The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Gail Goestenkors about winning a pair of gold medals in 2004 & 2008. Today marks the 12th anniversary of team USA beating Australia 92-65 to clinch a gold medal.
(photo credit: usab.com)
As a player at Saginaw Valley State you were an NAIA All-American/conference MVP, went 114-13 in 4 years, and remain #2 in school history with 348 STL/469 AST: how good a player were you back in the day, and what is the key to being a good PG? I was not the best player on the team but I was the most valuable. I walked onto the team but was a really hard worker with great passion for the game. I would do whatever it took for us to be the best team that we could be. We went to 4 NAIA national tourneys and made a couple of title games. People saw that I made everyone else better, which is something I loved to do.
In 1992 you were hired by Duke as the youngest head coach at a major D-1 program: did you feel ready to run the show at age 29, especially at a school where the men’s team was coming off back-to-back titles? I actually did for 2 reasons. Lin Dunn was the head coach at Purdue and really helped prepare me to be a head coach: I was in charge of almost every different aspect of the program during my time there (budget, speaking engagements, etc.). Being very well-rounded gave me the confidence to be a head coach. I was naïve and doubted myself going against some of the best coaches in the business in the ACC but was ready to jump in.
In the 1995 NCAA tourney your team’s 120 PTS vs. Alabama was the 2nd-most ever scored in an NCAA tourney game: where does that 121-120 quadruple-OT loss rank among the most devastating of your career? It is not 1 of the most devastating because it was our 1st time in the tourney so we were happy to get in. We put our heart/soul/spirit into everything but Alabama had an All-American in Niesa Johnson and was coming off of a Final 4 appearance. 1 FT could have made the difference but we were still learning/building.
In the 1999 NCAA tourney you had a 6-PT win over 3-time defending national champion Tennessee to advance to your 1st Final 4, then beat Georgia before losing to Purdue in the title game: how on earth did Chamique Holdsclaw miss her 1st 10 shots, and was it weird to face the Boilermakers since you were a former assistant there and 2 of your own players had transferred from Durham to West Lafayette? Chamique is 1 of the greatest players of all-time but we were fortunate that she had 1 of her worst games of all-time against our triangle-and-2 defense. It was going to be their 4-peat year but we learned a lot from facing them in the regular season. That win kind of put us on the map. We played really well against Georgia but were really tight during our 1st title game. I think it was difficult for those 2 transfer players and it was a tough situation for everyone involved.
In 2002 you became the 1st ACC team to go 19-0 after winning the regular season title/conference tourney: how did you do it with only 8 players after losing 2 transfers during the season? That was a difficult year for us but 1 of our best years as far as our record. I also had an assistant coach named Joanne Boyle who was in the hospital with a brain tumor but it really brought us together. It was 1 of the tightest teams I have ever been a part of and we all pulled together. Everyone was happy and knew that they would get to play out of necessity. We played with such a degree of confidence because everyone felt very needed.
In January of 2003 you trailed UConn by 17 PTS before Jessica Foley made a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT win in Hartford: did you think the shot was going in, and how big a deal was it to break the Huskies’ 69-game home-court winning streak (which is tied for the 4th-longest in women’s basketball history)? I give credit to the players, specifically Alana Beard who led by example. We could hear her in the locker room telling the team that it was not going to happen. If you watch the end of that game it was 1 of the best endings you will ever see. Lindsey Harding pushed the ball up at the end and our bench stood up because we knew that Jess’s shot was going in. She got fouled but the refs did not call it. Anytime you can beat UConn at home it means a lot.
You were an assistant coach for team USA at the 2004/2008 Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a pair of gold medals? It was an incredible gift: if you are passionate about the game then you dream of playing in the Olympics. I was not good enough so my dream changed to coaching in the Olympics: it was a great honor. Anne Donovan and I were assistants in 2004 and she asked me to be her assistant in 2008.
You swept Maryland twice during the 2006 regular season by double-digits (your 14th straight win over the Terps), had an 8-PT loss to them in the ACC tourney semifinals in Greensboro, and in the NCAA title game Kristi Toliver scored 16 PTS including a 3-PT shot with 6 seconds left in regulation en route to a 3-PT OT win and the program’s 1st-ever national title: what are your memories of playing them 4 times in a 3-month span? It became a great rivalry. The ACC was the hottest conference back then as UNC was also in the Final 4. That title game is 1 that I will probably never get over. We were up by 13 PTS at halftime and I felt pretty good about it but I could feel us tightening up a little bit. As a coach you go through all of the things you would have done differently. We had 6’7” Alison Bales switch out on Toliver, who made a lot of daggers in her career: we might have been her 1st 1. We were deflated and it gave them so much confidence.
In 2007 you became the 1st ACC team to finish the regular season undefeated but had a 1-PT loss to Rutgers in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro: how were you able to keep your team focused for 30 straight games, and what does it take to go undefeated? It takes a great coaching staff that can help the players stay focused and players who are driven to succeed. We always wanted our practices to be more difficult than our games so that we would be accustomed to having a winning mindset. We were focused on being efficient with the basketball and having players who were motivated to be successful at everything they did. The more you win, the more confident you become, so we felt that we would win even if the game was close.
You were a 5-time national COY at Duke from 1999-2006 and were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015: when people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? That I was a hard worker/good person who did things the right way. I was an exceptional teacher and helped make people better. I have been out of coaching for a while but hopefully I am not done yet!