Guru Musings: The Search for the Next Penn State WBB Era Begins

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

To some people, Saturday’s news out of Happy Valley that Penn State was making a women’s basketball coaching change per agreement with Coquese Washington was something they did not see coming.

Twelve seasons ago the news that Penn State and the late Rene Portland, a coaching icon on the court, controversial away from the sidelines,  were parting ways was something they did not see coming either.

The different was when Portland’s departure occurred it was a mega boom heard across the the women’s basketball universe.

For one, because of the person involved — “I will tell you that after Pat Summitt back in the day, Rene Portland teams were the hardest to prepare and play,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said recently in a conversation about yesteryear.

For two, because it was, well, Penn State.

On Friday, there was more than a bit of “Oh really?” out there  when the press release was issued just two days after the 12th-seeded Lady Lions lost to 13th seeded Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference tournament in which Penn State was among the annual rulers.

The Portland departure, granted the print world was far more plentiful, called for stories when it happened on the coach, the era, speculation on successors.

And when the successor was found in Coquese Washington, then associate head coach under Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw, to take wake up Penn State’s echoes, the hire was met with consensus approval.

And ultimately for a time Happy Valley was happy again in what became a two-for package deal, the Lady Lions became relevant and Washington the person became one of the pillars of community in the sport as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and serving on key search committees, and away from the sport in terms of daily activities.

Watching on a demand replay of Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour’s  press conference from here at Mohegan, which was impressive in her stating the difficulty of having to let go Washington, the individual, but also talking about the trend lines, the leader at the helm clearly has a vision of what to look for and what it will take to find in a replacement.

The Guru could see this coming for many reasons extended to all the statistics of the Washington era Barbour noted.

For one, in this season in particularly when you look down the standings aisle in the Big Ten and no longer see Rutgers, your travel partner and long rival from back in the AIAW era at eye level but up above in the penthouse competing for a conference championship and you’re still in the basement it’s a problem.

Looking at the AP rankings in the Washington era the glory years dating to Penn State’s last ranking March 17, 2014, five seasons ago on Selection Monday Eve coming up, her numbers in terms of appearances at 61 coincide with the Maggie Lucas era on the court.

If you look at the number of coaches who started  their first jobs running programs or started at a new school with zero previous rankings in their resumes, at one time Washington was moving up the charts with them but there are ten who have since bypassed her.

Dawn Staley 133 at South Carolina (26 at Temple not included)

Holly Warlick 109 at Tennessee — the Vols situation probably put PSU in a shadow

Karen Aston 95 primarily at Texas if not all — didn’t look to check Charlotte

Scott Rueck 95 at Oregon State

Vic Schaefer 92 at Mississippi State

Lindsey Gottlieb 83 at Cal

Quentin Hillsman 82 at Syracuse

Katie Meier 80 at Miami (took Hurricanes job in 2005)

Cori Close 78 at UCLA

Kelly Graves 75 Gonzaga/Oregon

Coquese Washington 61 at Penn State

To be sure, Washington has enough upside that a fresh start elsewhere could be fine. McGraw noted Amanda Butler’s success this season at Clemson as a comparison. One could also look at Felicia Legette-Jack at Buffalo.

Barbour said the goal is to compete for conference and national championships, competing in the Big Ten has you in play to compete nationally, fit is key, there will be patience to get it done.

And the resources are there, in part courtesy of the mega Big Ten dollars, for those of you wondering what’s the financial commitment.

So knowing Barbour personally. but hadn’t talked to her since the Rene Portland funeral, and seeing this coming and also discussing the looming situation with a former women’s administrator at a key Midwest school who might have been in a similar situation one day, and also several others and the Guru playing the role if he had to build a search, here are the names to put on a list, which is why you’re all still reading this at this point.

Lindsay Gottlieb — Could set the NCAA record for hiring the same person the most times at two different institutions.Would she come back East or hold off for some other Power 5s looming.

Suzy McConnell Serio, one of the original superstars, now unemployed after let go at Pitt in her native city. But, but you say, but the Guru says being Suzie McConnell at Penn State trying to win in the Big Ten is a bit easier — not knocking the conference — than trying to contend in the ACC. At the time of the Portland departure, she took the vacancy at Duquesne and signals were sent that connections to the previous era were a barrier. But that was then and this is now.

Barbour got the coded question about Penn State connections and said always helpful in hires, as resources for hires or delving in background checks. And no, Susan Robinson Fruchtl, who filled in from her AD job at Saint Francis, Pa., not interested in staying on the bench. But the comment leads us to

Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac. At some point the window of being the UConn of the MAAC will expire and while is well compensated for her success, there is also a PSU connection many of you don’t know from her maiden name Sacca — as in two brothers who quarterbacked the Nits.

Carolyn Keiger, Marquette — Her success this season in the national rankings and Big East

Jennifer Barancyk, Drake — Success at midmajor midwest

Tricia Cullop, Toledo — Name has come up before in power 5s and if more open could be a bidding war if she’s the one.

Katrina Merriweather, Wright State

Megan Duffy, Miami of Ohio — Many point to her among the youth core though hasn’t won anything yet. It means dipping back into the Notre Dame pool, but what’s not to like.

Tina Langley — Former Maryland aide who made Rice a national item.

The UConn pool – Jen Rizzotti at George Washington,  Shea Ralph on the Huskies, and Jemelle Elliott, who was starting to get in done at Cincinnati when unceremoniously let go. 

And we will leave you for the moment with this one since still have to write  the recaps report.

Take the shot and pick up the phone and call four-time WNBA champion coach Cheryl Reeve and have a discussion.

 Right now the window is there if you think she’s the one and you have the bucks to do the deal since wouldn’t be asking her to leave Mount Olympus, given the Lynx immediate situation.

Before she became the Cheryl Reeve you all know she had interest in the then-vacant Rhode Island job. 

“Always liked the A-10 having played and seen the quality of coaches, think it can be a good job.”

They hired Cathy Inglese who had success at Boston College and soon thereafter the Lynx came calling and the rest is Cherylstory.