Pam Borton Fired UPDATED 4/7: VCU's Marlene Stollings HIRED!

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Maximus said:
23 year old Tyler Summitt to Louisiana Tech as head coach. Used to be one of the elite programs in the entire country. 1997-2001 had four Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one runner up.

Former WNBA and La. Tech superstar Teresa Witherspoon drove them into the ground.
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Wasn't Chris Long the Head Coach when they started their tailspin? He went from 26-5 to 17-13, 16-15, and 12-11 before he was fired. Witherspoon was an Assistant for him. She then got the job.

She went 23-9, 17-15, 14-17 before bottoming out at 12-20 this year.

So your point was they shouldn't look at someone who had some Assistant or Head Coaching experience, they should take someone directly from playing in the WNBA? :cool:
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Two more names on the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> radar to replace Pam Borton, per contacts: Davidson coach Michele Savage and Wright St. coach Mike Bradbury.</p>— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenWolfson/statuses/451389474082013184">April 2, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Goldy Gopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Two more names on the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> radar to replace Pam Borton, per contacts: Davidson coach Michele Savage and Wright St. coach Mike Bradbury.</p>— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenWolfson/statuses/451389474082013184">April 2, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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I can throw some names at the wall too if you guys are interested.
 


mnsports1 said:
Obviously Teague is down to his 5th or 6th choice as he keeps getting turned down.
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No rush and some of them are still coaching. Johnston makes a lot of sense. He would be our Tim Miles...wait.

From Pine Island, graduated from Gustavus, went to 5 straight NCAA tournaments, and now in WNIT Semi-Finals.
 


MaxyJR1 said:
No rush and some of them are still coaching. Johnston makes a lot of sense. He would be our Tim Miles...wait.

From Pine Island, graduated from Gustavus, went to 5 straight NCAA tournaments, and now in WNIT Semi-Finals.
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I was not serious.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en"><p>Count Wichita State's Jody Adams out as a <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> candidate to replace Borton. She talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulSuellentrop">@PaulSuellentrop</a>
<a href="http://t.co/3ENKPfNsIr">http://t.co/3ENKPfNsIr</a>”</p>— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/451472675253534720">April 2, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

bigticket1 said:
AJ is a great coach. But winning with a lot of Minnesota players that Pam Borton didn't recruit doesn't make them marginal talent. That marginal talent beat the Gophers three consecutive times including twice at Williams Arena.
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The MN girls on his roster may not be marginal but I doubt So. Dak St beat out any Big Ten, Notre Dame, UConn, ACC, SEC type schools to recruit any of them.
I saw most all those girls play in high school and during the summer, and there were more talented girls they were competing against in the summer. Pam didn't recruit or softly went after girls who went to higher level programs than So Dak St, in addition to the ones she did recruit and lost on to other higher level programs. Evaluating talent was Pam's biggest issue imo but I don't think she missed on any So Dak St girls as program changers.

All that makes Johnson a better coach. You'd think he'd do quite well with better players.
 

AJ Johnston's SDSU Jackrabbits lost this evening in the WNIT Final Four matchup at UTEP, 63-60. It was a tight game throughout. SDSU held a slight lead more often than UTEP but was plagued by lots of turnovers. UTEP has an All-American who lived up to her billing. The very partisan and loud UTEP crowd of more than 12,200 (virtually a sellout) did a nice job.

UTEP plays Rutgers on Saturday (CBS Sports) for the WNIT title...game likely at UTEP.

Terry Vandrovec at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader tweeted after the game that he asked AJ whether Minnesota has talked to him. The answer: No. AJ was already talking about next season with the Jackrabbits. He may have his best recruiting class coming in.
 




JackJD said:
AJ Johnston's SDSU Jackrabbits lost this evening in the WNIT Final Four matchup at UTEP, 63-60. It was a tight game throughout. SDSU held a slight lead more often than UTEP but was plagued by lots of turnovers. UTEP has an All-American who lived up to her billing. The very partisan and loud UTEP crowd of more than 12,200 (virtually a sellout) did a nice job.

UTEP plays Rutgers on Saturday (CBS Sports) for the WNIT title...game likely at UTEP.

