ll be expressive, but she also brings the stone face that anyone who has ever played with Whalen knows. Gophers assistant Kelly Roysland knows it. She was a freshman guard when the Gophers went to the Final Four.
“I remember her as a team-builder,” Roysland said. “Now, she’d give me a look when I’d miss a behind-the-back pass from her. And I see both as a coach. She hasn’t changed. She has stuck to her core values.”
Whalen went into this determined to be herself — the first piece of advice Reeve gave her.
Kent Youngblood:
But what she can’t escape is her history of success and the expectations that come with it.
“There is a lot of pressure,” Fred Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. As a player, he was a part of the 2003-04 Timberwolves team that made it to the Western Conference finals. (When, he said, he watched a whole lot of the Gophers women’s team that was making a run of its own.) Before that he owned Ames, Iowa. He grew up, starred in high school and won a state title there. He stayed there to become a standout at Iowa State. In 1993, he got write-in votes for mayor.
“You care so much for the people, the fan base, the people who supported you your whole life,” Hoiberg said. “But I never would have taken the job at Iowa State if I didn’t think I could be successful. And I’m certain Lindsay is the same way. Look at her past. To get where she got with her career, you have to have both talent and work ethic.”
Hoiberg returned to coach at Iowa State for five seasons, from 2010 to 2015, that included four trips to the NCAA tournament and one trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
“I’ve always admired Lindsay,” Hoiberg said. “She always did things the right way. You know she’s a student of the game.”
Like Hoiberg, Whalen has never been a head coach. Like Hoiberg, Whalen surrounded herself with people she could trust in hiring a staff. Like Hoiberg, who brought much of Flip Saunders’ playbook with him to Iowa State, Whalen has borrowed from her WNBA coaches, Reeve and Mike Thibault with the Connecticut Sun.
...
Gophers assistant Danielle O’Banion — who was an assistant when Whalen played at the U — is most struck by how much Whalen hasn’t changed since her playing days.
Like she did as a captain, Whalen treats people in the program like family. Everyone Whalen deals with gets a nickname. Birthdays are remembered.
“That Lindsay is still here,” O’Banion said.
And the competitiveness? She’ll be expressive, but she also brings the stone face that anyone who has ever played with Whalen knows. Gophers assistant Kelly Roysland knows it. She was a freshman guard when the Gophers went to the Final Four.
“I remember her as a team-builder,” Roysland said. “Now, she’d give me a look when I’d miss a behind-the-back pass from her. And I see both as a coach. She hasn’t changed. She has stuck to her core values.”
Whalen went into this determined to be herself — the first piece of advice Reeve gave her.