I'll give you that. She has had some talented players though and just not done much with them.
I'm a little skeptical of this assessment and would like some evidence cited to substantiate it. Especially because I could cite evidence to the contrary. For instance, in terms of player development:
Layshia Clarendon was a first-round draft pick in the WNBA (9th in 2013), is a starting PG in the WNBA, has made the WNBA all-star team at least once, and is regularly in the mix for Team USA. Yet she was the no. 67th ranked recruit coming out of high school per ESPN/Olson. So either Gottlieb helped her develop well beyond her seeming high school potential, or else she spotted something no one else saw.
Brittany Boyd was a first round draft pick in the WNBA (9th in 2015), has been in and out of starting lineups for the Liberty, was named to the WNBA all-rookie team, and continues to get considerable playing time in her 4th year in the WNBA. Yet she was no. 38th ranked recruit coming out of high school per ESPN/Olson. So either Gottlieb helped her develop well beyond her seeming high school potential, or else she spotted something no one else saw.
Rashanda Gray was a second round draft pick in the WNBA (16th in 2015), and although she didn't end up playing for too long in the WNBA, she was the no. 22 ranked recruit coming out of high school per ESPN/Olson. Objective metrics would seem to suggest that Gray developed at least as much as her peers in her year, given that she improved her draft position from her recruiting rank.
And I'd say Kristine Anigwe shows a similar trajectory: no. 8 recruit per ESPN/Olson, no. 9 WNBA pick.
Sure, that's just one metric. But I feel like there seems to be this view that Gottlieb is a poor coach and yet I'm not really sure what the objective metrics basis for this is. In terms of player development, she seems, on an objective basis, to develop players to meet or exceed their high school recruiting prospects.
In terms of in game coaching, I've seen her teams play Stanford for years, and I've been above average impressed with her scouting defenses and ability to surprise Tara with plan B's vis-a-vis the dozens of other teams I've watched Stanford face off against. This season, in particular, Anigwe was one of the few players Tara was unable to shut down in any of the three games Stanford played against Cal - by comparison, Stanford obliterated Baylor's double-trouble bigs of Cox and Brown. And when Cal upset Stanford, they did so through a lot of outside shooting they weren't normally known for, as well as some cuts to the basket by their shorter guards that were not regularly part of Cal's playbook this season.
So I'm open to the argument, but I'd like to know what the evidence is. From what I've seen, Gottlieb is an above-average-replacement coach, and I'd be very surprised if Cal could find someone better given their combination of funding hurdles/admissions issues/and ongoing AD problems.
