The Whalen Effect: Gophers coach quickly lands a big fish
The 2018 fishing opener is still a few days away but new University of Minnesota basketball coach Lindsay Whalen landed a big one a few days early, and she’s not about to throw it back in the water. From the moment they first spoke, Stillwater junior Sara Scalia was hooked on the U and the top-rated guard in Minnesota’s class of 2019 said ‘yes’ to the Golden Gophers. “I’ve watched Lindsay play for seven years,” said Scalia, who often sits courtside at Minnesota Lynx games with her dad. “She has been a great role model, and I have always loved the way she plays. When I was talking to her in her office she said so many interesting things that only a person that’s had the experiences she’s had would be able to say… When Lindsay came to watch me play, and she liked the way I played, there was no way I could say ‘no.'”
Sara Scalia of Stillwater put up some eye-popping numbers this winter for Willie Taylor’s Ponies. (photo courtesy of Hometown Source)Scalia’s ‘yes’ came after Whalen had been on the job just three weeks. By landing an elite Minnesota prospect, the new coach has already accomplished something previous coach Marlene Stollings was unable to do in four seasons. Whalen put in some long days at the Boo Williams tournament in Virginia two weeks ago where she watched every elite Minnesota player she could. What she saw in Scalia of North Tartan 11 EYBL was a highly-skilled, 5’10 point guard with swagger, excellent handles and serious range. Scalia was a scoring machine this past winter for Stillwater, averaging 26.5 points, 5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.8 steals.
“I had been in contact with the previous staff, but when Lindsay came on she watched me play in Virginia and then we set up a time to meet as soon as possible,” Scalia explained. “After my visit last week I knew it was the best fit for me… Lindsay being a point guard and myself being a point guard I feel like I can learn a lot from one of the best. The new Athlete’s Village is unbelievable, and I love everything about the University of Minnesota, as well.”
Jonathan Tsipis of Wisconsin was hard after Scalia for months, as were Marquette, Green Bay and Drake, but the opportunity to play for Whalen was impossible to pass up. That’s not surprising. On the day she was named coach at the U, Whalen’s new boss Mark Coyle said she had the ‘It’ factor, that certain something that separates the biggest winners from the rest of us. Would that aura, we wondered, be a viable recruiting weapon? The short answer is yes.
What type of impact will Scalia’s commitment have?
When word got out over the weekend at the AAU State Prelims that the Gophers were handing out offers and invites, there was a palpable buzz in the gym. I think folks expected Whalen would convince a few Minnesotans to play at home. I don’t think we anticipated she would land a player of Scalia’s caliber in less than a month. It’s impressive.
So what does it mean? Will the Scalia signing be a watershed moment for the program? Will those early offers turn into quick commitments? Consider the ‘it’ factor for a moment. Most basketball-playing girls in grades 8 through 11 don’t remember when the Lynx were bad. The run of championships began when they were in elementary school. They have watched Whalen with wonder and awe, hoping for an autograph or a selfie or one of those funky head nods she hands out. You’d be hard pressed to find a prospect who doesn’t have a Whalen poster or souvenir and a drawer full of Lynx T-shirts. If, suddenly, your idol is in the living room telling you she admires your jump shot and wants you to join her quest for an NCAA championship, that’s a pretty powerful sales pitch for a 15-year-old.
A whirlwind of recruiting activity
Frankly, Whalen must be exhausted. Between the stress of starting a new job and trying to get ready for another WNBA season at age 36, it has to be incredibly stressful. On the way back from the Lynx exhibition game in Iowa yesterday afternoon, most of the players were probably watching Netflix or sleeping or being subjected to another Seimone Augustus comedic enterprise. Not Whalen. She was working the phone talking to prospects.
Fortunately there will be a bit of a breather over the next seven days thanks to the NCAA-imposed one-week dark period. There is no contact of any kind permitted during the window so the new coach and her assistants can focus on other parts of their lengthy to do list. Whalen has certainly made the most of the days leading into the hiatus, having given offers to at least three elite Minnesota players from the classes of 2020 and 2021. At least three more are going to visit in the next couple of weeks.
It’s not difficult to speculate who those players might or should be: 8th graders Mallory Heyer and Amaya Battle would be on my list. So, too, 9th graders such as Jade Hill, Adalia McKenzie, Jenna Johnson, Sophie Hart and Tamia Ugass. Among the 2020s you would have to think Lauren Jensen and Alyssa Ustby are targets. And then there’s that Paige Bueckers kid, who is a whale among walleye in the recruiting pond. Will Scalia try to convince others, including The Whale, to join her? “I really want to win,” Scalia said, “and if that means helping to get an elite player in the state then I will try to help in any way I can.”
Photo top: Sara Scalia of Stillwater displayed her new colors proudly during a campus visit last week to the University of Minnesota. The North Tartan junior is the top-rated guard in the class of 2019. (courtesy photo)