Gail Goestenkors Won't Get The Opportunity To Return To Duke And Become The Next Head Coach Of The Women's Basketball Program
Earlier this week, Joanne P. McCallie who was the head coach of Duke stepped away from her position.
Why?
McCallie said she was stepping away because she is entering the final year of her contract and no agreement on an extension has been reached. “according to an article in the news & observer by Stephen Wiseman
“As a coach in the final year of my contract, uncertainty is natural and it takes away from confidence and fun,” McCallie said.according to an article in the news & observer by Stephen Wiseman
Joanne P. McCallie spent the last 13 seasons at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 330-107 (.755) overall record while earning ACC Coach of the Year honors three times.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/7/2/womens-basketball-mccallie-steps-away-from-duke-coaching-position.aspx
In addition to her 330 overall victories with the Blue Devils, McCallie guided Duke to a 150-54 (.735) ledger in ACC action with four consecutive league regular season titles in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and three ACC Tournament championships in 2010, 2011 and 2013. As well, McCallie's tenure in Durham included 10 NCAA Tournament selections with four straight Elite Eight appearances from 2010-13.https://goduke.com/news/2020/7/2/womens-basketball-mccallie-steps-away-from-duke-coaching-position.aspx
During the 2018-19 season, McCallie became the quickest coach in ACC history to reach the 300-win plateau at a member institution. The season before, she became the 15th-fastest coach in NCAA history to reach the 600-victory mark, doing so in just 821 contests.https://goduke.com/news/2020/7/2/womens-basketball-mccallie-steps-away-from-duke-coaching-position.aspx
One of the names to replace her was Gail Goestenkors who is a familiar name to Duke Women’s Basketball.
Why is she familier?
Because she has had one stint as the head coach of Duke Women’s Basketball already .
She began her coaching career at Duke in 1992.
In her 14 years at Duke University, Gail Goestenkors helped lead the Blue Devils from relative obscurity to national prominence. Known as “Coach G” to players, coaches, fans and student supporters, Goestenkors has raised the level of the women’s basketball program at Duke to new heights. Today, because of Coach G, Duke is mentioned in the same breath with the other elite programs in women’s college basketball. “according to https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Goestenkors led Duke to its fourth NCAA Final Four and the National Championship game in 2005-06. The Blue Devils posted a 31-4 overall and 12-2 league mark on the year, which marked the sixth straight season with 30 or more victories. Duke joined Louisiana Tech as the only teams in NCAA history to register six straight 30-win seasons. The Blue Devils earned a No. 1 national ranking for the fourth straight year and tied their own NCAA record for blocks with 267 in back-to-back seasons.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
In 2004-05, Goestenkors led Duke to its fifth-straight ACC Regular Season title and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. The Blue Devils concluded the season with a 31-5 overall record and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for three straight weeks. For the season, Duke blocked an NCAA-record 267 shots in a year where it was possibly Goestenkors’ best coaching job of her career after losing three starters off of the previous year’s team.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
In 2003-04, Goestenkors led Duke to its fifth-straight ACC Championship and fourth-straight ACC Regular Season title. The Blue Devils posted a 30-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, while Goestenkors earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time. Duke was ranked No. 1 in the nation for five weeks and broke Connecticut’s 69-game home winning streak with a 68-67 victory in Hartford, Conneticuit according https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to an ACC-record 35-2 ledger in 2002-03 and their second straight NCAA Final Four appearance. For the second consecutive year, Duke posted a 19-0 record against ACC opponents and broke 33 team and individual records. Once again, Goestenkors received National Coach of the Year accolades earning Naismith, WBCA/Rawlings and Victor Award honors. For the first time in school history, Alana Beard earned the Victor Award as the National Player of the Year and was named ESPN.com National Player of the Year, while both Beard and Iciss Tillis were each named to the Kodak All-America Team. according to https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
The Blue Devils earned the school’s first No. 1 national ranking as Duke was tabbed No. 1 for the first 12 weeks of the season and was ranked no lower than second for the entire year in the Associated Press poll. according to https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
In 2001-02, Coach G led the Blue Devils to a 31-4 record and a NCAA Final Four appearance. Duke became the first ACC school to produce an undefeated 19-0 record in the ACC by winning the regular season and Tournament titles. The Blue Devils broke 24 school records, and Coach G was selected GBallmag.com National Coach of the Year. She did all of this with only eight players after two players transfered in December. Sophomore Alana Beard earned numerous honors including Associated Press All-America, ACC Player of the Year and ESPN The Magazine Shooting Guard of the Year. Sophomore Iciss Tillis earned honorable mention Associated Press All-America and freshman Monique Currie was named second team All-ACC.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
In 2000-01, the Blue Devils posted a 30-4 record, a second consecutive ACC Tournament title, an ACC regular season championship and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. It marked the first time in school history the Blue Devils won both the ACC regular season and Tournament titles in the same season. Senior Georgia Schweitzer and freshman Alana Beard earned All-America accolades, while Schweitzer captured her second consecutive ACC Player of the Year award. Duke accomplished all of this with five freshmen on the roster, a testament to Goestenkors’ coaching ability. For the excellent season, Goestenkors was named WBCA District II Coach of the Year. https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
The 1999-2000 season was one of Goestenkors’ finest coaching jobs in her 14 years with the Blue Devils. Picked to finish fourth in the ACC preseason poll and not ranked highly in any of the national polls, Duke raced to a 16-1 start on its way to capturing its first ACC Tournament Championship. The Blue Devils finished the year 28-6 despite losing three All-ACC starters to graduation and another, Peppi Browne, to injury halfway through the season. Nonetheless, Goestenkors and Duke regrouped to advance to the Sweet Sixteen and Coach G earned Basketball Times National Coach of the Year.
