Lindsay Whalen is Minnesota Basketball’s new head coach!

WOW!

Lindsay Whalen is the new head coach of Minnesota Women’s Basketball!

We’ll have more in depth thoughts and press conference coverage coming later, but for now I’m going to stick to some quick thoughts:

• Again...WOW. No seriously, I didn’t think this would happen. Lindsay is a Gophers LEGEND and an amazing player but she’s also never been a head coach at any level before now. Plus she still has a WNBA career going. Honestly it felt like peak #oneofus that her name was coming up. Add this to the always growing list of things I have been wrong about.
• Biggest surprise in the U’s press release? Lindsay will keep playing for the Minnesota Lynx AND coach the Gophers:

As part of Whalen’s agreement to become head coach, which is pending approval from the University’s Board of Regents, she will continue to play for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Whalen announced in February that she was retiring from international competition. She had played for the U.S. National team since 2002, joining Team USA following her sophomore season with the Gophers.

• The upside of this move? She’s a great player, great basketball mind, bleeds maroon & gold, and has intimate knowledge of opportunities and challenges facing this program. On the other hand, her lack of coaching/recruiting experience leave a ton of question marks.
• This is a bold move that is going to play really well in the local media and among most fans IMO. Put me down as someone who is excited to watch Lindsay make her presence felt again at the U!