Lin Dunn promoted to head coach of Fever
"One of the first things we're going to focus on is scoring more points," Dunn said. "We know that we have had a really outstanding defensive team the last two or three years. We know we need to score more points, at least seven or eight more points a game.
"That's going to be a point of emphasis: score, score, score, and score some more."
Winters was 78-58 in four seasons and took the team to the playoffs three times, but the Fever averaged just 72.9 points last season - second-lowest among the league's 13 teams - and Winters was let go in October with one year left on his contract.
"Lin's whole approach is really a different style, different leadership style in the way to do things," Fever general manager Kelly Krauskopf said.
"When we talked about the qualities in a coach to take our team to the next level, we didn't have to look far. Lin is a proven winner. ... She knows how to get it done and to coach the very highest-level players."
Dunn compiled a 447-257 record in 25 years as a college coach, including 206-68 and an NCAA Final Four appearance in nine years at Purdue. She later coached Portland in the women's American Basketball League and Seattle in the WNBA before joining Winters' staff with the Fever in 2004.
Last season, the Fever won 16 of their first 21 games, but then lost eight of 13 after star player Tamika Catchings partially tore the plantar fascia in her left foot. Catchings returned for the playoffs, but tore the Achilles' tendon in her right foot in the conference finals against Detroit.
"It's going to make for a much easier transition," Dunn said of her move within the organization. "I already know the players, I already know the culture, I already know the expectations of the management, I know the people that sell tickets, I know the people at security, I know the community. ... Some of the time I would be spending on just figuring out where to go and what to do, I can be focusing on how do we get better."
Winters was the winningest coach in the team's history. The first coach was Anne Donovan, who won only nine games in the expansion franchise's inaugural season in 2000. Former Purdue coach Nell Fortner coached the Fever the next three years, winning 42 games but losing to New York in the first round in her only playoff appearance in 2002.
Catchings said she's looking forward to playing for Dunn.
"Anytime you get a new coach, the first thing that goes into it is developing a relationship with the players and knowing their strengths and weaknesses," Catchings said. "The fact she already knows that is definitely a plus."
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