In the 1998-99 season, the Blue Devils enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in the history of Duke women’s basketball. During the season the Blue Devils recorded a 16-game winning streak, a 15-1 ACC record, and 11 wins over ranked opponents, all school records at the time. https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Goestenkors’ squad earned its then-highest national ranking ever, peaking at No. 2 at the end of the season. After beating three-time defending national champion Tennessee to capture the NCAA East Regional title, Duke advanced to its first Final Four, knocking off Georgia in the semifinals en route to a championship matchup with Purdue. Two more firsts for the Duke program in 1998-99 were the selection of Michele VanGorp to the prestigious Kodak All-America team and in the WNBA Draft. The 6-6 center, Duke’s first-ever Kodak All-America, became the first Blue Devil to play in the WNBA as a member of the New York Liberty. https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
If the past eight seasons show anything, they show how effective Goestenkors’ winning approach has been. Goestenkors’ record for highest winning percentage (.790) in school history offers evidence of her success: 364 total wins; an 86-7 mark at home against non-conference opponents; a 34-12 record in NCAA Tournament play; six straight 30-win seasons; eleven 20-plus win seasons in the past 12 years; five ACC Tournament Championships; seven ACC regular season titles; and four NCAA Final Four appearances.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Such accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by her peers in college basketball. Aside from winning ACC Coach of the Year in 1996, ’98, ’99, 2002, 2003 and 2004, Goestenkors captured the Victor Award in 1999 as the National Coach of the Year, as well as being selected the 2000 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year, the 2002 GBallmag.com National Coach of the Year and 2003 Naismith, WBCA/Rawlings and Victor Award as the National Coach of the Year. https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Her coaching is so respected that Goestenkors was named to the USA Basketball Collegiate Committee in the summer of 2001, was an assistant coach on the gold medal winning 2002 USA World Championship team, was an assistant coach on the gold medal winning 2004 USA Olympic team, was the coach of the 2005 USA U19 World Championship gold medal team and was named as assistant coach to the USA World Championship team. In 2005-06, Goestenkors received the Carol Eckman Award from the WBCA, which is presented annually to an active WBCA coach who exemplifies Eckman’s spirit, integrity and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose. She was also named USA Basketball Coach of the Year for guiding the U19 World Championship team to the gold medal.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
When Goestenkors came to Duke in 1992, she found a women’s program hoping to establish itself as a winner while the Blue Devil faithful were in the midst of celebrating the second consecutive NCAA Championship won by coach Mike Krzyzewski and the men’s basketball team. Hoping to mirror the success of Coach K and his program, Goestenkors wanted to give Duke fans reason to cheer for her women’s team.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
While success stories do not just happen overnight, it did not take long for Goestenkors to establish a winning attitude with the Blue Devils. In her inaugural season Duke started out strong with seven straight wins, which at that time was the third longest streak in school history. The 1992-93 squad, which featured only eight healthy players, broke four program records during the course of the season.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Great strides were taken in becoming a successful program in Goestenkors’ second season. That year, 1993-94, Duke finished with a 16-11 record for its first winning season since 1990-91. Also, the Blue Devils won seven ACC contests, the most wins by the school in nearly a decade.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
The next season proved to be the emergence of Duke women’s basketball under Goestenkors onto the national scene. At the time, the 1994-95 Blue Devils set school records for most wins in a season (22) and ACC victories (10). After Duke’s first ever appearance in the ACC Championship game, Goestenkors and the Blue Devils appeared in the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history. Duke relished its opportunity to display its talent to the nation, defeating Oklahoma State in the opening round. Although they lost a heartbreaking game to Alabama in the second round (a 121-120 final and the only quadruple overtime game in NCAA women’s basketball history), the Blue Devils and Goestenkors were recognized for their breakthrough year. Duke earned its first national ranking since 1989, while Goestenkors was named 1995 WBCA District III Coach of the Year.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
