Not certain how long Lindsay will stay in the NBA, or what kind of impact she will have. But it is a great opportunity for her to broaden her own basketball knowledge and coaching skill set under a mentorship from John Beilein. I believe that one of Lindsay's limitations has been that she spent time only briefly under one principal head coach, Joanne Boyle, before becoming a head coach herself.

Ran across this description of Beilein's own college offensive approach at West Virginia:

"Beilein is known for his offensive system, which emphasizes constant motion, passing, disciplined teamwork, and precision shooting. The offense usually starts out with four players outside the three-point arc, and one player at the top of the key (though at times a post player may operate closer to the basket). From this formation, Beilein's teams not only try to open up space for players to cut to the basket, but also are known for their high number of three-point attempts."

He made some later changes at Michigan, but definitely has a different offensive strategy than Joanne.

Being an assistant in the NBA might help her in respect to increase her offensive perspective, but it will not fix her recruiting shortcomings. There are multiple aspects to coaching. It's not just about X&O's. I am not sure that Gottlieb possesses the right combination of skills to be a college head coach. She might just be a good assistant and there is nothing wrong with that.

I was very high on her when she first was hired because I felt she possessed a quality that Boyd was seriously lacking. However, it turns out she was never able to implement what she intended for her program. Her personality is not right either. She could never find the right balance between her position as head coach and being the players' friend.

Lindsay was not able to recruit top players the past four years. It is good that she
emphasized the sudent athlete aspect of her players. However, the excitement that
comes with coaching in the Pac-12 was lacking from her. I hope the AD has high
hopes for
the Cal Womens Basketball Program. The game against Conn. in Dec. 2018 was
terrific with great fan support. I would like to see more of this level of play at Haas.
The games are so much fun!!!!

I think the lack of recruiting progress the last couple of years has a lot to do with two maternity leaves two summers ago... That said, I think folks are underestimating the value of the incoming class. Jazlen Green is a special situation (got hurt during some critical years), that might end up being a game changer! Lauren Fields is also highly underrated (if we keep her). We don't understand what CJ and Chen are capable of (because we had Kristine). The right coach could dictate Cal doesn't fall that far.

AllOfTheBears said:

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I think the lack of recruiting progress the last couple of years has a lot to do with two maternity leaves two summers ago... That said, I think folks are underestimating the value of the incoming class. Jazlen Green is a special situation (got hurt during some critical years), that might end up being a game changer! Lauren Fields is also highly underrated (if we keep her). We don't understand what CJ and Chen are capable of (because we had Kristine). The right coach could dictate Cal doesn't fall that far.

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. That doesn't explain all the bad recruiting years (0 players, 1 player) by LG. Green has potential. Fields has been underrated for a long time. Makes you wonder. I think we have a very good understanding of what CJ and Chen can contribute. The right coach will probably do better than what LG would do with this group but we have to be realistic that LG left us with a bottom 3 team.

With Lindsay now gone, the real question is how long will it take for the new coach to elevate the Bears above the bottom 3? To rise to the top 3? To win a championship?