Texas Tech

Must be the $$$? But looking at the money colleges made this last year, I think Tech is in the red? I looked at her bio. No Texas ties, she coached in the SEC, and has made MN a steady and winning program. How's she going to do dropped into Texas having to fight off the Waco Witch and KA for recruits?

 

"Sea Hag" > "Waco Witch"

 

Surprised. Starting from ground zero. Maybe that's a lure?

 

Seems like a solid hire for the Red Raiders.

 

Under their circumstances I doubt they could have done any better. She's definitely got a hill to climb. Needs some graduate transfers and JC's.

 

It's a win-win situation. Since Tech finished 1-17 in conference this season, if they win just a few more games next year, she can say she 'turned' things around. And if the situation doesn't improve, she can say things were already too far gone when she arrived. She really can't do much worse so in that respect it's worth taking a chance, on the part of both parties.

 

Will be a very tough first year for the obvious reasons. And, the Spring signing period begins Wednesday, April 11.

Had they hired someone in mid-March, at least the new head coach would have been able to put together a coaching staff and try to get a couple of recruits. Tech is way behind everyone else right now when it comes to recruiting the remainder of unsigned recruits. They could have a worse record than this past season.

Obviously, Tech fans wanted a much bigger hire, or someone with ties to Texas recruiting. They did get someone who won one game in the NCAA tourney, so that's a plus. Wonder how much they had to pay her to lure her away.

 

Tech is making the official introduction today. Guess the terms of the contract might be coming forth at that time.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/sports/20180409/lady-raiders-hire-stollings-away-from-minnesota

 

$783,333 annually. Nice raise.

 

That's a big salary but with the current conditions of the program, they probably had to spend a lot of money to get a decent coach.

 

Kind of surprised Minnesota didn't match the salary offer (making an assumption). The B1G conference schools make the most money from TV revenue. And, she did get them a win in the NCAA tourney.

 

I was wondering about that also. Isn't Minnesota considered just as big of a coaching position as Tech? I would have thought it to be a lateral move at best. But it could haven been a location issue, and Tech certainly had more money to spend. Might also indicate that Tech places more importance on their women's BB program, which could be a factor.

 

Factor in that she's going from a state with personal income tax to one without.

 

On Wednesday, Stollings called the Lady Raiders a “sleeping giant.”

Uhhh...I hope she was just trying to hype the Tech fans. If not, the Tech AD really sold her a line.

 

I think Stollings actually believes Tech is a sleeping giant.

Although I'm in the minority, I believe by years 2-3, Texas Tech will show vast improvement under Stollings. It will be an uphill climb but I think their program will be trending in the right direction.

Stollings will bring her Assc. HC and recruiting coordinator, Nikita Lowry Dawkins, with her to Tech.

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/nikita_lowry_dawkins_897279.html

 

I don’t doubt that she can turn them around - rather a low bar - but I do not think Tech can regain where they were in the 90s. One of the biggest selling points for a lot of those West Texas players was staying close to home in a familiar environment. The problem, as pointed out by a few on this board, is that the talent in that region of the state has tailed off meaning Stollings has to sell far flung recruits on Lubbock and Tech. I just don’t see them passing up Baylor, Texas, or Oklahoma. I think WVU is a better job compared to Tech in that they aren’t fishing from the same pond as other Big 12 powers.

 

I agree with you DFW. I don't think Tech will be an elite Big 12 team but I do believe they have the potential (with the right coach) to be a mid-tier team in the next 4 years. IMO, Tech will compete for the same recruits as OU, OSU, New Mexico and possibly the AZ schools.

 

It will require a lot of hard work and patience for Tech to return to the NCAA tournament; they are at rock bottom record-wise, talent, recruiting, and fan base.

Tech fans want their program to be Top 10 nationally like ours and Baylor's. It took Coach A 3-4 years to get back to that position, and we weren't nearly in as bad shape as Tech is right now.

The elite recruits which Tech used to get (mainly from their region) were because they grew up watching Tech in their prime, and idolizing Marsha Sharp. That doesn't exist right now.

 

looks like Dawkins has worked with Stollings for quite some time. Dawkins should help the Tech post players improve.

Did anyone catch the fact that her husband is a college and WNBA official? Wonder if he will work any Big 12 games, just not any Tech games. Lots of other conferences he could work in fairly close to Lubbock.

 

Lindsey Whalen to become the new Minnesota coach (filling the void of Tech hiring Stollings).

 

Remember that after Marcia Sharp retired, they got Kristy Curry to leave a good gig at Purdue. Curry's reasoning for leaving a successful spot was to be closer to family in Texas. She got them better, finally getting to the NCAA playoffs her 7th year, then bailed for Alabama. She had a 0.57 winning percentage at Tech and currently....is at 0.515 at Alabama.

But this is right after Sharp retired, so there were still decent players. The cupboard is very bare at Tech right now.

Curry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristy_Curry

 

She retired from international play but will still play for the Lynx. Aren’t some of the eval periods during the summer - same time as WNBA season?

 

You are correct about the overlap of the WNBA schedule and the evaluation periods. Minnesota fans are thrilled with the hire of Whalen but she has no prior experience coaching. Her lack of coaching experience coupled with her commitment to finishing her WNBA career would give me pause if I were a Minnesota fan. She's a talented and relentless competitor but that does not always translate to the diverse demands of being a head coach.

She will undoubtedly have the support of the fans and that is a big plus. Hopefully the athletic department will support her with the budget to hire an experienced staff to assist her as she grows into the job.

 

No way backwards Lubbock hires an out Lesbian for Head Coach..can't imagine she and her wife were really comfortable in that God-forsaken place..

 

She said explicitly that she didn't want to be considered for the head coaching job.

 

During the press conference, Stollings thanked her partner Jeanie - a woman, so she is definitely "out". Lubbock is changing and growing with many students from Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. It's still deep in the heart of the bible belt, but not as backwards as you think.

 

There aren't many places left where it's a problem for a staff person or athlete to be open about their sexual orientation. More often that not, in this day and age, it's considered a little strange when someone feels the need to hide who they are, or remain 'quiet', or in the closet.

 

There are degrees of "out-ness." Her partner is mentioned in the presser, but not in the local media. Will she be in the Tech bio?