Terry Vandrovec at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader tweeted after the game that he asked AJ whether Minnesota has talked to him. The answer: No. AJ was already talking about next season with the Jackrabbits. He may have his best recruiting class coming in.
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Coach speak in that scenario means little. But there is a Mike Miller cousin from Mitchell in the class that's supposed to be amazing. Not saying he would base his decision on one player, the Gophers #1 recruit is good too, but I've heard the same things.
 

Macy Miller is a first cousin of Mike Miller, both from Mitchell SD.

I misreported the game score. It was UTEP 66 SDSU 63.
 

I've known AJ for about 20 years. I played and coached with him Gustavus. He is an incredibly talented coach with a demeanor, approach and personality that players and fans here would love. He's positive and supportive of his players, yet honest and forthright. He's a great hire.

His offense emphasizes shooting and versatility from the entire lineup. It's an uptempo style that is a lot of fun to watch (and, by the way, is successful). Defensively, I always marvel at how quickly they help to stop penetration, yet almost never seem to get out of position on recovery. Tough, hard-nosed defense that is also a lot of fun to watch.

I hope he comes back home!
 



I wouldn't blame Johnston for staying in Brookings or coming to Minneapolis. Either makes sense depending on what he wants. Hope he comes, though. He must know that he can contend for Big Ten titles or even national titles at the U. The sky is the limit for the right person.
 

One thing in our favor is he'd likely get paid more and SDSU can't give multi-year contracts. Everything is one year at a time. That being said, he could probably run for mayor and win. They love him in Brookings.
 

I really think Teague should hire a woman. JMO
 


sec105 said:
I really think Teague should hire a woman. JMO
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I don't care if it is a woman or man I just want someone who can win games, coach, recruit, and build the program back to what it was.
 



Thanks JackJD.

Now for the commentary: I am not a fan of this hire at all. She seems to be a bit of an underwhelming hire for a major-conference team like the gophers who are in a good position. I thought we'd be able to reel in a more well-known coach. She also is an offensive minded coach coming to the Gophers, a team who needs to learn how to defend. She's hasn't done a great job recruiting as well in her time at VCU.
 

Well, just rumor so far but the rumor seems to be getting legs (of course, with the internet, a rumor getting legs doesn't mean much other than a bunch of nerds with laptops on their laps while watching UConn beat Florida -- me -- are passing on posts of other nerds with laptops on their...well, we all get the message).

It seems a curious selection if true.

And the Jackrabbits will keep AJ...that makes us very happy.
 

JackJD said:
Rumor going around:

Per @MinnesotaFury:

No confirmation, but hearing VCU's Marlene Stollings will be the next University of Minnesota Women's Basketball Coach.
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Hey, when you've got Doogie and Shooter you don't need to get rumors from anywhere else. However, if this is true, it looks like it could be a really good hire. Nice jump from first year to second year record. Likes to play wide open. Saw in another article Ellis was credited with hiring her. Norwood was on the radio today with Gaard, and it sure sounded like his choice was already made. Wonder if it'll be right after they get back from Dallas. No Shaka, but I'll take Pitino and Stollings instead. Hell, I might take Pitino alone instead.

Just saw the above posts. 11-19 to 22-10 (I think that's what it is) is a nice improvement. Not sure wanting an offensive system doesn't mean you can't be good on defense. They obviously know her probably better than anyone else, and if they feel she's a good hire, that's good enough for me.
 

Mulligan said:
Hey, when you've got Doogie and Shooter you don't need to get rumors from anywhere else. However, if this is true, it looks like it could be a really good hire. Nice jump from first year to second year record. Likes to play wide open. Saw in another article Ellis was credited with hiring her. Norwood was on the radio today with Gaard, and it sure sounded like his choice was already made. Wonder if it'll be right after they get back from Dallas. No Shaka, but I'll take Pitino and Stollings instead. Hell, I might take Pitino alone instead.

Just saw the above posts. 11-19 to 22-10 (I think that's what it is) is a nice improvement. Not sure wanting an offensive system doesn't mean you can't be good on defense. They obviously know her probably better than anyone else, and if they feel she's a good hire, that's good enough for me.
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I'm willing to give the coach a chance to implement her system before making conclusions. However, it just seems like there are better options and better fits out there. Bottom line: this is a team, no matter who the coach is, who must make the NCAA Tournament next year!
 

There is nothing on the Ram Nation site anywhere that I can find on the coach leaving VCU.
 





Would rather have AJ, but whether he didn't want it or they 'had' to hire a women, it is what it is. Good luck to her.
 

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