STrib: With all-white leadership, Gophers athletic department under fresh scrutiny to improve diversity; Coyle has hired 11 white head coaches

[UpAndUnder43]

I’m seriously interested on what people think of the Lindsey Whalen hire? By the argument I see a lot of people making on this board, it was, and should be considered a terrible hire.

I think Whalen was an interesting hire. Invigorated the fan base initially. Hard to know how that translates post-apocalypse. I like to think she can recruit--she has landed some highly regarded players so far. Obviously missed on some great locals players but seems to be gaining more and more traction. She hired a well established, knowledgeable and experienced staff.
I have no idea who else was considered. Never put any effort or thought into it. I went to a few games in her first season and had a blast. Fan base was into it, team was solid. Saw them beat a ranked team in front of a good crowd. Kicked her best player off the team in the 2nd year (I think) and then Covid. I'd say she has 3, maybe 4 more years, to make some real notable progress before she is looked at like Pitino is.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Wh

What’s your take on the Lindsey Whalen hire? I questioned the hire at the time, and now I question it even more. She should of never been hired.

I thought the Whalen hire was made solely on selling tickets and getting donations. Nothing to do with hiring the best basketball coach. I would’ve liked to see the U try and hire the women’s coach from South Dakota State. I think the Whalen hire was the one that is questionable. Otherwise seems like Coyle has hired no brainers who were well qualified for their positions.

 

[USAF]

For many reasons, Gates has to be the leading candidate.

Sadly, his skin color is somewhere on that list of reasons.

That's reality, and probably fair.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

I’m seriously interested on what people think of the Lindsey Whalen hire? By the argument I see a lot of people making on this board, it was, and should be considered a terrible hire.

I am just a casual observer of the women's team, but I have not been impressed by the on-court performance I have seen. I started a thread on the women's basketball board a month ago seeking input from people more closely watching and got limited feedback (not too surprisingly, I guess). Here's a link to that thread if you are interested.


Question from a casual fan about Whalen

 

[GringaGopher]

There are multiple threads on the women's BB forum about the Whalen hire. I was and remain a fan but this season has been disappointing. She has a great recruiting class coming in and has some talented freshman. Her teams have lacked what she had in her career which was a highly effective big. She has recruited MN. hard and has a couple of talented players coming in next season. Her record is close to Pitino's in her 3rd season. This years team was hit hard by Covid and injuries. In today's game against NB almost 60% of their points are not playing today. The bottom line is it's too early to know if Whalen will have long term success. She has been very honest about the big learning curve in the transition to coaching. If you look @ other highly successful coaches, Dawn Staley n Tara VanDerveer, her record is similar in the first 3 years.

 

[CPTMidnight]

I am glad we are focused on things other than the basketball coaching resume for this next hire. That strategy has served us well in the past.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Bring back Clem!

 

[Spaulding!No!]

This is precisely why UW gave Tommy Thompson the interim president job.

 

[BigGopher69]

Dennis gates is 30-28 career head coaching record, Dutcher is 93-30 with much more experience, mussleman 41-17 with Arkansas and lots of experience. If Gates was white we wouldn't be having the discussion. Its not about race its about hiring the best candidate, hiring off race is racist in itself especially when other candidates are more qualified and have Minnesota connections.

 

[Gopherfan84]

For many reasons, Gates has to be the leading candidate.

Sadly, his skin color is somewhere on that list of reasons.

That's reality, and probably fair.

I don’t disagree that his skin color can be looked at as a positive. It’s no different than us wanting a MN local or U of MN alum, cause he understands MN living. Gates growing up in a metro area will be helpful in selling a campus located in an urban setting as well.

I hate the article because it took the focus off Gates being a good coach and more on him being hired to fill a quota. He deserves better and deserves a shot to win the job fairly on merit. Sadly with articles like this, it will wreck his hiring with many. The larger issue isn’t the U’s hiring anyways. The issue is the development system we have for our young black coaches. That’s what needs to be fixed and written about imo.

 

[GopherPlaya]

I don’t disagree that his skin color can be looked at as a positive. It’s no different than us wanting a MN local or U of MN alum, cause he understands MN living. Gates growing up in a metro area will be helpful in selling a campus located in an urban setting as well.

I hate the article because it took the focus off Gates being a good coach and more on him being hired to fill a quota. He deserves better and deserves a shot to win the job fairly on merit. Sadly with articles like this, it will wreck his hiring with many. The larger issue isn’t the U’s hiring anyways. The issue is the development system we have for our young black coaches. That’s what needs to be fixed and written about imo.

I think too many black assistants get overlooked and stuck taking shitty opportunities as their first gig unless they have playing resume. How can we say the development system is poor when every big time school has a black assistant many who are associate HCs

 

[BigGopher69]

For many reasons, Gates has to be the leading candidate.

