Linsay Whalen Questionable Coaching Ability

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xxxdog

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Linsay Whalen no doubt was a gifted & talented player, but thus far after 4-year coaching Minnesota Womens Basketball and reviewing her overall results as coach, she likely would be replaced at several high profile colleges..Few reasons listed below..
1] 4-years coaching in the Big-10 ...not one single year over .500 or winning record
2} Unable in 4-years to place a team in the Womens NCAA Basketball Tournament
3} Suspect past recruiting, overwhelming talented overlooked Minnesota H.S. players starring in NCAA Tourney
4] {2022} 56-point loss to Iowa on our own court is a embarrassment to the history of the Ladies Gophers BB
5} Losing almost the entire 2022 returning team to transfer portal, including local instate players...Why..???

My opinion only, 2022-2023 should be Whalen's last shot to turn things around, she will have 3 of the top instate players to coach and also must recruit like never before in the transfer portal to upgrade a shaky previous program...Lets hope for best....
 

I’ll admit I don’t follow it as close as I do the men’s team, but we see in all sports that being a great player doesn’t always translate into being a great coach. There are exceptions of course but there have been many instances on the men’s side of great NBA players failing miserably at coaching in the college ranks. I do agree that next season will most likely be her last unless she can turn things around.
 

Coyle failed in picking a women's head coach. Whalen needed to go through the coaching ranks and prove herself before getting a head coaching job in the B1G. Whalen is destroying this program and with the relative success it's had, that was hard to do.
Coyle doubled down on Whalen this spring and now the only players on the team are transferring out.
I blame the Snake.
 

xxxdog said:
Linsay Whalen no doubt was a gifted & talented player, but thus far after 4-year coaching Minnesota Womens Basketball and reviewing her overall results as coach, she likely would be replaced at several high profile colleges..Few reasons listed below..
1] 4-years coaching in the Big-10 ...not one single year over .500 or winning record
2} Unable in 4-years to place a team in the Womens NCAA Basketball Tournament
3} Suspect past recruiting, overwhelming talented overlooked Minnesota H.S. players starring in NCAA Tourney
4] {2022} 56-point loss to Iowa on our own court is a embarrassment to the history of the Ladies Gophers BB
5} Losing almost the entire 2022 returning team to transfer portal, including local instate players...Why..???

My opinion only, 2022-2023 should be Whalen's last shot to turn things around, she will have 3 of the top instate players to coach and also must recruit like never before in the transfer portal to upgrade a shaky previous program...Lets hope for best....
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Lindsay.
 

There is a risk of hiring a former basketball star player with zero coaching experience. Mark Coyle took that risk.

There are a lot of learned skill sets that go into the head coaching tool arsenal. Being a great basketball player does not automatically translate instantaneously into being a good basketball coach. The Transfer Portal throws a curveball at basketball programs. It makes it easy for players to transfer when they are unhappy for one reason or another.

IMHO, it would have been better for Lindsay Whalen to take the assistant coaching route first. Learn under someone like Dawn Staley. She has successfully straddled being a pro player and a basketball coach.

It doesn't mean that Lindsay Whalen will not be a successful basketball coach someday or that she will rebound with the right set of players.

She has an extra year extension to prove that she can rebound.
 
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hungan1 said:
There is a risk of hiring a former basketball star player with zero coaching experience. Mark Coyle took that risk.

There are a lot of learned skill sets that go into the head coaching tool arsenal. Being a great basketball player does not automatically translate instantaneously into being a good basketball coach. The Transfer Portal throws a curveball at basketball programs. It makes it easy for players to transfer when they are unhappy for one reason or another.

IMHO, it would have been better for Lindsay Whalen to take the assistant coaching route first. Learn under someone like Dawn Staley. She has successfully straddled being a pro player and a basketball coach.

It doesn't mean that Lindsay Whalen will not be a successful basketball coach someday or that she will rebound with the right set of players.

She has an extra year extension to prove that she can rebound.
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There is nothing to indicate a change in direction or rebound. It is sad.
 






bball_craz_26 said:
Quick question to everyone on this thread...


What is your personal coaching record out of curiosity that makes you/anyone experts on what it takes to be a good coach?
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I brought the in-house boys team to a perfect record. I must be ready for D1 coaching!!!
I hope you realize you are bringing up a strawman. A persons coaching experience is irrelevant to observing poor coaching and recognizing it.
 


Yes, it seems the post-season banquet for this team might be a bit sparse. Hopefully, they didn't have to pay in advance for the number of participants!

