At some point during the interview, I felt the need to ask Hebert about his plans for retirement. I'm not even thinking about that right now, he told me. And I left it at that. Hebert had been the leader behind the well-respected Minnesota program for 15 years, handling both the success of the team and his own battle with Parkinson's with the class and determination of a seasoned veteran.
And he was someone I had grown to respect. So much so that when the email release announcing his retirement came just days after my sit-down with him, I wasn't even mad. Being mad about missing a scoop was the farthest thing from my mind. My first thought was, good for him. My second thought was, what's going to happen to the program?
After the botched handling of the last two football coaching searches by University athletic director Joel Maturi, I was nervous how the volleyball search would be handled and who would be brought in. Leaving behind a 381-125 record, Coach Hebert made Minnesota a nationally-recognized and respected program and with the amount of talent coming into the program, it would be a shame to let that go to waste.
Luckily for Gophers fan, they can breathe a sigh of relief. The University of Minnesota just announced Hugh McCutcheon of Team USA will take over the reigns at the Sports Pavilion. The 41-year old brings in a stellar resume, having just finished his 2nd year coaching the U.S Women's National Volleyball Team, posting a 28-13 record and medaling in 3 of their 4 tournaments.
McCutcheon, a native of New Zealand, also coached the U.S. Men's Olympic Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, bringing in a gold medal for Team USA--the program's first podium finish since 1992. Unfortunately for McCutcheon and his wife Elisabeth Bachman, the Olympic experience was plagued with tragedy. McCutcheon's in-laws, Todd and Barbara Bachman (of Lakeville, MN) were attacked during the opening day events at Drum Tower. Todd died in the attack and Barbara sustained serious injuries, forcing McCutcheon to leave his team for three matches during the opening rounds of the games.
McCutcheon boasted a 107-33 record during his four years leading the men's team.
McCutcheon comes to the Gophers at the right time. Coming off a 2nd place finish in the Big Ten and a powerful trip to the Sweet 16, the 9th-ranked Gophers only lost one player this season--senior Lauren Gibbemeyer--and are bringing in one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country.
