Maren Walseth is NDSU's Next Head WBB Coach

[1998braves64]

I think the new coach is a great hire and a breath of fresh air but I felt it seemed like her vibes towards Dorn were very weird and awkward. Something just didn't feel/seem right with that. You almost get the impression like this was a Gene Taylor hire versus a Dorn hire.

And there is a problem with that? Way the last handful of hires coach related matters that Dorn did have ended in disaster.

Sent from my HTC8x Windows Phone.

[gotts]

I think the new coach is a great hire and a breath of fresh air but I felt it seemed like her vibes towards Dorn were very weird and awkward. Something just didn't feel/seem right with that. You almost get the impression like this was a Gene Taylor hire versus a Dorn hire.

All the more reason to look forward to next season, IMO.

[The Lost Dutchman]

And there is a problem with that? Way the last handful of hires coach related matters that Dorn did have ended in disaster.

Sent from my HTC8x Windows Phone.

I think it's a great thing, I've never been a fan with Dorn after her handling of the Hinterstocker situation. I just found it very weird and awkward that there were vibes that were present at the initial press conference. Again, you almost got the feeling that he would be dealing with Gene versus Dorn. You have to think that it was Gene's connections that were used to establish a relationship to begin with to even court her to NDSU.

[BYZEN]

I felt that Dorn has become the press agent only for the ad dept.
It was my understanding GT made the find and negotiations with Dorn "learning".

[Bisonator98]

The less Dorn has to do with anything the better!

[BisonCardinal]

I think the new coach is a great hire and a breath of fresh air but I felt it seemed like her vibes towards Dorn were very weird and awkward. Something just didn't feel/seem right with that. You almost get the impression like this was a Gene Taylor hire versus a Dorn hire.

I thought the opposite. It seemed Dorn was giddy about this hire. Dorn seemed truly happy, maybe she was thinking she actually did good this time. Yes, Walseth seemed nervous, but I figured that was due to it being her first "big" press conference.

I guess to each his own.

[MichiganLion]

Regarding the hire by NDSU of coach Maren Walseth:

As a Lady Lion fan my understanding is that she primarily coached the post players at Penn State and also helped with recruiting. I know a lot of Lady Lion fans have not been happy with what they perceive as the lack of development of post players such as 6-6 junior Tori Waldner who averaged just 4.8 points this past season as a starter. Also, same for 6-6 sophomore Candace Agee who was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, but who has struggled in her first two years at Penn State and only averaged 2 ppg this season.

Another concern is the feeling that she is not that good of a recruiter. The Lady Lions 'struck out' for the 2014 recruiting class as they got zero recruits, even though they tried mightily. They were somewhat close to getting Kia Nurse from Canada a 5 star but Nurse decided on UConn instead. So the Lady Lions have NO 2014 class. For next season, Tori Waldner is their only senior and so for two different classes they have exactly ONE recruit...this was NOT by design. Maren Walseth was already on staff for a year before Coquese Washington was named as head coach back in 2007 and so she was not chosen by Washington to be on her staff. My gut feeling is that Coquese wanted Maren to leave and that she most likely encouraged her to look for a head coaching position at another school. I know that Co has said how NDSU is "getting a gem" and so forth; but really she has to say stuff like that to the press.

While coach Walseth's resume may look impressive to some Bison fans anyhow, she obviously has no prior head coaching experience at any level. I watched her introductory press conference the other day and she came across to me as someone that is unsure of herself and in over her head. Her remarks about how they don't make instruction manuals on how to do this (press conference) and "I've never done this before" made her look really unprepared IMHO. I felt that she did a really bad press conference. Also, she kind of did a Freudian slip when she said (twice) on how she would be there a "few years." Yes, you could say she was referring to her five year contract; but the words came across to me that she will not be at NDSU for the long term.

I understand why AD Dorn hired Walseth, she came originally from Minnesota, her sister Annika played briefly at NDSU and so on. But really Dorn hired the ONLY coach that they had at the time. From reading a lot of Bison fans excited reaction to the hire, I feel that most are giving Walseth way too much credit for the success that the Penn State Lady Lion basketball program has had in recent years. The Lion's share of that should go to Coquese Washington, one of the top coaches in women's college basketball. Only time will tell if NDSU's hire of Maren was a good decision or not. There is this: when a team has just gone 6-24 there is only one way to go.....

