Ski U Mah Gopher
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The Athletic Minnesota Sportsperson of the Year: Lindsay Whalen
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Ignatius L Hoops
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One item from the article:
But someone Whalen says she wouldn’t mind her career following is Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, who coached against Whalen as a Gopher in her first season as head coach of the Hawkeyes, and will stand across from her on the sideline later this season.
“I guess we were freshmen together,” Bluder said.
Bluder, in her 19th season as head coach of Iowa, has guided the Hawkeyes to 17 postseason appearances, including 13 NCAA Tournaments. She entered the 2018-19 season with 723 career wins, coaching in her home state like Whalen. Two of her assistants have been by her side all 19 seasons, plus eight years at Drake before that.
“I kind of look at her like it’d be amazing if I have that type of career here at Minnesota where I was here for a long time,” Whalen said.
Bluder is gracious talking about an opponent and is proud to see a woman continue to head a major program. Her Hawkeyes upset Whalen’s Gophers in the first round of the 2003 Big Ten tournament and she watched the Gophers go from sparsely attended games at the Maturi Pavilion to frenzied popularity in Whalen’s final season. She says a supportive administration and assistants are important as a head coach, but so is changing.
“I do remember making mistakes and learning from them, but that’s a part of growth,” Bluder said. “I’m a different coach now than I was 20 years ago or even 30 years ago because you learn and you evolve. I think you have to make some mistakes in order to get better. That’s how an athlete or anyone gets better: actually going out on a limb a little bit, trying and adjusting.”
But someone Whalen says she wouldn’t mind her career following is Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, who coached against Whalen as a Gopher in her first season as head coach of the Hawkeyes, and will stand across from her on the sideline later this season.
“I guess we were freshmen together,” Bluder said.
Bluder, in her 19th season as head coach of Iowa, has guided the Hawkeyes to 17 postseason appearances, including 13 NCAA Tournaments. She entered the 2018-19 season with 723 career wins, coaching in her home state like Whalen. Two of her assistants have been by her side all 19 seasons, plus eight years at Drake before that.
“I kind of look at her like it’d be amazing if I have that type of career here at Minnesota where I was here for a long time,” Whalen said.
Bluder is gracious talking about an opponent and is proud to see a woman continue to head a major program. Her Hawkeyes upset Whalen’s Gophers in the first round of the 2003 Big Ten tournament and she watched the Gophers go from sparsely attended games at the Maturi Pavilion to frenzied popularity in Whalen’s final season. She says a supportive administration and assistants are important as a head coach, but so is changing.
“I do remember making mistakes and learning from them, but that’s a part of growth,” Bluder said. “I’m a different coach now than I was 20 years ago or even 30 years ago because you learn and you evolve. I think you have to make some mistakes in order to get better. That’s how an athlete or anyone gets better: actually going out on a limb a little bit, trying and adjusting.”