It's Whalen!

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It’s an inspired, imaginative hire for a program that, with the exception of a season or two, has been an also-ran locally, in conference and nationally. Whalen is basketball royalty in Minnesota with a very long list of accomplishments...Final Four, All-American, Olympic gold medalist, multi-time WNBA champion. She’s accomplished everything a young player could hope to achieve, at the most important position on the court. Her upside to the program is so much bigger than the downside. This is a great hire.
 

rowdaboat said:
So really Lindsey is the cool coach but the top assistant is going to be the one doing the dirty work for the first couple years
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Assistants do all the dirty work all the time. This won’t be a lot of extra work for Whalen, especially since WNBA season runs from May 18 to September 16. Minnesota cannot start practice until after the middle of October.
 

adamj95 said:
Dawn Staley played in the WNBA for 8 seasons while coaching. It can be done, plus Whalen is near the end of her playing career.
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It can be done, but can it be done well? She’d be spreading herself thin at both jobs. I remember Stephanie White struggling with coaching the Fever right before she moved onto coaching Vanderbilt... and she’s an experienced coach.
 

Will Lindsay earn more as a coach than a WNBA player?

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All credit for this idea goes to Patrick Reusse. ;)

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highwayman said:
Assistants do all the dirty work all the time. This won’t be a lot of extra work for Whalen, especially since WNBA season runs from May 18 to September 16. Minnesota cannot start practice until after the middle of October.
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Actually, there's some practice allowed in addition to a concentration on training during summer session. Generally, every player is on campus during this time. Plus, there's a serious summer recruiting period.
 

Shades said:
It can be done, but can it be done well? She’d be spreading herself thin at both jobs. I remember Stephanie White struggling with coaching the Fever right before she moved onto coaching Vanderbilt... and she’s an experienced coach.
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Not to mention that she's struggling with Vanderbilt. Thus far she was a better TV analyst than college coach.
 

Ewert86PC said:
Will Lindsay earn more as a coach than a WNBA player?

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No salary announced yet but, yeah. A heckuva lot more. I'd guess three, four times as much. (The conspiracy theorist in me is starting to wonder if this has been in play for a long time, and perhaps Stollings didn't so much as jump as get a gentle push. Whalen was around a lot more than usual this past season -- at games and practices -- and has been very politic in her tweets, supporting the players.)
 

The key to Lindsey playing and coaching this summer will be the assistant coaches with which she is able to surround herself. She'll need some veteran coaches to help her navigate and leverage her priorities. I'm interested to see who she hires.
 



Ewert86PC said:
Will Lindsay earn more as a coach than a WNBA player?

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I'd be shocked if she didn't earn a lot more. Probably more by a multiple of at least four or five. The contract details will be interesting.
 

thatjanelpick said:
No salary announced yet but, yeah. A heckuva lot more. I'd guess three, four times as much. (The conspiracy theorist in me is starting to wonder if this has been in play for a long time, and perhaps Stollings didn't so much as jump as get a gentle push. Whalen was around a lot more than usual this past season -- at games and practices -- and has been very politic in her tweets, supporting the players.)
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Yeah, after I posted I found the max salary for WNBA players is $110,000. (WTF!!)

Still it's a lot more than I make, but the disparity between NBA players and WNBA players is unbelievable. Stephon Curry makes $33+ million per year.

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WindyCityGopher said:
It’s an inspired, imaginative hire for a program that, with the exception of a season or two, has been an also-ran locally, in conference and nationally. Whalen is basketball royalty in Minnesota with a very long list of accomplishments...Final Four, All-American, Olympic gold medalist, multi-time WNBA champion. She’s accomplished everything a young player could hope to achieve, at the most important position on the court. Her upside to the program is so much bigger than the downside. This is a great hire.
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^

Sure, she hasn't coached before and she'll play this season with the Lynx. But c'mon, it's Lindsay frickin' Whalen! She's a superstar Minnesota (Gopher) stud who leaves a trail of success behind her. How can it not be worth the shot :clap:
 

Other than making the “one of us” crowd happy this is a horrendous hire.


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scools12 said:
Other than making the “one of us” crowd happy this is a horrendous hire.


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Why so negative?

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What advice does she give you before a round of golf?

Ben Greve: We went to dinner between the second and third rounds of the State Open. I was thinking that I don’t play in many tournaments anymore. I was thinking that I’d never won a tournament start to finish. She said, “Why are you thinking about that? You’ll let doubts get in your head. Just get out there, have fun and win.” I don’t even know if she was thinking about it. She just said it. It wasn’t advice. It was just natural.

