Former Lynx coach Jen Gillom wanted to return next season.
So whose fault is it that the contract negotiations broke off? "I don't want to say one way or the other," Gillom said Wednesday, a day after the Lynx named Cheryl Reeve as her successor. Reeve was a WNBA assistant for nine seasons, the past four at Detroit.
"Of course I wanted to come back," said Gillom by telephone from her home in Phoenix. "I love the players. I love the organization. I love everything. It didn't happen. Even the fans I love. It's a great place."
Gillom still keeps in contact with many of her players last season. "They call all the time for advice," she said. "Rashanda [McCants], Nicky [Anosike] call me all the time. I'm more than a coach to them."
Gillom was promoted from assistant coach to head coach three days before the start of the 2009 season. The move was made after Don Zierden left to join the NBA staff of Flip Saunders in Washington.
Her team started 7-3 in June. But on June 17, in the sixth game of the season, star Seimone Augustus suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Lynx finished 14-20 and missed the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
"[Lynx officials] made a great decision when they hired Cheryl Reeve," Gillom said. "She's a good coach.
"I'm not going to say anything bad. I'm grateful to the Lynx organization. They gave me my first start [as a head coach]. I learned a lot."
Like what, for instance? "Anything can happen, that's for sure," Gillom said. "I would have had a different team with Seimone. I wish my coaching would have been judged on what would have happened if I had a full team. It was not a fair assessment. I did not have my best player. I learned the business side of the league. They do what is best for them."
Augustus will be back next season and the Lynx have the No. 1 and 3 picks in the WNBA draft in April. "They will have a lot of success next season," Gillom said.
These days, Gillom is coaching the girls' basketball team at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix for the fifth season. The Gators are 3-1.
"It's fun," she said. "The girls enjoy having me and I feel good about myself, being a pro and giving back."
Gillom played seven seasons in the WNBA. She joined the Lynx as an assistant coach in 2008.
With the Sacramento team folding this offseason and the WNBA reducing coaching staffs from three to two coaches next season, there will be 15 fewer coaching jobs.
Gillom still hopes to get one of them. She is talking with the Los Angeles Sparks about replacing Michael Cooper. The Sparks head coach resigned to become the women's basketball coach at Southern Cal.
Gillom expects the Sparks to name their coach in a week or so. "I would love it," she said, asked how much that job interests her. "I want to stay in the WNBA."
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