Last, I just wanted to say I know that NDSU had won 5 National championships in women's Division II basketball, but there is a world of difference between Division II hoops and Division I basketball. Kind of like the difference between a high school team playing a middle school team. Huge difference. And from what I have read a lot of Bison fans acted as if they felt that when the transition was made to Division I...that the winning should just have continued on. That was really naïve.
Walseth said in her presser how she wanted to have a fast paced up tempo offense and an in your face defense that forced turnovers and so on. I've checked out the Lady Bison's roster and and watched some video of them in action and from what I have seen there aren't the kind of players on the current squad to even make that work...again not in Division I. I haven't had time to see NDSU's schedule but the current squad most likely wouldn't win a game in a 16 game B1G conference schedule. That is what I am used to watching, that level of play. Not sure how Walseth will be able to recuit top talent to NDSU when she couldn't even do a good job of recruiting kids to Penn State. Penn State has a state of the art 15,600+ seat Bryce Jordan Center (built just several years ago), has won 3 straight B1G conference regular season titles, has a head coach that was an All-Star player in the WNBA and has been named COY in the B1G for three straight seasons, has put 4 players into the WNBA in the last two seasons, has most of their games televised either on the BTN (B1G Ten Network) or on ESPN or ESPN 2, Penn State is the # 15 ranked public university in the country and the 37th. ranked university in the world according to U.S. News & World Report with 150 majors., and on and on and YET Walseth was not able to help bring in one single recruit for the 2014 class! No offense meant here, but NDSU is a much harder sell to elite recruits. They just went 6-24 and have struggled since moving up to Division I. Then there is the location and the weather. It is brutal. Not sure if NDSU has any games televised outside of North Dakota and it is not a world class university. It is a very tough sell and to expect a brand new head coach with no prior head coaching experience to come in and produce winning teams, Summit League titles, playoff runs and the like, is just not realistic. Short of hiring Geno Auriemma to come in and build this program I can't see it ever having the kind of success it once had as a proud Division II program. I sincerely wish coach Walseth and the Lady Bison's basketball team the best of luck and I hope I am wrong with my assessment but this looks like a mssion impossible to me.

[HoopsBison]

Regarding the hire by NDSU of coach Maren Walseth:

As a Lady Lion fan my understanding is that she primarily coached the post players at Penn State and also helped with recruiting. I know a lot of Lady Lion fans have not been happy with what they perceive as the lack of development of post players such as 6-6 junior Tori Waldner who averaged just 4.8 points this past season as a starter. Also, same for 6-6 sophomore Candace Agee who was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, but who has struggled in her first two years at Penn State and only averaged 2 ppg this season.

Another concern is the feeling that she is not that good of a recruiter. The Lady Lions 'struck out' for the 2014 recruiting class as they got zero recruits, even though they tried mightily. They were somewhat close to getting Kia Nurse from Canada a 5 star but Nurse decided on UConn instead. So the Lady Lions have NO 2014 class. For next season, Tori Waldner is their only senior and so for two different classes they have exactly ONE recruit...this was NOT by design. Maren Walseth was already on staff for a year before Coquese Washington was named as head coach back in 2007 and so she was not chosen by Washington to be on her staff. My gut feeling is that Coquese wanted Maren to leave and that she most likely encouraged her to look for a head coaching position at another school. I know that Co has said how NDSU is "getting a gem" and so forth; but really she has to say stuff like that to the press.

While coach Walseth's resume may look impressive to some Bison fans anyhow, she obviously has no prior head coaching experience at any level. I watched her introductory press conference the other day and she came across to me as someone that is unsure of herself and in over her head. Her remarks about how they don't make instruction manuals on how to do this (press conference) and "I've never done this before" made her look really unprepared IMHO. I felt that she did a really bad press conference. Also, she kind of did a Freudian slip when she said (twice) on how she would be there a "few years." Yes, you could say she was referring to her five year contract; but the words came across to me that she will not be at NDSU for the long term.

