MINNEAPOLIS _ On the video board above the podium where she was introduced as the next Minnesota Gophers women's basketball coach, a photo of Lindsay Whalen in her No. 13 college uniform was shown next to the words: Welcome Home.
Whalen, a three-time Minnesota All-American point guard and four-time WNBA champion, addressed a group of a hundred fans, media and friends in attendance Friday afternoon at Williams Arena.
"I always felt like at some point in my life this would happen," Whalen said. "When I decided to take this job, I knew going to the Final Four and filling this place with thousands of people _ that experience changed my life."
The 35-year-old Hutchinson native plans to keep playing point guard for the Minnesota Lynx this summer and transition into her first stint as a coach with the Gophers in the fall.
Whalen, who is in the process of hiring her assistant coaches, replaces Marlene Stollings after the fourth-year coach took the same position at Texas Tech this week. The Gophers finished 24-9 this season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
"I feel prepared thanks to the Hall of Fame coaches I've been playing for," Whalen said. "They taught me so much what it is to compete at a championship level."