In 1995-96, Goestenkors and the Blue Devils wanted to prove that the previous year was no fluke and that Duke women’s basketball would be a major force in the years to come. Finishing the year 26-7, 12-4 in the ACC, the Blue Devils had back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time ever at Duke. Making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils hosted first and second round games at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time since 1987. For her efforts, Goestenkors was recognized as ACC Coach of the Year after leading Duke to a No. 13 ranking in the final polls from both USA Today and the Associated Press.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Throughout the 1996-97 season the Blue Devils were a mainstay in the polls, peaking at 13th nationally and finishing the season at 22nd nationally. For the third consecutive year, Duke finished ACC action above .500, making Goestenkors the first coach in school history to do so. At the end of the season, Goestenkors was named head coach of the USA Basketball Jones Cup Team, which consists of American college all-stars who compete against other nations. The team went on to capture a silver medal in Taiwan. Three Blue Devils, Tyish Hall, Kira Orr and VanGorp, joined Goestenkors in representing Duke on that squad.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Following several years of success with the Blue Devils, Goestenkors reached some personal milestones in the 1997-98 season. In a 99-59 win on December 6 against Ohio in the Duke Women’s Basketball Classic, Goestenkors notched her 100th career victory. Ironically, the win came against Marsha Reall, who was Goestenkors’ collegiate coach at Saginaw Valley State. Goestenkors also finished the season with at least 20 wins for the third time in her career, the most for one coach in school history. Once again the Blue Devils enjoyed a highly successful season under Goestenkors, going 24-8 and advancing to the Elite Eight in NCAA Tournament action for the first time in school history.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
Of course, the next year Goestenkors led Duke all the way to the championship game. It proved to be another step in the rise of the women’s basketball program under Goestenkors. The drive and passion for winning that she has instilled in her Blue Devil teams has always been with Goestenkors, dating back to her days as a player.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/gail-goestenkors/78
How would Gail Goestenkors feel about returning to Duke as well as returning to coaching.
She had this to say recently.
I’ve never felt more confident about then I do today. I’m reminded of a conversation I had last with UNC football coach Mack Brown upon his return to coaching He talked about missing the locker room and the energy of teaching and coaching young people. I can relate 100%. “according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com.
However,
It turns out that Duke won’t be hiring Gail Goestenkors as their next head coach.
Why?
Because the school wanted to go a different direction and not in the past.
Contacted by ESPN, Goestenkors confirmed that and said she did not get an interview. Goestenkors, 57, said she was disappointed but wished the school the best. She said she is still very eager to coach again at the college level and would pursue future opportunities. “according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
Several former Duke players had already added their signatures to a letter of support for Goestenkors' return. Dr. Georgia Schweitzer Beasley, a two-time ACC player of the year and starter on Duke's 1999 national runner-up team coached by Goestenkors, drafted the letter. She said former players from four decades had signed it, as had several other Duke alumni and season-ticket holders. “according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
Beasley, now a surgeon who works for Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina, said, "The letter said we support the program, of course, but we also support Gail returning. We know there will be a lot of qualified candidates, and we understand them wanting to interview others. We weren't trying to tell them what to do, but we wanted to show our support for Gail to return.according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
"People here just love her. I can't even tell you how many people, when I contacted them about the letter, would write back with so much enthusiasm, and then sent me other names of people who wanted to be on it. The list kept growing."according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
However, Duke ruled out Goestenkors before Beasley had a chance to send the letter to the athletic department.according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
Rochelle Parent, who like Beasley played at Duke from 1997 to 2001 and who currently works for the city of Durham, also signed the letter. Parent said of Duke's decision to not even interview Goestenkors, "It reeks of lack of due diligence. If they are serious about really considering what's best for the program going forward, for her not to be in the conversation less than 24 hours later ... even the appearance of that is not good."according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com
In Goestenkors' 15 seasons, the Blue Devils went 396-99, advanced to the Women's Final Four four times, made nine other NCAA tournament appearances, and won eight ACC regular-season titles and five ACC tournament championships. She was ACC coach of the year seven times.according to an article by Mechelle Voepel on espn.com