The Whalen Effect

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There are not as many free women's recruiting sites that I know of. The site looks really good. It is not free.
 

As LeBron James said - her last name starts with a W.

Lindsay Wins! I can't wait to see where the new Women's Gopher Basketball new chapter to begin!
 

Out with the old chapter, in with the new -
 



http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/opinion/columns/4489090-greg-peters-column-lindsay-whalen-effect

I'm thinking a thread titled "The Whalen Effect" should link to a column titled "The Whalen Effect".

From River Falls Journal's Greg Peters:


I was a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor for KEYC-TV in Mankato in 1998 and was covering the high school girls' basketball section finals. I was watching this skinny point guard for Hutchinson absolutely run the show. She was a good player in 10th grade, but to me, what stuck out was the way she congratulated some of her teammates and quietly ripped into others motivating them to play better without embarrassing them. I know leadership can be learned, but this kid was born with it and it was draped on thicker than the layer of salt on the popcorn in the gym. She couldn't shoot very well, but she didn't make mistakes with the ball and she drove to the basket, all 99 pounds of her, like a boxer recoiling to make the knockout haymaker punch.

During the game, I strolled over to then Mankato State Women's Basketball Head Coach Ann Walker to have some "chalk talk," as I knew her from numerous interviews throughout the previous two years. I think Ann liked me because we covered her women's team just as much as the men's team, so I think she had a soft spot for me and we joked around quite a bit.

I told Ann, "Coach you better get on that kid right now (referring to recruiting the 10th grade Hutchinson point guard). That kid is the walking definition of a point guard."

Coach Walker said, "Greg, that's why you're holding a microphone and I'm holding a clipboard. She's too little, that kid will get thrown around like a rag doll in D-2 (Division II level)."

That skinny 99-pound 10th grade kid was named Lindsay Whalen and she's won more basketball games than anyone in the history of the WNBA.

...

I've read a few news articles about Lindsay's next career, hinting great players don't always making the best coaches. Another said she's only 36, she'll be the youngest women's Division I basketball coach in the country and she's never coached before.

I've never bought season tickets for anything in my life, but I bought Gopher Women's Basketball season tickets today. Must've been The Lindsay Whalen Effect. Like I said, I like rooting for the underdog.
 

Good find, Iggy. Every time I think there can't be more Whalen stories, someone relays another...and this was a good one. There will certainly be no lack of local, regional, and national coverage for Gopher women's basketball this year. As I've mentioned before, that will grow stale if Whalen and staff can't win. But they'll be off to a running start and this exposure should really help them in their recruiting efforts.
 

We shall soon find out if she can coach the way she played - a winner.
 



hungan1 said:
Having talent many top programs want is a good problem for Paige Bueckers to have. Will she have enough affinity to the State that Lindsay Whalen had coming out of HS?

This is the reason why Lindsay Whalen is so endeared by people in the State. NOt only is she a proven winner. She stayed home!

I agree that Paige will go where she thinks gives her the best shot to the WNBA. She is going to pen her own legacy. The questions is, will she want to do it at home? She will be reward tenfold, and she'll forever be embedded in the State's consciousness with pride.

If the Gophers come out blazing this coming season under Whalen, then there is promise. But, like Carroll nothing anchors Paige down to her home State.
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Well if the WNBA is her goal, wouldn't Whalen be the best coach for her? What coach will know that league better than LW?
 


Does anyone know what the WBB season ticket increase is since Lindsay Whalen was named the head coach?
 

In case anyone is wondering why there is no word on the women's BB recruiting front, there is a quiet period between August 1 thru September 8.

We will hear a slurry of activity next during the contact period September 9 thru September 29.
This will be followed by an evaluation period between September 30 2018 thru February 28 2019. There are two dead periods inside the evaluation period: November 12-15; December 24-26.

I am anxiously awaiting to see how recruiting will be under Lindsay Whalen now that she is full time coach.

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2018-19DIREC_WomensBasketballRecruitingCalendar_20180828.pdf
 



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https://bringmethenews.com/minnesot...-lindsay-whalen-and-stops-by-gophers-practice

Not only does her status as a global basketball star bring attention to the University of Minnesota, it also leads to random run-ins with other superstars. For example, NBA star Dywane Wade stopped by Gophers practice on Saturday.

"Big thanks to @lindsaywhalen and staff for opening up the doors this am to my family and i to come in and get a quick sweat," Wade posted on Instagram. "It’s also dope talking to the next generation of hoopers!!! Thank you ladies for being so cool as well!!! @gopherwbb."
 

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Dwyane is a lot smaller than I thought.
 

Out on the recruiting trail September 9, 2018.
MEDIA]
 
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With not much happening yet, this article by Jim Walsh of City Page on December 23, 2003 is worth rehashing. I apologize if it has already been posted.

Folks, we have a State Gem in Lindsay Whalen - a rare find. One can understand why it was a no brainer for her to unequivocally accept the Gophers' offer to be the next women's basketball coach.

Powerhouse: How Lindsay Whalen resurrected the Lady Gophers

“I would like, out of the whole thing, for people in 20 years to think back,” she says. “Hopefully, the team would have won a few national championships by then and gone to Final Fours, and it”d be cool to look back to the years that we turned it around, and to know that we”re the reason why a lot of that happened.” Lindsay Whalen, December 23, 2003.

Welcome home Lindsay Whalen. Now you have a chance to fulfill those dreams.

She brings two people connected to the Final Four season to be part of her coaching staff: Kelly Roysland who was her left wing, and Coach O'Banion who was an assistant coach back then.

http://www.citypages.com/news/powerhouse-how-lindsay-whalen-resurrected-the-lady-gophers/479559683
 
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I haven't figured out Whalen's recruiting style. So far, the Gophers are pretty stealthy under her. She is very low key.
 

I think their style is skilled big bodied guards and athletic posts. from the offers we have seen, it seems they either are offering more elite kids or at least have the ear of more elite kids. Have offers out to I think 8 of the top 60 in ESPN class of 2020. Have offered what seems like the top 2 or 3 kids in Minnesota in each class of 2020, 2021 and 2022. I am excited how the recruiting has been to date.

hungan1 said:
I haven't figured out Whalen's recruiting style. So far, the Gophers are pretty stealthy under her. She is very low key.
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It looks like tall kids who can play defense and drive to the basket, and really good point guards not unlike Whalen herself.

Whalen has always been like a player coach who distributes the ball to put the team in the best scenario to win. She can score a bunch of points and will, but would rather get the entire team involved in the offense. From what I hear and read, team mates really like her on and off the field because she made playing fun for everyone.
 

There will be special guests today at practice, i guess.

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hungan1 said:
Care to elucidate? Any names and class?
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Klarke Sconiers is one, Shes posted videos at the practice facility and barn on her IG stories. She also just asked if anyone can make her a commitment video so it appears things are looking good there.
 
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Any other visiting recruit names?
 

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