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

[Rouser]

I believe she majored in People Management at the University.

The People Management program... a feeder system for D1 college coaches! Hey, I am a hug Whalen fan and its exciting that she is our coach. That said, I did raise an eyebrow at the hire.. but I am on board. Go Gophers!

 

[theTurning]

Not sure why everyone is raving about this as if it’s some great hire. Besides the complete lack of experience she also has the personality and charisma of dish soap. How will that translate to coaching and recruiting?

Either way it will be an interesting experiment to watch.

 

[gopher7]

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[fanfromthevalley]

For livingat45north and any others.....Gopherhole does have a women's basketball forum. Go to the message board drop down and you'll see women's basketball forum. Not sure if the comment was posted to say "get this women's basketball stuff out of here" or if folks just weren't aware that forum was there. I hope it's the second reason. It is a very active forum there.

 

[Holy Man]

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Call me a killjoy, but if she is quietly being generous to her home town high school, why is it a good idea to broadcast it in a tweet? My guess is that she is doing it quietly for a reason. Great to know she's generous, but she's also due some privacy in that area if she wants it.

 

[shickmyjanski]

Considering the most attention the majority of people payed to the women's team was when she was playing, I think this experiment is worth a shot.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[GringaGopher]

Not sure why everyone is raving about this as if it’s some great hire. Besides the complete lack of experience she also has the personality and charisma of dish soap. How will that translate to coaching and recruiting?

Either way it will be an interesting experiment to watch.

Curious to know if you have ever met or talked with her ? Have you read any of the feedback from the current team members after she spent some practice time with them this winter ? I ask because if you talk to people who know her much better than most she has a great sense of humor, knows when her teammates need a lift and is an inspirational team member. I have only talked with her a half a dozen times but find your assessment of her " personality " incorrect. As to how successful she will be none of us can know but she has been a winner @ every level. I am excited about this hire and as for any new Gopher coach hope she is successful. Go Gophers !

 

[DeathClutch]

Not sure why everyone is raving about this as if it’s some great hire. Besides the complete lack of experience she also has the personality and charisma of dish soap. How will that translate to coaching and recruiting?

Either way it will be an interesting experiment to watch.

I'd say give her a shot. When she first started doing Wolves games, she was pretty stiff. Once she got more comfortable however, she got alot better, and she was actually pretty funny.

 

[Fire McHale]

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.

She watched and then spoke with Dawn Staley who did the same thing for 4 seasons and has moved her program from a 10-win team to a national championship. I understand that these are two different people in two different parts of the country but it's been demonstrated that it can work.

The U of MN rolled the dice on a combo platter of PR and professional experience and I love the gamble. They had little to lose in this case and I think the program needed this exact type of move. If it plays out as they hope we will have a legacy in our home state. If not, they wrote a check and tried and we can move on to an anonymous coach that will inspire nobody locally when they start.

 

[Tucker]

The U of MN rolled the dice on a combo platter of PR and professional experience and I love the gamble. They had little to lose in this case and I think the program needed this exact type of move. If it plays out as they hope we will have a legacy in our home state. If not, they wrote a check and tried and we can move on to an anonymous coach that will inspire nobody locally when they start.

This is it, right?
Her skills and history as a winner may translate to coaching the Golden Gophers or they may not, but I also love them taking the shot. I imagine Coyle thought the potential upside was very HIGH. So do I.
And maybe if Coach Whalen has one good season she won't bolt to Maryland or Texas Tech or some such God forsaken place...lol

 

[Big Ten Championship]

This is it, right?
Her skills and history as a winner may translate to coaching the Golden Gophers or they may not, but I also love them taking the shot. I imagine Coyle thought the potential upside was very HIGH. So do I.
And maybe if Coach Whalen has one good season she won't bolt to Maryland or Texas Tech or some such God forsaken place...lol

If it is about the money, we definitely will sell more tickets with Whalen.

 

[theTurning]

Curious to know if you have ever met or talked with her ?

Yes, I've spent time with her and her husband and fully stand by my opinion. I personally don't see her translating well to big time collegiate coaching, but like I said, it will be interesting to watch.

 

[BleedGopher]

per Marcus:

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said he conducted three interviews for the women’s basketball coaching job this week, but only one of the candidates was a home run hire.

Coyle knew when he convinced former University of Minnesota All-America pick and current Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen to take the job on Wednesday that it meant an instant recruiting jolt for the program.

“There’s not a living room she won’t be able to get into,” Coyle said at Whalen’s introductory news conference. “I watched her transform the state during her career here at Minnesota. Who she is and not only how she represents this institution, but the Lynx and the state of basketball in Minnesota — she is the Mount Rushmore.”

The emphasis on bringing in more talent to the Gophers is shared by Whalen, who recognizes how strong the state of Minnesota continues to be at the high school level.

“There are a ton of great players in this state,” she said Friday. “We’re going to do our best to make sure those players are wanting to stay home. It should be a fun and good challenge.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...ay-whalen-to-do-well-in-recruiting/479785303/

Go Gophers!!