Gail Ann Goestenkors (born February 26, 1963)
is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
who is currently an assistant coach for the
Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represents the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats have four Elite Eight appearances and seventeen appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. T ...
team.
She is perhaps best known as the women's
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
head coach of
Duke University and
The University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. She led Duke from 1992 until 2007, when she was hired to replace the retiring
Jody Conradt
Addie Jo "Jody" Conradt (born May 13, 1941) is a retired women's basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's team at University of Texas at Austin (UT). Her coaching career spanned 38 years, with the last 31 years at UT from 1976 to ...
at Texas. Goestenkors left Texas following the 2011–12 season citing fatigue.
Goestenkors accumulated an impressive record at Duke, where she received recognition as the
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
Coach of the Year a record 7 times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007). In the 2001–02 season, Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to the first undefeated regular season in ACC women's basketball history — a feat she would repeat two other times during her tenure at Duke (2003, 2007). During her final ten seasons at Duke, Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances every year, seven Elite Eight appearances, four
Final Four appearances, and two appearances in the
NCAA Championship
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
game. During her tenure, her teams won five ACC tournament championships and eight ACC regular season titles. Goestenkors holds the ACC record for fewest games required to achieve 300 wins (387 games).
In 2014-2015, she was an assistant coach with the
Indiana Fever and the
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
.
Born in
Waterford, Michigan
Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States.
In 2020, the population of Waterford Township was 70,565.
Communities
Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities:
* Clin ...
, Goestenkors attended
Saginaw Valley State University
Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, approximately north of ...
, where she played under future
Purdue head coach
Marsha Reall. After graduating in 1985, Goestenkors became a graduate assistant coach at
Iowa State. After one season, she left to become an assistant coach at Purdue under
Lin Dunn
Lin Dunn (born May 10, 1947) is an American women's basketball coach, currently general manager with the Indiana Fever. She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She has more than 500 wins to her name.
...
, where she remained until becoming head coach at
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
in 1992.
Goestenkors was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...
as one of six members of the Class of 2015.
NCAA Tournaments
Goestenkors' 1998-99 Duke team finished in second place, losing to the
Carolyn Peck
Carolyn Arlene Peck (born January 22, 1966) is an American television sportscaster and former college basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's basketball teams of Purdue University and the University of Florida, and also the first ...
-coached
Purdue Lady Boilermakers in the championship game. Along the way, Duke defeated the
Tennessee Lady Vols
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...
in the Elite Eight, spoiling
Chamique Holdsclaw
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) most recently under a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She announced her retir ...
's bid for a clean sweep of the National Championship (Holdsclaw had starred on Tennessee's National Championship teams as a freshman, sophomore and junior). Duke's historic upset ended the Lady Vols' three-year run of national championships with a 69–63 victory over Tennessee in the final of the 1999 East Regionaland that sent shock waves through the sport.
Goestenkors' 2004-05 squad made the NCAA Elite Eight and posted a 31–5 record despite the loss of National Player of the Year
Alana Beard
Alana Monique Beard (born May 14, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA Draft. She signed ...
to graduation.
In 2003–04 with Beard leading the way, the Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, boasted a 30–4 record, won a fifth-straight ACC Tournament championship and fourth-straight ACC regular season title. and broke the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
's 69-game home winning steak with a 68-67 comeback victory in
Hartford, Connecticut.
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. The 2001–02 season produced similar success. She led the Blue Devils to a 31–4 record and an 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 in 2000-01 posted a 30–4 record, won ACC Tournament and ACC regular season championships and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The 2006–2007 season ended with a 32–2 record and notched her school's first ever undefeated regular season. She is often known as the "winningest coach not to have won a championship", being runner-up two times in fifteen years. Goestenkors also won the ACC Coach of the Year award in 2007 for the seventh time in fifteen years.
USA Basketball
Goestenkors served as the head coach of the
USA representative to the 1997
William Jones Cup competition The event was held in
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
during August 1997. The USA team won their first six games. Four of the six were decided by six points or fewer, including the semifinal game against Japan which went to overtime. In the gold medal game, the USA faced undefeated South Korea. The USA team played to a six-point margin early in the second half, but could not extend the margin. South Korea came back, took the lead, and held on to win the championship and the gold medal 76–71.
Goestenkors served as an assistant coach to the National team in the 2002 World Championships, held during September in three cities in China, including
Nanjing, China
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. The USA won the opening six preliminary rounds easily, with no contest closer than 30 points. That included the opening round game against Russia, who has played them close in the 1998 Championship final. In the opening game, the USA won 89–55 behind 20 points form
Lisa Leslie and 17 from
Sheryl Swoopes
Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 20 ...
. The USA wasn't seriously challenged in the quarterfinals, where they beat Spain by 39 points. The semifinal game against Australia was closer, but Leslie had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds to help the USA team win by 15 points. In the championship game, much like the 1998 finals, the rematch was much closer. This time the USA team did not have to play form behind, and had a ten-point lead late ant he game, but the Russians cut the lead to a single point with just over three minutes remaining. The game remained close, and was within three points with just over twelve seconds to go, but Swoopes was fouled and sank the free throws to give the USA a 79–74 win and the gold medal.
Goestenkors served as an assistant coach for the USA National team in 2006, a team in transition. Lisa Leslie, who had led the team in scoring in the 2004 Olympics, the 2002 World Championships, the 2000 Olympics, the 1998 World Championships, and the 1996 Olympics was no longer on the team. Sheryl Swoopes was available but hampered by injuries, and Dawn Staley moved on to coaching. Newcomers
Sue Bird,
Candace Parker
Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Ang ...
and
Diana Taurasi picked up the slack, but it was a team in transition. As an additional challenge, some members of the squad were unable to join the team for practices due to
WNBA commitments. The team started out strong, winning each of the six preliminary games, including the game against Russia. In the quarterfinals, the USA team beat Spain 90–56. The semifinal was a rematch against Russia, but this time the Russian team prevailed, 75–68. The USA faced Brazil in the bronze medal game, and won easily 99–59.
Awards
* Associated Press National Coach of the Year (2007)
* ACC Coach of the Year (1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007)
* WBCA District Coach of the Year (1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
* USA Basketball National Coach of the Year (2006)
* WBCA National Coach of the Year (2003, 2007)
* Victor Award Coach of the Year (1999, 2003)
* Naismith National Coach of the Year (2003)
* GBallMag.com Coach of the Year (2002)
* Basketball Times Coach of the Year (2000)
*
Carol Eckman Award
The Carol Eckman Award is an award given annually since 1986 to the women's college basketball coach that "best demonstrates the character of the late Carol Eckman, the mother of the collegiate women's basketball national championship". Given by t ...
(2006)
* US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Coach of the Year award (2007)
Head coaching record
Source:
Personal life
Goestenkors's ex-husband is Mark Simons, who was an assistant coach at a number of women's college basketball programs, including
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
,
Auburn and
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
.
References
External links
Texas Athletics — Women's BasketballThe University of Texas at Austin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goestenkors, Gail
1963 births
Living people
American women's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Michigan
Basketball players from Michigan
Central Michigan Chippewas women's basketball coaches
Duke Blue Devils women's basketball coaches
Indiana Fever coaches
Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball coaches
Los Angeles Sparks coaches
People from Waterford, Michigan
Purdue Boilermakers women's basketball coaches
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals women's basketball players
Texas Longhorns women's basketball coaches
Point guards