See, she can coach...lol

Here's where the Gophers have finished in the Big Ten throughout their history, from most recent to oldest....3rd, 10th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 8th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 5th, 3rd, 5th, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, 10th, 10th, 10th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 7th, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 9th, 10th, 8th, 8th, 9th, 3rd, 7th, 3rd

I don't see how Lindsay Whalen isn't worth the shot!
 

scools12 said:
Other than making the “one of us” crowd happy this is a horrendous hire.


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Consensus great hire - see Dawn Staley who did it for multiple yrs. at temple and made tourney - apparently you have no idea what recruits are looking for - if Whalen can’t connect with elite players no one can. She has been in multiple successful systems and has a off the charts basketball IQ. Besides whining, give a reason why this is a horrendous hire......
 

Being in the WNBA is a huge advantage in recruiting -- no recruit is going to pass up the opportunity to hang out in a WNBA locker room before and after a game.
 

Regarding the dual roles, I think it's very likely that this will be her last season in the WNBA, so I don't think it's a big deal. This is a huge boom or bust hire, but I like it.
 

Thymanst said:
Consensus great hire - see Dawn Staley who did it for multiple yrs. at temple and made tourney - apparently you have no idea what recruits are looking for - if Whalen can’t connect with elite players no one can. She has been in multiple successful systems and has a off the charts basketball IQ. Besides whining, give a reason why this is a horrendous hire......
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I see you’re part of the “one of us” crowd.

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scools12 said:
I see you’re part of the “one of us” crowd.

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Who would you rather they hired instead? One of Us should not be the #1 qualification. It also shouldn't be disqualifying.
 


howeda7 said:
Who would you rather they hired instead? One of Us should not be the #1 qualification. It also shouldn't be disqualifying.
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How about someone who has actually coached at any level. I probably would start there.


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scools12 said:
How about someone who has actually coached at any level. I probably would start there.


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So that's where it begins and ends? Sometimes it's OK out of the box.

Not always, but sometimes.
 

Ewert86PC said:
All credit for this idea goes to Patrick Reusse. ;)

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I think Chip beat him to it, at least publicly.

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chipscoggins
just got off the phone with Hopkins girls basketball coach Brian Cosgriff who has won six state titles and coaches one of the best players in country in Paige Bueckers. Here are Coz's quotes on Whalen hire ....
Cosgriff: "This is a great hire. It’s going to put Minnesota basketball back in prominence. You’re hiring a Hall of Fame player. She’s won at the WNBA level, she’s won at the college level, she’s an Olympian. How do you do better than that?" ....
Cosgriff on Whalen as recruiter: ") She will be a great recruiter because first of all she’s just an amazing person. Everybody who comes in contact with her just loves her personality. She’s a coach on the floor with the Lynx. The sky is the limit for the program."
Cosgriff didn't want to speak on behalf of Bueckers who is being recruited hard by the top programs in women basketball but said, "I’m sure it’s probably sparking her interest at this point. It’s definitely not going to hurt."
 

Bad Gopher said:
I think Chip beat him to it, at least publicly.

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Reusse was taking credit for it on the radio this afternoon. He wants to be called "The Fixer". Evidently, he has had a couple of other strokes of genius as well.

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WindyCityGopher said:
It’s an inspired, imaginative hire for a program that, with the exception of a season or two, has been an also-ran locally, in conference and nationally. Whalen is basketball royalty in Minnesota with a very long list of accomplishments...Final Four, All-American, Olympic gold medalist, multi-time WNBA champion. She’s accomplished everything a young player could hope to achieve, at the most important position on the court. Her upside to the program is so much bigger than the downside. This is a great hire.
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Home run hire ! All she does is win and watching her play since 2000 she has learned the game . Her last 8 years with Cheryl Reeve have taught her even more about the game. Reeves has called her the coach on the floor. She will retire after this year and has already practiced and played with this team . The program needed someone to take them to the next level and I believe she can accomplish that feat. I moved my season tickets to the Gopher bench side. Go Gophers !
 

chip scoggins:
Heard this tidbit: Mark Coyle called team meeting to update players on search. They started showing highlight video of team's season. At end, video listed Whalen's playing credentials. Then she walked into room. The room went nuts in jubilation. Heard it was videotaped.
 

highwayman said:
Assistants do all the dirty work all the time. This won’t be a lot of extra work for Whalen, especially since WNBA season runs from May 18 to September 16. Minnesota cannot start practice until after the middle of October.
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^ This. Even under the new rules allowing more coaching during the summer it's limited to players "enrolled in summer school for eight weeks — for up to eight hours per week. That includes two hours of skills-related instruction each week." This is more than just open gym but it's nothing like fall practice. The reason teams do those summer overseas trips is that they are allowed several weeks of full practice sessions to prepare for them.
 

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More important than what I think:
 

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