Even when she was down in New Orleans over the weekend, going through the pomp and circumstance of being officially named a part of the 2022 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class, Lindsay Whalen's mind was in Minneapolis.
She was watching the NCAA's transfer portal grow — the number of Division I athletes in the portal is nearing the 1,000 mark — and seeing the movement that is affecting her Gophers women's basketball program and programs all around the country. She was planning for the future.
New Orleans was fun. But: "This is never from my mind,'' Whalen said Wednesday.
By the time the two Final Fours had finished — the women's at Target Center, the men's in New Orleans — the number of Gophers women's players who had decided to enter the portal had grown to seven. That included Jasmine Powell leaving midseason and Sara Scalia, Kadi Sissoko, Caroline Strande, Klarke Sconiers, Erin Hedman and Alexia Smith entering the portal since.
“We don't go into any relationship hoping for a year or two. We want to be a part of their lives. At the same time, we're all navigating this new world.”
It has been a strange few weeks. Whalen got the call from the Naismith Hall on Monday of last week, which coincided with her final day of quarantine because of COVID-19. There was the honor of going into a stellar class that included Swin Cash, a player Whalen knows well. But there was also the burst of players revealing they were leaving the Gophers program.
To be clear: The transfer issue is affecting programs, men's and women's, throughout the country. But Whalen's team has begun its offseason workout program with three players in Katie Borowicz, Rose Micheaux and Maggie Czinano. When summer school starts in June, the incoming recruiting class of Minnesotans Mara Braun (Wayzata), Mallory Heyer (Chaska), Nia Holloway (Eden Prairie) and Amaya Battle (Hopkins) will join those three. ESPN ranks those four as the 10th-best recruiting class in the nation.
By then, Whalen expects to have filled out her roster by luring a handful of those hundreds of players in the portal to Minnesota.
But Whalen resisted the notion there was a central problem with the program. Players leave for different reasons, some for playing time, some for a chance to win. Whalen said she supports those decisions, and she said her team will improve going forward.
"Obviously when we go into recruiting, start talking with different players and their families, we want to build long relationships,'' Whalen said. "We don't go into any relationship hoping for a year or two. We want to be a part of their lives. At the same time, we're all navigating this new world.''
Whalen said she was able to talk in New Orleans with Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle, who recently gave her a contract extension. Whalen said she has Coyle's support.
"We are fully committed to recruiting players who embody the values of this university, our team,'' Whalen said.
That said, there will be self-evaluation. Whalen said it would start with her and her staff. What can they do to better identify players who fit the program, both with their skill and their approach?
Stuck by travel issues in New Orleans on Sunday, Whalen watched the women's tournament from afar. She was particularly moved by the job Dawn Staley did coaching South Carolina to its second national title. Her goal is to follow that path.
"I believe in what we're doing,'' Whalen said. "That has not changed. I'll do everything in my power to get there. Rarely is everything going to go like you plan it. But our goal has not changed. I was as determined as ever watching [Staley], what she's done. I'll do everything in my power to make sure we're back to where I believe this program can be.''
