Lindsay Whalen is stepping into the college basketball coaching game — but she’s not done with the WNBA yet. The five-time All-WNBA point guard was announced as the newest head coach of University of Minnesota’s women’s basketball team, a role she’ll hold down while simultaneously playing her ninth season with the nearby Minnesota Lynx.
Lindsay Whalen to coach Minnesota women’s basketball while playing in the WNBA
It’s double-duty for one of the most decorated athletes in Golden Gopher history.
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Whalen graduated from Minnesota as one of the most decorated athletes in school history. The three-time All-American led the Golden Gophers to the program’s only Final Four appearance back in 2004, and she remains UM’s all-time scoring leader.
“I have so many special memories at the University of Minnesota. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have the opportunity to make more,” Whalen said in a press release celebrating her return to the Big Ten. “Becoming the head coach here at the U and being a Gopher again is a dream come true. At every level, basketball has given me so much. I’ve learned from so many great players, coaches and mentors, and now I have a chance to share that knowledge and help shape the new generation of Gopher stars. I’m ready to get started.”
The fourth overall pick of the 2004 WNBA Draft, Whalen spent her first six seasons as a pro with the Connecticut Sun. She blossomed into a superstar after being traded back to her home state in 2010. She’s guided the Lynx to four WNBA titles in the past seven years and has added a pair of Olympic gold medals as well.
She was busy in the American offseason, too. Whalen also ran the court in professional leagues in Russia, Turkey, and the Czech Republic in 10 of her previous 14 seasons as a pro. She announced she’d retired from international play back in February, clearing her schedule to guide the Golden Gophers back to glory.
Minnesota basketball made a pair of NCAA tournament appearances during former head coach Marlene Stollings’ four years at the helm, but hasn’t advanced out of the bracket’s first weekend since 2005. The Gophers are hoping a familiar face with elite college and professional experience is what the program needs to return to those early 2000s heights.
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