I understand why AD Dorn hired Walseth, she came originally from Minnesota, her sister Annika played briefly at NDSU and so on. But really Dorn hired the ONLY coach that they had at the time. From reading a lot of Bison fans excited reaction to the hire, I feel that most are giving Walseth way too much credit for the success that the Penn State Lady Lion basketball program has had in recent years. The Lion's share of that should go to Coquese Washington, one of the top coaches in women's college basketball. Only time will tell if NDSU's hire of Maren was a good decision or not. There is this: when a team has just gone 6-24 there is only one way to go.....

Last, I just wanted to say I know that NDSU had won 5 National championships in women's Division II basketball, but there is a world of difference between Division II hoops and Division I basketball. Kind of like the difference between a high school team playing a middle school team. Huge difference. And from what I have read a lot of Bison fans acted as if they felt that when the transition was made to Division I...that the winning should just have continued on. That was really naïve.
Walseth said in her presser how she wanted to have a fast paced up tempo offense and an in your face defense that forced turnovers and so on. I've checked out the Lady Bison's roster and and watched some video of them in action and from what I have seen there aren't the kind of players on the current squad to even make that work...again not in Division I. I haven't had time to see NDSU's schedule but the current squad most likely wouldn't win a game in a 16 game B1G conference schedule. That is what I am used to watching, that level of play. Not sure how Walseth will be able to recuit top talent to NDSU when she couldn't even do a good job of recruiting kids to Penn State. Penn State has a state of the art 15,600+ seat Bryce Jordan Center (built just several years ago), has won 3 straight B1G conference regular season titles, has a head coach that was an All-Star player in the WNBA and has been named COY in the B1G for three straight seasons, has put 4 players into the WNBA in the last two seasons, has most of their games televised either on the BTN (B1G Ten Network) or on ESPN or ESPN 2, Penn State is the # 15 ranked public university in the country and the 37th. ranked university in the world according to U.S. News & World Report with 150 majors., and on and on and YET Walseth was not able to help bring in one single recruit for the 2014 class! No offense meant here, but NDSU is a much harder sell to elite recruits. They just went 6-24 and have struggled since moving up to Division I. Then there is the location and the weather. It is brutal. Not sure if NDSU has any games televised outside of North Dakota and it is not a world class university. It is a very tough sell and to expect a brand new head coach with no prior head coaching experience to come in and produce winning teams, Summit League titles, playoff runs and the like, is just not realistic. Short of hiring Geno Auriemma to come in and build this program I can't see it ever having the kind of success it once had as a proud Division II program. I sincerely wish coach Walseth and the Lady Bison's basketball team the best of luck and I hope I am wrong with my assessment but this looks like a mssion impossible to me.

Hey guy, I don't know anything about Penn State Lady hoops or Maren, but I do know she is not Coach Dehoff and that right there excites me.



Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk

[tony]

Last, I just wanted to say I know that NDSU had won 5 National championships in women's Division II basketball, but there is a world of difference between Division II hoops and Division I basketball. Kind of like the difference between a high school team playing a middle school team. Huge difference. And from what I have read a lot of Bison fans acted as if they felt that when the transition was made to Division I...that the winning should just have continued on. That was really naïve.

You don't have to look far to see that maybe we weren't that naive. Have you seen South Dakota State play? That's right, you have! Their first year in DI, SDSU beat their first round NCAA opponent (TCU) by 35 points. This year, the Bunnies went 3-0 against the Big 10 (beating Penn State, Indiana, Minnesota), and they have had better teams since going DI.

NDSU can be much better than they've been - and they've been much better in the past.

[56BISON73]

Regarding the hire by NDSU of coach Maren Walseth:

As a Lady Lion fan my understanding is that she primarily coached the post players at Penn State and also helped with recruiting. I know a lot of Lady Lion fans have not been happy with what they perceive as the lack of development of post players such as 6-6 junior Tori Waldner who averaged just 4.8 points this past season as a starter. Also, same for 6-6 sophomore Candace Agee who was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, but who has struggled in her first two years at Penn State and only averaged 2 ppg this season.