Sadly, his skin color is somewhere on that list of reasons.

That's reality, and probably fair.

I am so confused how is that fair? how is Gates a better candidate then Mussleman, Dutcher, Medved, Beilein, Smith?

 

[Stan]

Why was Whalen a no brainer? I could argue that was a terrible hire. You hire someone for a major division 1 program who has never coached a program a day in their life? Not even high school? I’m willing to guess there were multiple more qualified candidates who are black, or of color. Imagine Coyle hiring a coach for the men’s program with zero coaching experience. I’m sure the vast majority on here would love it.

Fair points.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

There are tons of NBA assistants that could step right in. There are College assistants and HC’s. It’s digging deep and finding the best candidates, not just the 10 the media pushes.

You think they're equally qualified?

 

[MennoSota]

It has become very apparent that our society has given a middle finger to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He pleaded with us to judge not by the color of a person's skin, but by the content of their character.
Coyle needs to hire the best coach because they are excellent at their job and their character is impeccable. I honestly couldn't care less what their skin pigmentation is, nor do I find any relevance in skin pigmentation as it pertains to a job search. Just hire the best person. That is it.

 

[GopherPlaya]

Dennis gates is 30-28 career head coaching record, Dutcher is 93-30 with much more experience, mussleman 41-17 with Arkansas and lots of experience. If Gates was white we wouldn't be having the discussion. Its not about race its about hiring the best candidate, hiring off race is racist in itself especially when other candidates are more qualified and have Minnesota connections.

If Gates we white he would def be in the discussion. Turn a dumpster fire around after 2 years and being one of the leading recruiters in FSU rebuild would definitely get him an opportunity to upgrade

 

[GopherPlaya]

It has become very apparent that our society has given a middle finger to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He pleaded with us to judge not by the color of a person's skin, but by the content of their character.
Coyle needs to hire the best coach because they are excellent at their job and their character is impeccable. I honestly couldn't care less what their skin pigmentation is, nor do I find any relevance in skin pigmentation as it pertains to a job search. Just hire the best person. That is it.

Martin Luther King was fighting to increase opportunities for Minorities and someone pointing out hiring practices would be something king would definitely stand for

 

[Gopherfan84]

I think too many black assistants get overlooked and stuck taking shitty opportunities as their first gig unless they have playing resume. How can we say the development system is poor when every big time school has a black assistant many who are associate HCs

The system is poor because they are not getting good low and mid major HC jobs. Too often you high major retreads get those jobs. I'd look into why many of our really good black assistant coaches are getting passed over and work to fix it. Is it the hiring process? Are they not winning the interviews? Is it the country club argument? Do we need to have AD's work on educating our boosters? Search firms? I don't know exactly why or how we fix the developmental system, but I do know that whatever we have currently is not working well enough.

 

[bonin21]

If there is one program that needs to hire the best possible candidate regardless of race, it's Gopher basketball.

Glad the comments section tore apart this article and had to be shut down because of all the support against the Strib.

 

[GopherPlaya]

The system is poor because they are not getting good low and mid major HC jobs. Too often you high major retreads get those jobs. I'd look into why many of our really good black assistant coaches are getting passed over and work to fix it. Is it the hiring process? Are they not winning the interviews? Is it the country club argument? Do we need to have AD's work on educating our boosters? Search firms? I don't know exactly why or how we fix the developmental system, but I do know that whatever we have currently is not working well enough.

You're spot on with this one

 

[howeda7]

If the candidate pool was the same as in 2013, I would take Gates in a heartbeat. We are in a situation where we have 4 coaches with MN ties who are similarly or better qualified.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I don’t know the answer, but the issue is that over 60% of athletes are of color and that’s not translating to coaches at any level (16%).
Anytime people say the coach never played at pro or college level, this is part of this issue. Hopefully Juwan Howard opens tons of doors for new coaching candidates.

You do realize this argument is just a game of three card monte right?

(1) People of color make up 60% of the people getting scholarships to play basketball? We should really look into why those scholarships are not distributed in an equitable fashion. I have been told equity should be a goal, I find it to be egregious that is so out of line with the general population.

(2) It's logically dishonest. If you used this same criteria in ANY other job, you'd be arguing against people of color. It actually hurts the cause. What does this do for other minorities? Women? Asian? There should really be zero of these folks? Until the NBA is ~3% female, Becky Hammon should not get a coaching job.

(3) This hurts people like Dennis Gates. He should be a candidate regardless of this stuff but this is a cut to his credentials. If I am told that one of his selling points is his ethnicity, then his resume stinks. People will use language like "if everything is equal" to try to lie and act like they want the choice to be merit based. It's pretend. Things are never "equal", someone is always a better fit and I don't believe that should be based on things like race, gender, sexuality, etc.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I think we are short changing Gates qualification by focusing on his 2 years as a head coach instead of looking at how many years he put in as an assistant. Gates has 15 years experience as an assistant 2 as a GA & 2 as the head man in charge. Dutcher only has 4 years head coaching experience and he will be 62 when next season starts. Gates is 41 and a rising HC. I think he is qualified for the job has experience coaching in the Midwest, South, and West Coast. Recruiting won't be an issue and if he puts the right staff together he will have success here

Right on, and that's a fair comparison with Dutcher. That said, it's 4 years vs 2 years, which is significant.

