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Post by yotefan on Apr 11, 2016 13:55:34 GMT -6
Amy's gone, time to look forward. I remember thinking it would take a long time to replace a coach like Chad Lavin after he coached us to the D2 Championship game and the Yotes came up short. He retired shortly thereafter, but not before leading USD to 32 wins, something that had never been accomplished before. USD turned around and hired Ryun Williams, a great coach who brought in Seekamp and others. I wondered how USD would replace him when he left for CSU. We then hired Amy Williams. Now people are wondering who will take the reigns from her. Although the Husker press release states she created the USD Women's Program "from scratch" (she didn't), the cupboard is not bare. USD has shown it knows how to hire women's basketball coaches. I see no reason for that not to continue in to the future. Definitely helps to have a guy like David Herbster, President Abbott, and David Williams at the helm in times like this. Going to be an exciting time for USD. Onward. Go Yotes!
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Post by Cousin Eddie on Apr 11, 2016 14:36:30 GMT -6
Somehow that quote about "from scratch" has been taken out of context.
Said Eichorst in a statement, "We are extremely fortunate and thrilled to have identified an exceptional person, coach and Nebraska women’s basketball alumna, Amy Williams to be our head women’s basketball coach. Amy is a very skilled and experienced basketball coach who has a track record of success both on and off the court and is an ideal fit for Nebraska. Amy has built a women’s basketball program from scratch into a national contender, led teams to conference championships, a NCAA Tournament appearance and won the 2016 WNIT championship. She has a proven vision, plan and knows how to recruit regionally, nationally and internationally which will translate very well to Nebraska."
I am pretty sure that Eichorst is referring to Rogers State.
Here is the line for her profile on OUR website:
In March of 2007, Williams was named the first head women's basketball coach at Rogers State University and built the program from scratch into an NAIA national contender. In five seasons at Rogers State, Williams recorded a 97-65 record. Last year, the Hillcats were 22-12 and advanced to the NAIA Final 8 for the first time in school history. She led the Hillcats to back-to-back NAIA national tournament appearances.
You aren't the first person to comment on this YF.
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Post by Yotes on Apr 11, 2016 15:08:12 GMT -6
Williams was the first coach in program history at Rogers State if I'm remembering correctly. She has built a program from scratch but it certainly wasn't the one at USD.
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Post by Cousin Eddie on Apr 11, 2016 15:14:47 GMT -6
Williams was the first coach in program history at Rogers State if I'm remembering correctly. She has built a program from scratch but it certainly wasn't the one at USD. Right...and the comment from the Nebraska AD does not say it in reference to USD. That is what I am saying.
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Post by coyote61 on Apr 11, 2016 15:27:45 GMT -6
Is there a coach from the Summitt worth hiring that would pull a Nielson and get out of the big money issues facing Illinois schools?
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steelsd
Sophomore Member
Posts: 167
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Post by steelsd on Apr 11, 2016 15:35:57 GMT -6
Is there a coach from the Summitt worth hiring that would pull a Nielson and get out of the big money issues facing Illinois schools? Well, there is (was) one from Indiana who could be had!
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Post by Coyote Fan on Apr 11, 2016 17:03:51 GMT -6
Herbster has a big dilemma on his hands. He could stay within a very successful program and hire Chuck Love who has 4 years learning under Amy. The positive of that is that it would keep a sense of continuity with the players and hopefully with the system that is run, which is one hell of a system. Maybe Seekamp could have a role under his guidance. The negative is that as far as I know he does not have head coaching experience and his experience in general is very limited. I believe he graduated from college as recent as 2008. His resume does not quite fit the stature of a coach that this program deserves but will his familiarity trump his experience.
David could also simply put this up for a national search and hire the best possible national candidate. The positive is that we would probably be getting one heck of a coach. The negative is that much would probably change and the chances of losing players and/or recruits might be higher.
The Coyotes have been lucky to go from one good coach, to a very good coach, to a superstar coach. They have risen the bar in each successive hire. The odds that this will continue are probably lower than 50/50. I don't know how much higher we can go as a program without regressing first. Amy already built us to the status of a top 10 (at worst) or top 5 mid major program. The Coyotes were a top 40 national program at the end of the WNIT no question. Losing Amy is a huge blow to USD and to say otherwise I don't think is being realistic. I am mega happy for her and her career but I am a Coyote fan first and care about what happens with the Coyotes not what happens on the floor at Nebraska or Colorado State. Before Amy the Coyotes were a Summit League Force, now we are a national force. I just hope whoever takes over will be able to keep the bar as high as it is now. Asking for more than what Amy gave us is asking for an awful lot.