Another concern is the feeling that she is not that good of a recruiter. The Lady Lions 'struck out' for the 2014 recruiting class as they got zero recruits, even though they tried mightily. They were somewhat close to getting Kia Nurse from Canada a 5 star but Nurse decided on UConn instead. So the Lady Lions have NO 2014 class. For next season, Tori Waldner is their only senior and so for two different classes they have exactly ONE recruit...this was NOT by design. Maren Walseth was already on staff for a year before Coquese Washington was named as head coach back in 2007 and so she was not chosen by Washington to be on her staff. My gut feeling is that Coquese wanted Maren to leave and that she most likely encouraged her to look for a head coaching position at another school. I know that Co has said how NDSU is "getting a gem" and so forth; but really she has to say stuff like that to the press.

While coach Walseth's resume may look impressive to some Bison fans anyhow, she obviously has no prior head coaching experience at any level. I watched her introductory press conference the other day and she came across to me as someone that is unsure of herself and in over her head. Her remarks about how they don't make instruction manuals on how to do this (press conference) and "I've never done this before" made her look really unprepared IMHO. I felt that she did a really bad press conference. Also, she kind of did a Freudian slip when she said (twice) on how she would be there a "few years." Yes, you could say she was referring to her five year contract; but the words came across to me that she will not be at NDSU for the long term.

I understand why AD Dorn hired Walseth, she came originally from Minnesota, her sister Annika played briefly at NDSU and so on. But really Dorn hired the ONLY coach that they had at the time. From reading a lot of Bison fans excited reaction to the hire, I feel that most are giving Walseth way too much credit for the success that the Penn State Lady Lion basketball program has had in recent years. The Lion's share of that should go to Coquese Washington, one of the top coaches in women's college basketball. Only time will tell if NDSU's hire of Maren was a good decision or not. There is this: when a team has just gone 6-24 there is only one way to go.....

Last, I just wanted to say I know that NDSU had won 5 National championships in women's Division II basketball, but there is a world of difference between Division II hoops and Division I basketball. Kind of like the difference between a high school team playing a middle school team. Huge difference. And from what I have read a lot of Bison fans acted as if they felt that when the transition was made to Division I...that the winning should just have continued on. That was really naïve.
Walseth said in her presser how she wanted to have a fast paced up tempo offense and an in your face defense that forced turnovers and so on. I've checked out the Lady Bison's roster and and watched some video of them in action and from what I have seen there aren't the kind of players on the current squad to even make that work...again not in Division I. I haven't had time to see NDSU's schedule but the current squad most likely wouldn't win a game in a 16 game B1G conference schedule. That is what I am used to watching, that level of play. Not sure how Walseth will be able to recuit top talent to NDSU when she couldn't even do a good job of recruiting kids to Penn State. Penn State has a state of the art 15,600+ seat Bryce Jordan Center (built just several years ago), has won 3 straight B1G conference regular season titles, has a head coach that was an All-Star player in the WNBA and has been named COY in the B1G for three straight seasons, has put 4 players into the WNBA in the last two seasons, has most of their games televised either on the BTN (B1G Ten Network) or on ESPN or ESPN 2, Penn State is the # 15 ranked public university in the country and the 37th. ranked university in the world according to U.S. News & World Report with 150 majors., and on and on and YET Walseth was not able to help bring in one single recruit for the 2014 class! No offense meant here, but NDSU is a much harder sell to elite recruits. They just went 6-24 and have struggled since moving up to Division I. Then there is the location and the weather. It is brutal. Not sure if NDSU has any games televised outside of North Dakota and it is not a world class university. It is a very tough sell and to expect a brand new head coach with no prior head coaching experience to come in and produce winning teams, Summit League titles, playoff runs and the like, is just not realistic. Short of hiring Geno Auriemma to come in and build this program I can't see it ever having the kind of success it once had as a proud Division II program. I sincerely wish coach Walseth and the Lady Bison's basketball team the best of luck and I hope I am wrong with my assessment but this looks like a mssion impossible to me.

Why didnt you just say you dont think shes a good coach and be done with it?