Dawn Plitzuweit Named New Gopher Head Coach!

[DarthGopher]

It is unfortunate that someone in Minnesota leaked the news before she had a chance to talk with her team and the school. It likely was a done deal yesterday, but had to be backed off to allow her to do some damage control.

How do you know it was someone in Minnesota?

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Great hire. She's a great coach and did a phenomenal job at USD.

 

[SHGopher]

George Seifert won two Super Bowls.

(above) that Bill Walsh built.

Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl in Tampa with the team Tony Dungy built.

 

[ISUnorth]

Man, I have to give a tip of the hat the Gopher's marketing peeps. I am not an alumni, donor or season ticket holder, just an occasional ticket buyer and I still get emails like this. They REALLY do a good job reaching out to potential fans.

 

[bigticket1]

How do you know it was someone in Minnesota?

You think that she leaked it ? There are two possible sources of the info. Either Plitzuweit or someone in the Minnesota athletic dept.

 

[DarthGopher]

She clearly has a track record of winning basketball at her previous stops. Time will tell, but this looks like a very solid hire. She will have a nice nucleus right out of the gate.

Get 'er done!

 

[Bad Gopher]

And?

LOL, I'm sure Pam is still available. Too bad you weren't on the search committee!

 

[Bad Gopher]

I'm stoked. Looking forward to going to some games!

 

[DarthGopher]

You think that she leaked it ? There are two possible sources of the info. Either Plitzuweit or someone in the Minnesota athletic dept.

No. I'm just saying that without evidence, you are speculating someone from Minnesota leaked it. Lots of grubby fingers have their hand in this cookie jar. Could have been her agent. Or someone at WVU. Or there are beat writers looking to be the first to break news like this all the time. Could be any of those people, or, as you implied, someone from Minnesota.

The welfare of the players affected has always played second fiddle to these coaching changes. It is the ugly business side of college athletics, unfortunately.

 

[Holy Man]

I'm stoked. Looking forward to going to some games!

I’ll share tickets. I have good reason to go next two years.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

It is unfortunate that someone in Minnesota leaked the news before she had a chance to talk with her team and the school. It likely was a done deal yesterday, but had to be backed off to allow her to do some damage control.

You're forgeting the tweets from Mitchell Northam and Chantel Jennings. Pretty safe to assume WVA was contacted a week ago

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I don’t follow women’s college basketball as closely as men’s, but I’m a little surprised there isn’t more excitement about the hire. She has a proven track record and she is poached from another P5 program after a successful season.

The resume really checks out. Am I missing something?

 

[Lynx]

I don’t have access to the Strib article referenced in this ESPN post. At the end it says Battle announced she plans to return next year. This is the first time I read that, and if true is amazing news and makes me even more excited for what our new coach can accomplish with the team next season.

Plitzuweit named Gophers women's hoops coach

Minnesota has named Dawn Plitzuweit as the school's new women's basketball coach, replacing Lindsay Whalen, who stepped down after five years earlier this month.

www.espn.com

 

[Bad Gopher]

I’ll share tickets. I have good reason to go next two years.

Let's do this!

 

[Oatmeal Savage]

I don’t have access to the Strib article referenced in this ESPN post. At the end it says Battle announced she plans to return next year. This is the first time I read that, and if true is amazing news and makes me even more excited for what our new coach can accomplish with the team next season.

Plitzuweit named Gophers women's hoops coach

Minnesota has named Dawn Plitzuweit as the school's new women's basketball coach, replacing Lindsay Whalen, who stepped down after five years earlier this month.

www.espn.com

Here's the quote from the Strib piece: "It appears all four of former coach Lindsay Whalen's highly-touted 2022 recruiting class of Mara Braun, Mallory Heyer, Nia Holloway and Amaya Battle will return."

Gophers hire West Virginia coach Dawn Plitzuweit to replace Lindsay Whalen

Plitzuweit is a Wisconsin native who coached South Dakota to the Sweet 16 last season before spending one year as West Virginia's coach.

www.startribune.com

 

[SHGopher]

I don’t follow women’s college basketball as closely as men’s, but I’m a little surprised there isn’t more excitement about the hire. She has a proven track record and she is poached from another P5 program after a successful season.

The resume really checks out. Am I missing something?

Her name is a late surprise. She was never mentioned in news stories or under consideration lists. Only within the last few hours are we figuring out why, who, what.

 

[dpodoll68]

LOL, I'm sure Pam is still available. Too bad you weren't on the search committee!

Please point out where I said I wanted to hire Pam Borton. Thanks in advance.

So, to be clear, you're guaranteeing right now that Plitzuweit's achievements here will exceed one Final Four, two Sweet Sixteens, and a winning record in the Big Ten?

