LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky assistant Gail Goestenkors has decided to retire from on-court coaching and will stay on with the program to help in an off-court supporting role for Wildcats head coach Kyra Elzy.
Goestenkors will remain in her current position as an assistant until a replacement is found. She leaves the game as a Hall of Famer who has been a head coach at both Duke and Texas where she was seven-time ACC Coach of the Year and 2007 National Coach of the year. She advanced to 19 NCAA Tournaments with four Final Fours and two NCAA runner-up finishes. Coach G also won four gold medals with USA Basketball including two Olympic teams as an assistant coach in 2004 and 2008.
"Coaching has been the gift of a lifetime. It's hard to believe I've been coaching for 30 years. What a fulfilling journey it's been," Goestenkors said. "I have been blessed to work with so many amazing people. The friendships with colleagues and the relationships with players that I've forged throughout the years are the gifts I hold most dear. I would like to thank Mitch Barnhart, Kyra Elzy and the entire WBB program for the opportunity to come to UK and assist in coaching, mentoring and building up the incredible young women who make up this program. It has been an honor and privilege to represent UK and become a part of the Big Blue Nation. I cannot wait to spend more time with my friends and family in this new phase of my career."
“Having Coach Goestenkors in our program for one year was instrumental in so many ways. Although her on-court involvement with our program has come to an end, we are elated that she will remain on our staff,” Elzy said. “Coach G will go down as one of the best coaches in our sport. She has impacted the women’s basketball community tremendously. I want to publicly thank her for her hard work and contributions to Kentucky women’s basketball. We will have significant shoes to fill and will start working on that right away.”
Goestenkors also was an assistant at Purdue under head coach Lin Dunn and for one season at Central Michigan.
