University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Basketball
Motherwell, John
John Motherwell
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
John "Mo" Motherwell is in his second season as a member of the coaching staff at the University of Minnesota. He serves as the Golden Gophers' assistant coach and is heavily involved in recruiting.
Motherwell has a wealth of experience recruiting in Minnesota and the surrounding regions, having made coaching stops at North Dakota, Milwaukee, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Concordia University St. Paul and the College of St. Scholastica.
Motherwell helped work with Minnesota’s posts in 2014-15 as Amanda Zahui B. and Shae Kelley emerged as one of the top front-court duos in program history. The pair combined to score 1,199 of the Gophers' program-record 2,514 total points, which accounted for 48 percent of Minnesota's scoring output. The duo also pulled down 50 percent of the Maroon and Gold's total rebounds, combining for 735 of Minnesota's 1,461 boards.
Zahui B. was named a first-team All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and espnW, was the media's choice for Big Ten Player of the Year and was the lone unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten First Team by both coaches and media. Kelley also earned a spot on the media's All-Big Ten First Team and the coaches' All-Big Ten Second Team. Both Zahui B., the No. 2 overall pick by the Tulsa Shock, and Kelley (third round pick of the Minnesota Lynx) were selected in the 2015 WNBA Draft.
As an assistant at MSU-Moorhead from 2000-05, Motherwell helped the Dragons to a school-record 24 victories, its first conference title in 20 years and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. During his five-year tenure, Motherwell was part of MSU-Moorhead's remarkable turnaround in which the program posted five-straight winning years after a streak of seven-straight losing seasons. The Dragons produced more All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference performers than any other school in his five years as an assistant.
Motherwell also coached at Concordia University St. Paul and the College of St. Scholastica from 1998-2000. At Concordia, Motherwell was the Golden Bears' recruiting coordinator and also served as the program's interim head coach. The recruiting class from his time at Concordia won an NSIC title and twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Following his time a MSU-Moorhead, Motherwell spent five years as an assistant coach at Milwaukee, where he worked with post players and served as the team's recruiting coordinator. In 2005-06, Motherwell helped the Panthers to a share of the Horizon League regular-season championship, a program-record 22 wins, the conference tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. While with the Panthers, Motherwell helped secure many of the nation's top recruits including the 2005 Minnesota AAU Player of the Year, the No. 1 point guard in Michigan in 2007, the 2009 Michigan Class D Player of the Year, as well as the No. 2 ranked post from Illinois and the No. 1 ranked shooter in the nation in 2010.
Motherwell was an assistant coach at North Dakota for one season, where he helped lead UND to an appearance in the Great West Conference Tournament championship game. He also had one-year stints as an assistant coach at Detroit Mercy from 2013-14, where he helped bring in a top-rated recruiting class in the Horizon League, and West Florida from 2012-13. Motherwell’s recruiting class at West Florida went to two straight NCAA Tournaments.
The Michigan native got his start in coaching in the high school ranks in his home state, where he worked for five seasons as both a head coach and assistant coach with Lansing Waverly, Haslett, Williamston, Dryden and Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart High Schools.
Motherwell graduated from Big Ten competitor Michigan in 1995 with a degree in general studies. Prior to arriving at Michigan, he was a football letterwinner at Eastern Michigan.
Motherwell married Elrosa, Minn., native and St. Scholastica graduate Sherri Bierschbach in 2001 and the couple has two children, Annie and Joe.
Motherwell has a wealth of experience recruiting in Minnesota and the surrounding regions, having made coaching stops at North Dakota, Milwaukee, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Concordia University St. Paul and the College of St. Scholastica.
Motherwell helped work with Minnesota’s posts in 2014-15 as Amanda Zahui B. and Shae Kelley emerged as one of the top front-court duos in program history. The pair combined to score 1,199 of the Gophers' program-record 2,514 total points, which accounted for 48 percent of Minnesota's scoring output. The duo also pulled down 50 percent of the Maroon and Gold's total rebounds, combining for 735 of Minnesota's 1,461 boards.
Zahui B. was named a first-team All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and espnW, was the media's choice for Big Ten Player of the Year and was the lone unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten First Team by both coaches and media. Kelley also earned a spot on the media's All-Big Ten First Team and the coaches' All-Big Ten Second Team. Both Zahui B., the No. 2 overall pick by the Tulsa Shock, and Kelley (third round pick of the Minnesota Lynx) were selected in the 2015 WNBA Draft.
As an assistant at MSU-Moorhead from 2000-05, Motherwell helped the Dragons to a school-record 24 victories, its first conference title in 20 years and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. During his five-year tenure, Motherwell was part of MSU-Moorhead's remarkable turnaround in which the program posted five-straight winning years after a streak of seven-straight losing seasons. The Dragons produced more All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference performers than any other school in his five years as an assistant.
Motherwell also coached at Concordia University St. Paul and the College of St. Scholastica from 1998-2000. At Concordia, Motherwell was the Golden Bears' recruiting coordinator and also served as the program's interim head coach. The recruiting class from his time at Concordia won an NSIC title and twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Following his time a MSU-Moorhead, Motherwell spent five years as an assistant coach at Milwaukee, where he worked with post players and served as the team's recruiting coordinator. In 2005-06, Motherwell helped the Panthers to a share of the Horizon League regular-season championship, a program-record 22 wins, the conference tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. While with the Panthers, Motherwell helped secure many of the nation's top recruits including the 2005 Minnesota AAU Player of the Year, the No. 1 point guard in Michigan in 2007, the 2009 Michigan Class D Player of the Year, as well as the No. 2 ranked post from Illinois and the No. 1 ranked shooter in the nation in 2010.
Motherwell was an assistant coach at North Dakota for one season, where he helped lead UND to an appearance in the Great West Conference Tournament championship game. He also had one-year stints as an assistant coach at Detroit Mercy from 2013-14, where he helped bring in a top-rated recruiting class in the Horizon League, and West Florida from 2012-13. Motherwell’s recruiting class at West Florida went to two straight NCAA Tournaments.
The Michigan native got his start in coaching in the high school ranks in his home state, where he worked for five seasons as both a head coach and assistant coach with Lansing Waverly, Haslett, Williamston, Dryden and Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart High Schools.
Motherwell graduated from Big Ten competitor Michigan in 1995 with a degree in general studies. Prior to arriving at Michigan, he was a football letterwinner at Eastern Michigan.
Motherwell married Elrosa, Minn., native and St. Scholastica graduate Sherri Bierschbach in 2001 and the couple has two children, Annie and Joe.
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