- A link to a great song, unrelated to volleyball, about the “dawn of towns:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXTC9Pvbv9g
If you were hoping for an A-List, big name coach, which being volleyball, there aren’t many, Karch Kiraly and … John Cook maybe? But we didn’t get John Cook, we got Keegan Cook. If you were hoping for an up-and-comer with a unbelievable record, well … our Cook has a strong record of success at the U of Washington, similar in some sense to McCutcheon’s here, but not quite — given that the Pac 12 is not as strong through the middle as the Big Ten. If you were hoping for another coach with strong personal ties to the U of M program and the North Star State … strike 3. And if you were hoping for a woman coach … strike 4.
But if you were hoping, as I was, for a McCutcheon protégé, a coach who seems likely to respect and maintain the traditions and values established by McCutcheon – you got your wish. Coach Cook seems like that guy. I say “seems” because we know that publicly expressed values don’t always match up with the values revealed by one’s actions; but I’m willing to give Coach Cook the benefit of the doubt.
More important than GopherVBallRocks giving Cook the benefit of the doubt, of course, are the talented returning core of players (Landfair, Wenaas, Shaffmaster, Booth, Wooker, etc.) and this year’s and future year’s recruits being willing to give Coach Cook the benefit of the doubt. I assume that McCutcheon met with the squad yesterday, as the announcement became public (and was on the phone with recruits minutes later), saying something like, “We built this program around certain values. It was these values that attracted you here in the first place, and you have reinforced these values. Coach Cook believes in these very same values, and with your help will continue to reinforced these values.”
I hope they buy it. And let’s hope they ignore the fact that Cook is abandoning a program where he preached these same values — for an upward step in his career.
Cynic that I am, I’ve already looked at the Huskie’s roster, with an eye toward whom Cook might bring with him. Cook’s best 3 players this past season were Middle Marin Grote, Outside Hitter Claire Hoffman, and Setter Ella Powell – all seniors, and I think all 5th year seniors, with no remaining eligibility. A couple of others that caught my eye were Libero Lauren Bays, a sophomore, and Middle Sophie Summers, another sophomore, both positions where the Gophs definitely need help next year. I was unable to find any reports re incoming Huskie recruits. THINK POSITIVE!
BIG TEN COLLAPSE
Watching the Gophers on BTN and BTN+, and glancing at the polls and RPI ratings, it becomes easy to believe that the Big Ten is, by far, the dominant conference in Women’s D1 Volleyball. And last year’s National Final between Wisconsin and Nebraska certainly reinforced this theory. But the 2022 Final Four features 2 ACC teams, 1 WCC Team, 1 Big 12 team (Texas, soon to be SEC), and, do the math — zero Big Ten teams! So what happened?
Several things:
- Media hype. BTN has a vested interest in hyping the product they sell advertising for. The Big Ten is never as strong, relative to the rest of the country, as BTN tells us it is; I figured this out long ago when entering NCAA Basketball pools, but I keep forgetting that this also applies to V-Ball.
- Parity. The early years of NCAA Women’s Volleyball were dominated by West Coast teams. Then Penn State and Nebraska (neither in the Big Ten at the time) became competitive with the West Coast teams. Then Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota and others became competitive. Now the ACC. The wave hasn’t seemed to reach the BosWas megalopolis yet, but Brett Favre diverted Fed $ to promote V-ball at Southern Mississippi, so the Volleyball Craze has officially gone national.
- Wisconsin. The Badgers weren’t that good! Before the season started, I predicted that without Dana Roettke and Sidney Hilley, our Gophers would kick Sconiie butt at the Pav in September; and we did, in 3 sets. The Badgers winning every other Big Ten match (finishing 19 & 1) is a tribute to Kelly Sheffield’s coaching I guess – even if he does look like a rodent. (Hats off to reader R.S., a UW Alum, who forwarded a nice write-up about Sheffield in his Alumni Newsletter.)