I want to thank Amy Williams for all she did for Coyote Women's Basketball in her short time here. She did everything anyone could ask for. She got these ladies to play their asses off night in and night off. She turned a team that was kind of lost mid season into a great team by the end of the year. Her teams always peaked at the end of the year. 1 NCAA tourney appearance and 1 WNIT championship in a 4 year span is pretty great and if it wouldn't have been for SDSU she would have had the Coyotes in 4 straight NCAA tourneys. We saw what a team with good talent and great heart and guidance could accomplish and that was a ton. She got the absolute best she could out of her players. They really seemed to like her being their coach and they showed it on court. I really like the overall system of aggression that she implemented. I definitely liked her strategy to play a deep bench even during crucial stretches of the season. That strategy paid off in the WNIT and I think pays off the further into a season it gets. I like how the Yotes played defense. They showed token pressure in the back court and then were in the faces of who they were guarding all the way out to the 3 point line and beyond. Teams had no room to do anything against the Yotes. She took a team with very good offensive talent and shooting ability and turned them into a gritty defensive team that could beat you 51-50 of 101-89. The best thing that comes to mind is the versatility of the players she coached and the versatility of how those players blended together. They were a true team and won that way instead of having one or two players play one on one basketball. Any doubt I had about Amy and her ability to coach was evaporated this year with how the players coming off the bench developed so nicely. Just look at Abby Fogg. She went from the end of the bench to being a significant force in a very short time period. She dominated the paint. I rarely see a coach that I agree with pretty much everything they do/did but Amy was one of them.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Apr 12, 2016 13:14:59 GMT -6
There has got to be a name or two being thrown around by now. All I have heard is Chuck Love and the Amy's sister from Minnesota State. I know MSU was good just after the Yotes went D1 but I am not sure if she was there at that point. Their program has cooled off over the past couple of years or so which lowers her desirability.
Any other names anyone is hearing about whether substantiated or not?
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Post by yotefan90 on Apr 12, 2016 13:44:04 GMT -6
One name that Jeremy H. threw out immediately is Katie Gearlds. She was just in Sioux City a few weeks back leading Marian University to the NAIA Division II national championship. He was very clear in stating that it was someone he thought about, not that he knew of the university pursuing. Her bio can be found here. www.muknights.com/coach/0/2.php
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Post by Yote 53 on Apr 12, 2016 14:03:34 GMT -6
Tyler Summit is available.
I kid! I kid!
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Post by GoYotes on Apr 12, 2016 14:11:18 GMT -6
Katie Gearlds has a lot of similarities to Amy. A couple of differences is that she is not from the upper midwest and she has played both overseas and inthe WNBA.
Another possible name is Steve Gomez, head coach at D2 national champion, Lubbock Christian.
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Post by nebraskacoyote on Apr 12, 2016 15:17:18 GMT -6
Do you think USD goes the NAIA or Division II route again for the next head coach (it's worked the last two times) or instead goes with someone who has Division I experience since this is now a pretty darned good job?
If you go the small school route, there are several very, very good coaches in this area at the Division II and NAIA level.
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Post by kiyoat on Apr 12, 2016 15:45:20 GMT -6
Katie Gearlds has a lot of similarities to Amy. A couple of differences is that she is not from the upper midwest and she has played both overseas and inthe WNBA. Another possible name is Steve Gomez, head coach at D2 national champion, Lubbock Christian. Gomez looks interesting. 13 years as HC at a small private school in West Texas (his alma mater). The roster looks like mostly local TX girls, many from Lubbock. Two of them are 6'-4"+ ! Three were transfers from larger programs (Texas Tech, CC). Sounds a lot like USD's recruiting strategy, but he hasn't recruited the Midwest before. Private schools don't publish coaches salaries, so...
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Post by Coyote Fan on Apr 12, 2016 18:04:48 GMT -6
Just some info on each of the candidates that has been mentioned so far
Chuck Love: 4 year assistant under Amy Williams at USD, 1 year assistant of the Rogers State Men's Program, Assistant at Wayland Baptist U., Grad Assistant at NW Oklahoma State where he graduated in 2008.
Emilee Thiese: (Amy Williams' sister) Head Coach at Minnesota State - 2012-2013: 26-6 and 2nd round of NC Regional - 2013-2014: 23-6 - 2014-2015: 21-10 - 2015-2016: 9-18 looks like the wheels fell off this year. She plays and uptempo offense or at least did at one time.
Katie Gearlds: Head coach at NAIA Marion University 2013-2014: 16-16 - 2014-2015: 28-6 and lost in NAIA round of 32 - 2015-2016: 32-6 and won national title - Purdue graduate and was drafted 7th overall in the WNBA draft - played overseas as well.
Steve Gomez: Head coach of the Lubbock Christian University Chaps - They were NAIA until 2013-14 when they transitioned to D2.
2004-2005: 16-14 2005-2006: 23-12 and advanced to the NAIA final 4 with many upsets along the way 2006-2007: 26 wins and to sweet 16 in NAIA tournament 2007-2008: 25-10 and to elite 8 in NAIA tournament 2008-2009: 27-7 and to sweet 16 in NAIA tournament 2009-2010: 19-12 and went to the NAIA tournament 2010-2011: 25-10 and to elite 8 in NAIA tournament 2011-2012: 28-6 and to final 4 in NAIA tournament 2012-2013: 31-4 in NAIA 2013-2014: 25-1 in D2 2014-2015: 21-7 in D2 2015-2016: 35-0 and won D2 National Title in Sioux Falls
He has coached in Texas and as far as I know Texas is not exactly a hot bed of Women's College Basketball. They barely take Men's basketball serious down there because it's all about football in Texas.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Apr 12, 2016 18:09:31 GMT -6
Do you think USD goes the NAIA or Division II route again for the next head coach (it's worked the last two times) or instead goes with someone who has Division I experience since this is now a pretty darned good job? If you go the small school route, there are several very, very good coaches in this area at the Division II and NAIA level. I have always believed that you hire the best person for the job period. Man, Woman, D2, NAIA, D1 whatever. There are a lot of different perspectives on this. I favor those with successful head coaching experience first regardless of what the level is. An assistant at the D1 level is only good if they also have a history of excellence as a head coach somewhere. Gomez and Gearlds both look like impressive candidates. I like Gomez and his consistency followed by a perfect season this year. Gearlds has gone way up in a short period of time kind of like Amy.
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