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You can add Hall of Famer to the illustrious resume of Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen. 

The University of Minnesota women's basketball coach was announced today as one of the new inductees to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

She led the Gophers to the Women’s Final Four as a player before leading the Minnesota Lynx to four titles. She then turned to coaching, becoming the head coach of the Gophers in 2018.

She also won two gold Olympic gold medals as part of the U.S. national team. 

The Hutchinson native joins fellow Lynx players Katie Smith and Teresa Edwards as members of the Hall. She is the first Gopher women’s player to be inducted.

Former Gopher great and NBA all-star Lou Hudson, known as “Sweet Lou,” received a posthumous election to the Hall of Fame. He was among 

 to receive a scholarship from the Gophers. He died in 2014. 

Whalen and Hudson become the third and fourth Gopher athletes to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, following John Kundla and Kevin McHale, according to the university. 

The Class of 2022 was announced ahead of the Men’s Final Four in New Orleans. 

Also inducted were NBA stars Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway; former WNBA champion and two-time college national champion Swin Cash; former NBA coach George Karl; long-time college coach Bob Huggins; NCAA national championship coach and former WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley; former NBA official Hugh Evans; longtime NBA coach Del Harris and All-American player and longtime women’s collegiate coach Theresa Shank-Grentz.

Like Hudson, NBA championship coach and player Larry Costello and Olympic medalist and FIBA Hall of Fame member Radivoj Korac were given posthumous honors. 

The induction ceremonies will be held in September in Springfield, Mass.

Minnesota News

Sports

MPR News Staff

Author

The Associated Press

Whalen, winner of multiple Olympic gold medals and WNBA championships, becomes the first Gopher women’s player to join the Hall of Fame. 

Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen acknowledges the crowd.

Lindsay Whalen among Basketball Hall of Fame inductees

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