In their footsteps
Lindsay Whalen isn't the first U.S. basketball great to become a head coach at the Division I level. Here are four others (also point guards in their day):
Jennifer Azzi: Played for the legendary Tara VanDerveer at Stanford. Coached six seasons at San Francisco before resigning in fall of 2016; that spring she led USF to the NCAA tournament after winning the WCC tournament as a sixth seed.
Jennifer Rizzotti: Just finished her 19th season as a D-I head coach, the past two at George Washington. Starter on UConn's first national championship team in 1995. Played eight years professionally (five in the WNBA, three in the ABL).
Dawn Staley: Like Whalen, took her first head coaching job (at Temple) while still playing in the WNBA. Moved on to South Carolina, where she won a national title in 2017 and returned to the Final Four this season. Standout at Virginia.
Holly Warlick: Like Whalen, is at her alma mater. Standout from 1976-80 for the legendary Pat Summitt at Tennessee and then became her longtime assistant before taking over as head coach in 2012 when Summitt stepped down.