 

[gopherdudepart2]

---

You think that she leaked it ? There are two possible sources of the info. Either Plitzuweit or someone in the Minnesota athletic dept.

No it was someone In AD that leaked.

 

[GopherJack]

Hopefully she keeps and convinces all the commits to stay. This is a great hire!

 

[gwbbfan82]

I mean, Pam Borton went to a Final Four.

Instead of building on it the team imploded 3 years later.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I don’t follow women’s college basketball as closely as men’s, but I’m a little surprised there isn’t more excitement about the hire. She has a proven track record and she is poached from another P5 program after a successful season.

The resume really checks out. Am I missing something?

Honestly a lot of us thought with the buyout clauses at West Virginia contract, that this coach P was not within reach. I'm pumped Gophers are going to kick some butt on defense with this coach. Defense on the ball is going to be elite. No offense to coach Fleck.

 

[DarthGopher]

I don’t follow women’s college basketball as closely as men’s, but I’m a little surprised there isn’t more excitement about the hire. She has a proven track record and she is poached from another P5 program after a successful season.

The resume really checks out. Am I missing something?

No. I think you are seeing the effects of 5 years of underwhelming performance and exhaustion with all the team drama. It will take some time to overcome.

 

[SHGopher]

Hopefully she keeps and convinces all the commits to stay. This is a great hire!

People in the other thread today quote a news article (Star Tribune ESPN) where Amaya Battle will be coming back. It says all four of the Fab Four are coming back.

I have no idea about the incoming freshmen other than they are not ranked prospects but real interesting.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Hallman on line 1

 

[Bad Gopher]

Please point out where I said I wanted to hire Pam Borton. Thanks in advance.

So, to be clear, you're guaranteeing right now that Plitzuweit's achievements here will exceed one Final Four, two Sweet Sixteens, and a winning record in the Big Ten?

Thanks for asking. My personal philosophy on coaching hires is that you should never settle for anyone who you don't think has the potential to be a hall-of-famer. This is a hire I would have made based on that philosophy.

There are never any guarantees about the future, but her resume kicks complete ass over Borton's resume coming in, so it's perfectly realistic to expect that she'll be a superior coach and program builder. If the hope is not Sweet Sixteens, national title contention, and retirement from this position--as opposed to a firing, which was Borton's departure--when making a hire like this, then you're hiring the wrong person.

I will be very surprised if history does not eventually bear this out.

I'd actually like to see you on a search committee...or any committee...just to see what that's like.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

Hallman on line 1

LoL

 

[bigticket1]

You're forgeting the tweets from Mitchell Northam and Chantel Jennings. Pretty safe to assume WVA was contacted a week ago

For the past few days on this site, a poster has been reporting who had been contacted, who had done initial interviews and who were still in the running for the job. Either someone has totally been blowing smoke up our asses, or there is a leak connected with the athletic dept/university.

 

[Belzx009]

I know nothing about WV. I would like to see her grab Grace Larkin at USD who she would have recruited. I would also like her to got get Hottinger. Those are my first 2 requests haha

 

[gopheryote]

I'm a fan of both USD (undergrad) and UofM (grad school), and follow WBB pretty closely. Thought I would share a few things:
- She will win over the fanbase pretty quickly. Her focus on following a program that gives the players a successful future (when basketball is over) will be obvious pretty quick. It is really impressive to watch the players talk about the program/experience.
- For those wondering if she will jump quickly, Minnesota and Michigan were the only jobs that Coyote fans were nervous about. She has recruited MN/WI/IA very well, and by the time she left USD fans expected to win recruiting battles against the Gophers, ISU, WI, Nebraska, etc. Part of that is the culture, part was on-court success.
- One things that won't grab headlines is the ability to attract and retain players that typically sit at the end of the bench. Players that now go to UxD/xDSU will stay in MN. (Though St. Thomas may become a thorn in the area's side for recruiting)
- Expect defense to be much more physical, and good offensive players won't see the floor without a complete buy-in on more physical D.
- The offense is a true "positionless" system, which does require a different type of player. Everyone on the floor needs to be able to dribble, shoot, and pass or else the process gets bogged down.
- It will take a while to get the pronunciation right, so I will help you out. It is pronounced "Coach P". You may never learn how to spell it.
- He may retire from basketball, he may play another year, or he may transfer to Minnesota, but her son AJ could be an asset to the Gophers MBB team. He had a gruesome injury 2 seasons ago, and isn't fully recovered, but he and Max Absmas were shot-for-shot peers until the injury.

My take - this will change the trajectory of the program. It will be a source of pride in town soon.

 

[adamj95]

All 4 freshman will be returning!

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, all four members of Whalen's highly regarded freshman class -- Mara Braun, Mallory Heyer, Nia Holloway and Amaya Battle -- intend to remain at Minnesota despite Whalen's departure.