Generally, when it comes to long-time assistants and whether they're ready, there's only one way to find out. Michigan State took that leap of faith with Izzo, and their reward has been literally dynastic. He took that program up a level and sustained it.

 

[cjbfbp]

There are tons of NBA assistants that could step right in. There are College assistants and HC’s. It’s digging deep and finding the best candidates, not just the 10 the media pushes.

Good points. Unfortunately, there are time and money issues here and that always limits the number of candidates who can be interviewed and considered.

 

[MennoSota]

Martin Luther King was fighting to increase opportunities for Minorities and someone pointing out hiring practices would be something king would definitely stand for

MLK wanted no color barrier. He would cringe at person using color as a weapon to get a job.
As a Christian, MLK knew that Jesus looked at the content of ones character, not the color of ones skin. He knew the many verses that stated there is no gender barrier, no ethnic barrier, no barriers in Christianity. (This, sadly, does not mean there are no racist churches who ignore what their text tells them.) He wanted that ideal for US society.
Let us follow MLKs lead and hire the best person, with no regard for skin color. That designation is such a shallow means of distinction, it should be despised by all humans as a means of segregation.

 

[MaxyJR1]

If Gates we white he would def be in the discussion. Turn a dumpster fire around after 2 years and being one of the leading recruiters in FSU rebuild would definitely get him an opportunity to upgrade

Correct he wouldn't have been at FSU this long had he been white and done what he has done. That's an opinion unfortunately it can't be proven, but it fits the narrative of over 200 years.

 

[GopherPlaya]

MLK wanted no color barrier. He would cringe at person using color as a weapon to get a job.
As a Christian, MLK knew that Jesus looked at the content of ones character, not the color of ones skin. He knew the many verses that stated there is no gender barrier, no ethnic barrier, no barriers in Christianity. (This, sadly, does not mean there are no racist churches who ignore what their text tells them.) He wanted that ideal for US society.
Let us follow MLKs lead and hire the best person, with no regard for skin color. That designation is such a shallow means of distinction, it should be despised by all humans as a means of segregation.

This article is pointing out that there is a color barrier or you can't tell me people should be hired objectively but then at the same time say the best candidates are those with Minnesota Ties

 

[MaxyJR1]

Good points. Unfortunately, there are time and money issues here and that always limits the number of candidates who can be interviewed and considered.

That is where the system needs to change. Maybe the NCAA says, "Sorry, but you decided to fire your coach and you must now wait for a hiring window to hire a new one." Teams reach out and requests coaches to be part of interview process. Interviews for all schools interested in a new coach will take place over Final four weekend or another weekend. Signing period starts May 1st for athletes. Allows 3 weeks for new staffs to make connections.

Just a sample of a solution.

 

[MaxyJR1]

You do realize this argument is just a game of three card monte right?

(1) People of color make up 60% of the people getting scholarships to play basketball? We should really look into why those scholarships are not distributed in an equitable fashion. I have been told equity should be a goal, I find it to be egregious that is so out of line with the general population.

(2) It's logically dishonest. If you used this same criteria in ANY other job, you'd be arguing against people of color. It actually hurts the cause. What does this do for other minorities? Women? Asian? There should really be zero of these folks? Until the NBA is ~3% female, Becky Hammon should not get a coaching job.

(3) This hurts people like Dennis Gates. He should be a candidate regardless of this stuff but this is a cut to his credentials. If I am told that one of his selling points is his ethnicity, then his resume stinks. People will use language like "if everything is equal" to try to lie and act like they want the choice to be merit based. It's pretend. Things are never "equal", someone is always a better fit and I don't believe that should be based on things like race, gender, sexuality, etc.

You don't know the definition of equity. I stopped reading at that point.

 

[MennoSota]

This article is pointing out that there is a color barrier or you can't tell me people should be hired objectively but then at the same time say the best candidates are those with Minnesota Ties

I couldn't care less about the skin tone of Gopher coaches. Just hire the best coach.
Honestly, I don't care about the gender either. If Cheryl Reeves was willing to coach the Gophers men's basketball team and she showed her amazing resume, I would welcome her as coach.
If there is a Tibetan basketball coach who is the best coach available...hire them. It's just that simple.
Now, if you think Coyle is not hiring the best coach available, but is pandering to person's based on preferred skin tone, then let's here the argument. If that is the case, Mark Coyle should resign immediately.