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Lin Dunn
Indiana Fever
Position General manager
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1947-05-10) May 10, 1947 (age 76)
Dresden, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
College Tennessee–Martin
Coaching career1970–present
Career history
As coach:
1970–1976 Austin Peay State
1977–1978 Ole Miss
1978–1987 Miami (FL)
1987–1996 Purdue
1997–1998 Portland Power
20002002 Seattle Storm
20042007 Indiana Fever (assistant)
20082014 Indiana Fever
2016–2022 Kentucky (assistant/spec asst)
2022–present Indiana Fever (general manager)
Career highlights and awards
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Women’s Basketball
Head coach for   United States
William Jones Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Taipei Team Competition
Assistant coach for   United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Team Competition
FIBA World Championship for Women
Gold medal – first place 1990 Kuala Lumpur Team Competition
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Seattle Team Competition

Lin Dunn (born May 10, 1947) [1] is an American women's basketball coach, currently general manager with the Indiana Fever. [2] She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She has more than 500 wins to her name.

A native of Dresden, Tennessee, Dunn graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1969. She coached for decades in the college ranks, amassing a 447-257 record in 25 seasons as a college head coach. In her tenure at Austin Peay State University (1970–1976), the University of Mississippi (1977–1978), the University of Miami (1978–1987) and Purdue University (1987–1996), she made the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship seven times, and the Final Four once, in 1994 with Purdue. She is in the Athletics Hall of Fame at both Austin Peay and Miami. Dunn also was president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 1984-85.

Dunn was abruptly fired at Purdue after the 1995-96 season, but resurfaced in the pros with the American Basketball League's Portland Power in 1996. She was ABL's coach of the year in 1998, right before that league folded. Dunn then became the first coach and GM of the expansion Seattle Storm in the ABL's rival, the WNBA. Her folksy southern personality was a hit in Urbane, Seattle, with fans often wearing Dunn masks and quoting her rustic aphorisms. The team started with a dismal 6-26 season.

Dunn left the Storm just as it was starting to have success. New superstars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird led the team to the 2002 playoffs, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks. Dunn then resigned, leaving the path open for Anne Donovan to build a championship team just two seasons later.

Dunn is a former head coach of the Indiana Fever. [3] Dunn won the WNBA championship with the Fever on October 21, 2012.

On May 6, 2014, Dunn announced her retirement from coaching at the end of the year.

On June 14, 2014, Dunn was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. [4]

On May 24, 2016, she was introduced as an assistant coach for Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky. [5] On May 26, 2017, UK Athletics announced that Coach Dunn had signed a one-year contract extension. [6]

In 2018, her role at Kentucky changed to special assistant to the head coach. [7]

On February 14, 2022, Dunn left her role at Kentucky to become Interim General Manager of the Indiana Fever. In explaining her decision, she stated, "I wouldn't come back to another franchise. This would be the only place that I would consider coming out of retirement for." [8] [2]

Dunn was named the permanent General Manager on January 20, 2023.

USA Basketball

In 1990, Dunn was the assistant coach for the USA National team at the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team, behind the 22 point per game scoring of Teresa Edwards, won all eight contests, with only the win over Cuba decided by single digits. The USA team faced Yugoslavia in the gold medal game, and won 88–78. [9]

In 1995, Dunn served as the head coach to the R. William Jones Cup Team. The competition was held in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team won its first six games, but four of the six were won by single-digit margins. Their seventh game was against Russia, and they fell 100–84. The final game was against South Korea, and a victory would assure the gold medal, but the South Korean team won 80–76 to win the gold medal. The USA team won the bronze medal. [10]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Austin Peay Lady Governors ( Ohio Valley Conference) (1970–1976)
Austin Peay: 67–55 (.549)
Ole Miss Rebels ( Southeastern Conference) (1977–1978)
1977–78 Ole Miss 25–15 N/A AIAW State Tournament Champion
AIAW Region III Runner-up
AIAW National Tournament
Ole Miss: 25–15 (.625)
Miami Hurricanes ( FAIAW) (1978–1982)
1978–79 Miami (FL) 10–13 N/A
1979–80 Miami (FL) 18–16 N/A
1980–81 Miami (FL) 24–15 N/A
1981–82 Miami (FL) 19–10 N/A
Miami Hurricanes ( NCAA Division I independent) (1982–1987)
1982–83 Miami (FL) 14–13 N/A
1983–84 Miami (FL) 19–12 N/A
1984–85 Miami (FL) 21–7 N/A
1985–86 Miami (FL) 9–18 N/A
1986–87 Miami (FL) 15–15 N/A
Miami (FL): 149–119 (.556)
Purdue Boilermakers ( Big Ten Conference) (1987–1996)
1987–88 Purdue 21–10 13–5 3rd NWIT Second Place
1988–89 Purdue 24–6 14–4 3rd NCAA Second Round (Bye)
1989–90 Purdue 23–7 14–4 3rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990–91 Purdue 26–3 17–1 1st NCAA Second Round (Bye)
1991–92 Purdue 23–7 14–4 2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1992–93 Purdue 16–11 8–10 6th
1993–94 Purdue 29–5 16–2 T-1st NCAA Final Four
1994–95 Purdue 24–8 13–3 T-1st NCAA Elite Eight
1995–96 Purdue 20–11 11–5 4th NCAA First Round
Purdue: 206–68 (.752)
Total: 447–257 (.635)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Professional

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
POR 1996–97 18 9 9 .500 4th in West
POR 1997–98 44 27 17 .614 1st in West 2 0 2 .000 Lost Western Conference Semi-Finals
POR 1998 13 9 4 .692 Season cancelled
SEA 2000 32 6 26 .188 8th in West
SEA 2001 32 10 22 .313 8th in West
SEA 2002 32 17 15 .531 4th in West 2 0 2 .000 Lost Western Conference Semi-Finals
IND 2008 34 17 17 .500 4th in East 3 1 2 .333 Lost Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
IND 2009 34 22 12 .647 1st in East 10 6 4 .600 Lost WNBA Finals
IND 2010 34 21 13 .618 3rd in East 3 1 2 .333 Lost Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
IND 2011 34 21 13 .618 1st in East 6 3 3 .500 Lost Eastern Conference Finals
IND 2012 34 22 12 .647 2nd in East 10 7 3 .700 Won WNBA Finals
IND 2013 34 16 18 .471 4th in East 4 2 2 .500 Lost Eastern Conference Finals
IND 2014 34 16 18 .471 2nd in East 5 3 2 .600 Lost Eastern Conference Finals
Career 409 213 196 .521 45 23 22 .511

References

  1. ^ "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved 24 Sep 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Dunn says role as Fever GM her 'final final tour'". ESPN.com. 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  3. ^ Lin Dunn Archived 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. WNBA.com
  4. ^ "Dunn Inducted to Women's Basketball Hall of Fame". www.purduesports.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  5. ^ "Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Lin Dunn Joins Mitchell's Staff". UK Athletics. University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Lin Dunn Signs Contract Extension". UK Athletics. University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Lin Dunn". University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Kentucky Women's Basketball". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  9. ^ "ELEVENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN -- 1990". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  10. ^ "1995 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.