MCCUTCHEON’S NEXT CHALLENGE
I remain disappointed that Coach McCutcheon is moving on from direct involvement with my favorite sports team. But I am relieved, for now, that he is not leaving the Gopher Athletic Dept. His continuity with the Maroon & Gold obviously gave him influence over the selection of the new coach, and might help retain our outstanding team – despite the Transfer Portal, and hopefully maintain the program momentum.
As I understand it, his new role will be to teach Gopher Coaches how to coach. I didn’t know that was a job, but okay, I get it. I count 9 men’s and 12 women’s varsity sports (there are at least that many “club” sports, like men’s volleyball, and the men’s & women’s water polo that I once coached, but “club” sports are not part of the Athletic Department) so 21 total.
Most of these teams have assistant coaches, so I assume there are at least 100 coaches who stand to benefit from McCutcheon’s wisdom. I know almost nothing about the rowing or soccer teams, and not much about the coaches of the men’s and women’s hockey teams, but besides incoming volleyball Coach Cook, the coaching of the high-profile football and basketball teams could obviously use some help.
- Ben Johnson is in his 2nd year as a head coach. He seems to have a good attitude, as indicated by both his public remarks and his hiring of his high school coach as an assistant. Johnson seems the type to listen to McCutcheon’s advice, and he’ll need it.
- Lindsey Whelan is, presumably, the most successful former athlete of all Gopher coaches, not only winning 4 WNBA Titles and multiple Olympic Gold Medals, but before that she was the highest-impact athlete in Gopher history. (When Whelan began her Gopher playing career, the average attendance at women’s basketball was roughly 900; her senior year, it was closer to 9,000.)
Yet Whelan’s best players, including her own direct recruits, have consistently transferred-out, suggesting room for improvement. Tony Oliva has had only modest success as a hitting coach because “see-ball, hit-ball” only works with hitters who possessed Oliva’s extraordinary hand-eye coordination. Whelan, a relatively short, slow, guard with a mediocre shot, achieved success comparable to Oliva’s based, I think, on her incredible competitive intensity.
I think Whelan has been guilty of assuming that the young women she’s coaching shared her competitive intensity – only to learn that several, often with more physical talent than she ever had, did not. Perhaps this latest group of talented freshmen all share Whelan’s competitive intensity, and it will all work out. But I suspect she needs McCutcheon’s advice; let’s hope her ears are open.
- P.J. Fleck seems like a real challenge, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is his recent salary increase to $6 Mil/yr (I don’t know what McCutcheon’s new position pays, but probably not more than $300 K); it might be tough for McCutcheon to get Fleck’s attention.
And speaking of attention, I’ve paid little to Fleck, but he’s hard to avoid, what with the “Row Your Boat” silliness, the racing his team at quarter-breaks silliness, and the constant screaming on the sideline. And apparently, the reason our Golden Gopher football team rarely wears gold any more, is because Fleck doesn’t like the way he looks in gold. I guess his team of 19 to 22 yr-olds tend to buy what Fleck is selling, but good luck to McCutcheon on this one.
READERS WRITE REGARDING THE 2022 SEASON
Reader M.C.: “Texas is amazing!”
Reader P.M.: “The season, and especially the final loss, was emotionally draining for players and fans. I thought the momentum was on our side, but OSU adjusted and MN couldn’t match their intensity. Hard to see it end this way.
McCutcheon was a great coach and built up the program; he will be missed. So many unknowns moving forward: New coach; Will players stay or transfer out; Is MN moving into a “re-building” phase? We need to buckle up and cross our fingers for good things to come.”
Reader D.K.: “ I have really enjoyed GopherVBallRocks all season. John is forthright in both his praise and criticism — about the only source who tells it like it is (including the ugly). Keep up the good work, John.”
JOHN: Thanks for the kind words, D.K. Other readers have expressed concern for my mental health, and how will I fill the hours until next August. But there’s the transfer portal to worry about, and maybe I can get my granddaughter to help me jazz-up the graphics. I’ll get by.
It would help if the Vikings’ defense would improve.