-
Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
Joanne P. McCallie resigned from Duke on Thursday after 13 seasons in Durham, North Carolina. That leaves one of the biggest coaching jobs in women’s basketball open, and will draw enormous interest.
McCallie had his share of success at Duke, and at Michigan State and Maine before that. But with a year remaining on his contract with Duke and no overtime, it was time for a change. It could be argued that it is past time, because Duke has lost his place among the contenders for a national championship. McCallie made it to the Elite Eight four times, but outperformed there. For Duke to attempt to regain true elite status, he had to move from McCallie.
Which direction will Duke go? A year ago, the North Carolina archrival replaced coach Sylvia Hatchell with Courtney Banghart of Princeton, who was respected for her strategic insight and the success of the Ivy League, but had no experience at a Power 5 conference. UNC He didn’t try to attract any of the more successful Power 5 head coaches, relying on Banghart’s ability to grow quickly on the job. North Carolina was 16-14 years old last season, and Banghart has so far recruited well there.
In the best years of the Duke-North Carolina women’s basketball rivalry, both shows were contenders for the national championship, including in 2006, when they both advanced to the Final Four. Who could Duke look to get back there? Here are some potential candidates for the job.
Gail Goestenkors
Duke could bring back the architect who made the program an endless source. Assuming in 1992-93, Goestenkors transformed the Blue Devils, which had mostly been a late occurrence even at the ACC. In 15 seasons, he went 396-99 and led Duke to four Final Four appearances. In 2007, she was attracted to Texas, but it was not the right choice. Goestenkors resigned in 2012 after failing to pass the second round of the NCAA tournament with the Longhorns.
Since then, she has trained as a WNBA assistant, has done broadcast work, and has been a coaching consultant. At 57, she says her batteries are fully recharged, and the Blue Devil fan base would likely be energized to welcome her.
“I never felt more confident about training than today,” Goestenkors told ESPN on Thursday. “I remember a conversation I had last year with UNC football coach Mack Brown when he returned to training. He talked about missing the locker room and the energy of teaching and coaching youth. I relate to that 100 percent. “
Katie Meier, Miami
A Duke student who completed a stellar career in 1990, 52-year-old Meier knows the ACC very well. He is 292-187 in 15 seasons in Miami. His best finish in the ACC is a draw in first place, in 2011; Last season, hurricanes had a record of 15-15 overall and 7-11 at ACC, tied for 11th.
Miami has not passed the second round of the NCAA tournament with Meier, so the question is whether he could be much more successful with the caliber of recruits he should regularly be able to get at Duke.
Lindsay Gottlieb, Cleveland Cavaliers
The former Cal coach, who led the Bears to the 2013 Final Four, moved last year to gain NBA-level experience as an assistant. But Gottlieb, 42, could choose to return to the college game for this opportunity.
Originally from New York, she is an Ivy League (Brown) graduate who would seem like a good fit for a program with Duke’s academic reputation. And her time with the Cavs should be an advantage in recruiting players who hope to make it to the WNBA.
Gottlieb was 179-89 at Cal from 2011-19.
Adia Barnes, Arizona
At 43, he seems to be in a really good place in his alma mater, where he’s 68-60 in four seasons, but he’s just had his best year. The Wildcats were 24-7 and finished fourth in the Pac-12. Barnes’ success on the field has also sparked more interest from fans.
The former WNBA player is a California native whose coaching career has been on the west coast. So many points indicate that she stayed, but Duke is a rare opportunity. And she might not be the only current Pac-12 coach in the mix for the Blue Devils job, as UCLA’s Cori Close could also be a candidate.
Tina Langley, Rice
Langley, a former Maryland aide, has made a name for herself as a coach at Rice. She is 115-43 with the Owls, and her 28 wins in 2018-19 were a program record. She was a coach of the US Conference of the year that season. The Owls were 21-8 last season.
Langley has ACC experience since the Terrapins were still in that league, she was part of two Final Four trips with Maryland, and also as an assistant to Clemson.
Michelle Clark-Heard, Cincinnati
He was 154-47 in six seasons at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, before taking over the Bearcats in 2018. The past two seasons, he was 32-15 in Cincinnati. In his time with those two shows, he never won fewer than 22 games in one season.
Clark-Heard, 51, was also an assistant to Jeff Walz in Louisville, and helped the Cardinals make their first appearance in the Final Four in 2009.
Jennie Baranczyk, Drake
She has been interviewed for some Power 5 jobs in recent years, including North Carolina last year. At 38, the former Iowa player is happy with Drake in her hometown of Des Moines, but with her success there, she is supposed to move on at some point.
He is 174-83 overall in eight seasons at Drake, and 110-34 at the Missouri Valley Conference, where his Bulldogs have finished the first three times and the second three times.
Shea Ralph, UConn assistant
The former Huskies player and his longtime assistant could be considered possible heirs to Geno Auriemma at UConn. But Auriemma has shown no signs of slowing down, and Ralph, 42, is set to become a head coach. She is also a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Speaking of possible candidates connected to UConn, George Washington head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, another former Huskies guard, could also be considered. At 46, she has an overall record of 379-276 combined in 17 seasons at Hartford and four at GW.
And there’s also Marisa Moseley, 38, of Boston University, the current head coach of her alma mater. She was an assistant at UConn from 2009-18.
Joy Smith, Clemson’s assistant
It remains to be seen if the Blue Devils would consider hiring an assistant like Ralph or Smith. At 32, Smith is the youngest candidate on this list, and she is a former Duke player who is known for her recruiting prowess. Smith, whose maiden name is Cheek, ended her career at Blue Devil in 2010, having played for both Goestenkors (who recruited her) and McCallie.
Smith, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been an assistant at her alma mater, and at Ohio State and Vanderbilt, before going to Clemson.
Smith is one of the intriguing names of the former Blue Devils who are training or could enter the profession. That includes Lindsey Harding, who currently works with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and the show’s best overall player, Alana Beard, who retired from the WNBA.
Duke might even consider hiring Goestenkors as head coach, knowing he could bring assistants like Smith, Harding, or Beard to help them rise to the position of head coach at some point.
Curt Miller, Connecticut Sun
It seems likely that Duke, who has not had a male head coach in the show’s history, is looking to hire a woman. But there could be some male candidates in the mix, including Miller. He was previously head coach of the university at Bowling Green (11 years old) and Indiana (two years old), with a combined total of 290-124. In four seasons with the WNBA Sun, he is 79-57 with three playoff appearances. He led Connecticut to Game 5 of the WNBA Finals last year, and has also had good experiences coaching former Duke players like Jasmine Thomas in Connecticut and Alana Beard when Miller was an assistant in Los Angeles.
Other male candidates that could be considered are Jeff Walz of Louisville, whose name seems to be mentioned in many coaching searches, but he does a very good job (and good pay) with the Cardinals and Kenny Brooks of Virginia Tech.
.