On another note, I know that some on this board are criticizing the AD for hiring Whalen, but I can't bring myself to do that. At the time, I thought that was a "no brainer". Yes, it would have been nice to hire a Whalen who had some coaching experience, but the timing wasn't right on that and she was going to have to learn "on the fly". Obviously, the risk Coyle took in hiring Whalen hasn't paid off, at least not yet...and it may never pay off. But the AD is also responsible for hiring Fleck and Ben Johnson, hires that both raised some eyebrows at the time, but those hires seem to be good hires. (Yes, too early to tell yet on Johnson, but I liked what I saw this year, despite the losing record. His program appears to be well on the way to establishing an identity and a culture, and he's hired some good assistants.) So if you're going to blame Coyle for the hiring of Whalen, you'll also have to give him credit for his hires of PJ and BJ.
 

bball_craz_26 said:
Quick question to everyone on this thread...


What is your personal coaching record out of curiosity that makes you/anyone experts on what it takes to be a good coach?
Click to expand...

I'm 137 - 112 at the 4th thru 7th grade level. I believe that makes me an expert

These mass transfers are a huge story and I haven't heard a peep out of our sports media
 






MennoSota said:
There is nothing to indicate a change in direction or rebound. It is sad.
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I will have to respectfully disagree with this. Whalen, I believe is communicating with the right people to examine her coaching methods along with the types of players she is bringing in.
 

If she was not "Lindsay Whalen, Gopher legend," would she be evaluated differently?

but of course, if she was not Lindsay Whalen, she would not have been hired as Head Coach in a P5 conference with absolutely no coaching experience.

it was a gamble by Coyle, because if you try a move like that, and it doesn't work, that puts the AD in a position where they might have to fire a Gopher Legend.

look - whatever she has done to date, it's not working. She will be given an opportunity to make changes, but if things don't improve, Coyle may be forced to make a decision.

and - let's not forget - the men's program is also in a questionable position, and attendance is down.

up to now, Coyle's "get-out-of-jail-free" card has been "I hired Fleck." but that only works for so long.
 

One argument that is used with Whalen is her lack of coaching experience. To that I would say Dawn Staley. She took the same route as Whalen retiring from the WNBA and becoming a successful head coach immediately at Temple and now with what she has built in South Carolina. I know Temple is not the Big Ten, but coaching is coaching and after 4 years you should start to see a clear upward projection of the Gopher program and you are not. (Heck with Ben Johnson's first year you could clearly see improved coaching with execution, organization, and discipline.)

Secondly Whalen has played for some of the greats in Women's basketball: Geno with the Olympic team, Cheryl with the Lynxs, and Thibault of the Connecticut Sun. What a great training ground for coaching.

Let's not make excuses. She has had 4 years, is paid well, has the resources to be successful, and is responsible for the production, development, and direction of the women's program. I thought it was a good hire 4 years ago, but time is running out.
 
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GrampaGopher said:
One argument that is used with Whalen is her lack of coaching experience. To that I would say Dawn Staley. She took the same route as Whalen retiring from the WNBA and becoming a successful head coach immediately at Temple and now with what she has built in South Carolina. I know Temple is not the Big Ten, but coaching is coaching and after 4 years you should start to see a clear upward projection of the Gopher program and you are not. (Heck with Ben Johnson's first year you could clearly see improved coaching with execution, organization, and discipline.)

Secondly Whalen has played for some of the greats in Women's basketball: Geno with the Olympic team, Cheryl with the Lynxs, and Thibault of the Connecticut Sun. What a great training ground for coaching.

Let's not make excuses. She has had 4 years, is paid well, has the resources to be successful, and is responsible for the production, development, and direction of the women's of the program. I thought it was a good hire 4 years ago, but time is running out. It is put up or shut up time.
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Post is spot on.....Production in the Big-10 under Whalen in 4-years ranks last among Gophers last 4-coaches ....OLdfield - 2001-2002 10-5 Big Ten 2nd Rd NCAA Playoffs.... Borton- 2002-2014 104-94 Big Ten 6-times in NCAA Playoffs ....Stallings 2014-2018 38-30 Big Ten 2-times NCAA Playoffs...Whalen 2018-2022 27-42 Big Ten 0-NCAA Playoffs........

Both Stallings & Whalen coached Gophers 4-years, while Stallings teams easily were more productive in their 4-year development ...overall record yearly Big Ten... Stallings T-6th/5th/10th/T-3rd .....Whalen T-6th/11th/10th/10th....again...Great & talented player, but questionable coach....
 
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GrampaGopher said:
One argument that is used with Whalen is her lack of coaching experience. To that I would say Dawn Staley. She took the same route as Whalen retiring from the WNBA and becoming a successful head coach immediately at Temple and now with what she has built in South Carolina. I know Temple is not the Big Ten, but coaching is coaching and after 4 years you should start to see a clear upward projection of the Gopher program and you are not. (Heck with Ben Johnson's first year you could clearly see improved coaching with execution, organization, and discipline.)

Secondly Whalen has played for some of the greats in Women's basketball: Geno with the Olympic team, Cheryl with the Lynxs, and Thibault of the Connecticut Sun. What a great training ground for coaching.

