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Goestekors comes to the Sparks after serving the 2013 season as a consultant for them. She is most well known for coaching the Duke University Blue Devils from 1992-2007 where she led them to seven consecutive 30 win seasons, four Final Fours in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2006, and two national championship game appearances in 1999 and 2006. Her last head coaching job was at the University of Texas where she was at from 2007-2012. She has a 498-163 overall record as a college head coach.
In addition, Goestenkors will have familiarity with two of the current Sparks' players in Alana Beard and Lindsey Harding, who were both at Duke during her time there.
Kloppenburg comes from the Tulsa Shock where he was the head coach there from 2012 to 2013 where he helped improve a 3 win team in 2011 to 9-25 in 2012, and then 11-23 in 2013. Before coming to Tulsa, he was an assistant coach for the Indiana Fever from 2008-2011 while on Lin Dunn's staff. Kloppenburg has also been an assistant for the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury, as well as for the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team from 2004-2006.
Normally, assistant coach hirings are footnotes. But for Carol Ross to have the opportunity to hire both Gail Goestenkors and Gary Kloppenburg is definitely very significant indeed.
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