In July of 1999 just one month after I gave birth to our second daughter, Derek received a phone call from the University of Minnesota men’s head basketball coach. He was interested in hiring Derek as an assistant coach. Big Ten basketball is big time.  It would be great for Derek’s career to have Big Ten experience.  It didn’t take a lot of convincing on his part.  I was ready to go.  I was excited to see another part of this beautiful country.  After 12 years of living in St. Louis my time there had come to an end.  It was bittersweet because I had made many friends through college and basketball but at the same time I was ready for a new adventure.  And boy was Minnesota an adventure! I don’t think I had experienced cold like that in my entire life. The kind of cold that makes the buggers in your nose freeze.