Whalen out at U of M

[bigticket1]

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You would think that this hire has to cause some uneasiness in Vermillion concerning the future of Grace Larkins.

[Southeast]

You would think that this hire has to cause some uneasiness in Vermillion concerning the future of Grace Larkins.

True. This hire is really bad for them in general. Many USD fans thought a U of M opening would eventually get AJ off their backs. This hire pretty much kills that forever, plus they now have to recruit against Dawn. She’s not going to overlook local players as much as previous coaches. Double gut punch.

[SoDakPirate]

Her WV salary was $575,000. This is almost the same as Whalen was getting paid. Her buyout from WV is $612,500. Will be interesting to see what her Minn. salary is and whether she or UM will pay the buyout

[LetsGoRabbits]

I mean she got a pretty nice pay raise to go to WVU for that one year. I'm guessing her intensions were not to leave WVU after one year, but a better opportunity arose and she took it.

what makes UM a better opportunity than WVU? WVU has been easily the more nationally visible athletic program for a long time. they have far better football and MBB. i would guess that some will say twin cities is better than morgantown. others would say there are plenty of problems with the twin cities.

i concede your point about the money. yet if you more or less know that you can leave and get more money at almost any time does one more year really matter? or she thought one more year in vermillion was gonna tarnish her reputation to the point she would not have been attractive for a job like this one?? if THAT is the case, it again points out problems for usd, but also for her ability to actually build a program that can sustain success

it does seem she knew the players SHE had committed to the future at usd were not as good as the players she mostly inherited and that she had been losing the recruiting game

my perspective is that she wanted out of vermillion. you are saying she did not but the WVU money was just too good? and a second and related question, NOW the UM something is just too good? how often is the grass gonna be greener somewhere else?

[LetsGoRabbits]

True. This hire is really bad for them in general. Many USD fans thought a U of M opening would eventually get AJ off their backs. This hire pretty much kills that forever, plus they now have to recruit against Dawn. She’s not going to overlook local players as much as previous coaches. Double gut punch.

i agree she does do some things well as a coach!!! and i do believe she COULD be very successful at UM, but i am far from ready to guarantee it!! still think there is also a chance they are looking for a coach again in a few years. Dawn has not done anything yet to prove that she is gonna be more successful away from usd than amy williams has and a lot of DP success at usd was built on players that amy recruited. DP brought Sjerven, obviously a huge piece. also watson, krull, larkins. the last 3 are role players not leading players on a great team. every other player that contributed to her success at usd was recruited by williams

i dont think we have seen real evidence that she is a great recruiter. is she going to get close to the best home kids to come to a program that has been a loser for a long time?

[Jackrabbit2012]

what makes UM a better opportunity than WVU? WVU has been easily the more nationally visible athletic program for a long time. they have far better football and MBB. i would guess that some will say twin cities is better than morgantown. others would say there are plenty of problems with the twin cities.

i concede your point about the money. yet if you more or less know that you can leave and get more money at almost any time does one more year really matter? or she thought one more year in vermillion was gonna tarnish her reputation to the point she would not have been attractive for a job like this one?? if THAT is the case, it again points out problems for usd, but also for her ability to actually build a program that can sustain success

it does seem she knew the players SHE had committed to the future at usd were not as good as the players she mostly inherited and that she had been losing the recruiting game

my perspective is that she wanted out of vermillion. you are saying she did not but the WVU money was just too good? and a second and related question, NOW the UM something is just too good? how often is the grass gonna be greener somewhere else?

I'm saying just because she only stayed at WVU for one year doesn't mean she only took the job to get out of Vermillion. It was a nice pay increase and a chance to coach in the Big 12.

[jakejc795]

Her WV salary was $575,000. This is almost the same as Whalen was getting paid. Her buyout from WV is $612,500. Will be interesting to see what her Minn. salary is and whether she or UM will pay the buyout

Has that amount been confirmed, because at least one source has reported a buyout closer to half that?

[SoDakPirate]

I read that figure on the WV News story.

[SoDakPirate]

I wonder if Kyah Watson feels betrayed. She just finished her sophomore season after following her to WV. I am sure she received no guarantees from DP but I feel bad for the kid

[Jackrabbit2012]

I wonder if Kyah Watson feels betrayed. She just finished her sophomore season after following her to WV. I am sure she received no guarantees from DP but I feel bad for the kid

The USD forum thinks there is a possibility she will graduate early and can follow her to Minnesota as a grad transfer?

[filbert]

I wonder if Kyah Watson feels betrayed. She just finished her sophomore season after following her to WV. I am sure she received no guarantees from DP but I feel bad for the kid

Don't players get basically a freebie transfer opportunity w/o having the year's wait, in case of a coaching change?

[jakejc795]

I read that figure on the WV News story.

Suppose it could be MN media attempting to reduce perceived fiscal strain, but here's another source disputing that (although Wolfson's figure is slightly more than Chantel Jennings' I previously linked to.

[LetsGoRabbits]

It will be interesting. It's been a place where coaches go to kill their careers.

this very valid comment seemed to go unnoticed. thought i would bring it back to the current conversation. it is more than valid to consider that she cannot turn things around. again NOT saying one way or the other

even at usd, they won 3 SLT. in two of those Myah did not play in the tournament. first one no Myah and no Kallie and we missed a 3 in the last minute to tie or take the lead, cannot recall for sure. (very good look in the corner for LT who went on to hit a few big shots in her career)

and this year they were slightly above .500 and lost comfortably in first round. nothing much different than amy williams who at least some think is sitting on a hot seat

[LetsGoRabbits]

[QUOTE=98Jackfarmer;n533108]That's seems odd to me. MN has a pretty big buyout to pay. And it's really just a lateral move for DP. Second thought, would you want a coach that is sooo ready to jump ships at the next best thing?[/QUOTE]

another comment deserving of more attention

was written earlier that UM is a better opportunity than WVU. WHY?? what exactly is better about UM than WVU?

i agree with you farmer seems like this is someone who might be very often thinking the grass is greener somewhere else, instead of thinking about how to water her own grass

[SoDakPirate]

The story on her buyout I was referring to was by Greg Hunter in bluegoldnews.com