Let's not make excuses. She has had 4 years, is paid well, has the resources to be successful, and is responsible for the production, development, and direction of the women's of the program. I thought it was a good hire 4 years ago, but time is running out. It is put up or shut up time.
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There’s no arguing about inexperience, but I don’t think she has ever had a complete roster of talented players that match the speed, height and Bb IQ seen in the big 10 or elsewhere. I think she is trying to develop a culture and that hasn’t been so easy…at least what I see as a fan without inside info. She has some good recruits in the last couple years. I personally hope Lyndsay is extremely successful.
 

xxxdog said:
Post is spot on.....Production in the Big-10 under Whalen in 4-years ranks last among Gophers last 4-coaches ....OLdfield - 2001-2002 10-5 Big Ten 2nd Rd NCAA Playoffs.... Borton- 2002-2014 104-94 Big Ten 6-times in NCAA Playoffs ....Stallings 2014-2018 38-30 Big Ten 2-times NCAA Playoffs...Whalen 2018-2022 27-42 Big Ten 0-NCAA Playoffs........

Both Stallings & Whalen coached Gophers 4-years, while Stallings teams easily were more productive in their 4-year development ...overall record yearly Big Ten... Stallings T-6th/5th/10th/T-3rd .....Whalen T-6th/11th/10th/10th....again...Great & talented player, but questionable coach....
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Whalen's results so far are very similar to Borton's in the latter's last five seasons: winning percentage in the conference of 38% vs 39%, with no winning conference seasons or NCAA appearances for either.
 

#2Gopher said:
I will have to respectfully disagree with this. Whalen, I believe is communicating with the right people to examine her coaching methods along with the types of players she is bringing in.
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Even if this is true, it doesn't change the fact that she is not teaching her team to play great basketball. We see this in the flight of good basketball players away from the program.
Coyle made a mistake in hiring Whalen as a head coach when she had no experience even as an assistant coach. The experiment has been a failure. Whalen should go get assistant coach experience and learn how to coach rather than be consulting on the fly. Whalen simply isn't ready for the position she has. Coyle made the mistake and Coyle needs to fix it.
 

Calumet said:
Whalen's results so far are very similar to Borton's in the latter's last five seasons: winning percentage in the conference of 38% vs 39%, with no winning conference seasons or NCAA appearances for either.
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In response....Borton overall placed teams in tourney action 10 out of 12 years of coaching {6-NCAA-Playoffs-resulting in one final four entry & 2- Sweet-16-advancement, also 4-teams in WNIT Tourney with one team {2011-2012} crowned WBI National Champion....As of today, comparing the two {Borton & Whalen} coaching achievements is absurd.....
 

xxxdog said:
In response....Borton overall placed teams in tourney action 10 out of 12 years of coaching {6-NCAA-Playoffs-resulting in one final four entry & 2- Sweet-16-advancement, also 4-teams in WNIT Tourney with one team {2011-2012} crowned WBI National Champion....As of today, comparing the two {Borton & Whalen} coaching achievements is absurd.....
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I'm aware of Borton's overall achievements, believe me, having watched them when they occurred. I was just struck by the similarity of her last five years (which were markedly worse than her first seven and which resulted in her departure) to Whalen's so far.
 

I believe all you naysayers will be proven wrong. I think Whalen will succeed and it will begin with this years recruiting class. I disagree that all the transfers are Whalens fault. I won’t overlook Scalia’s fathers remark about working hard. I believe there were a lot of players on this team who were not team players and didn’t put in the work necessary to be a winning team. While it’s painful to lose Scalia I believe it’s a good thing that everyone else is leaving. The house has been clean and we can start fresh.
 


Rickman55 said:
I believe all you naysayers will be proven wrong. I think Whalen will succeed and it will begin with this years recruiting class. I disagree that all the transfers are Whalens fault. I won’t overlook Scalia’s fathers remark about working hard. I believe there were a lot of players on this team who were not team players and didn’t put in the work necessary to be a winning team. While it’s painful to lose Scalia I believe it’s a good thing that everyone else is leaving. The house has been clean and we can start fresh.
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This is delusional. The two players that were definitely not team players - Powell and Scalia. Whalen supported them and their selfish ways and it is one of the many reasons she is not fit to be a coach. Both should have been sat many times. but Whalen catered to their needs so they would not leave.
 

Rickman55 said:
I believe all you naysayers will be proven wrong. I think Whalen will succeed and it will begin with this years recruiting class. I disagree that all the transfers are Whalens fault. I won’t overlook Scalia’s fathers remark about working hard. I believe there were a lot of players on this team who were not team players and didn’t put in the work necessary to be a winning team. While it’s painful to lose Scalia I believe it’s a good thing that everyone else is leaving. The house has been clean and we can start fresh.
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The GH naysayers always appear when things are not going well. I wonder how many of them actually are invested in this team being successful ? Are you a season ticket holder, go to any games , buy the BTN plus package to watch the games or just show up to be Captain Obvious that the program is struggling ?
 


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