University of Minnesota Athletics
Shannon Bolden Ready to Make Impact in Sophomore Season
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
After all, she had earned playing time at power forward for the Golden Gophers' squad that advanced to the Sweet 16. The power forward position was much different than the post, back to the basket, position she excelled in at Marshall High School.
Even though Bolden had played well and contributed as a freshman, Pam Borton and the rest of the coaching staff had bigger plans for her as a sophomore. Bolden would be asked to change positions once again, this time to the third guard/small forward position, the same spot held down so prominently by Corrin Von Wald for the last two seasons. Von Wald earned the reputation of being a hard-nosed, tough defender, the team's defensive stopper if you will. She was also the team's second-leading scorer averaging 14.8 points a game. These are big shoes to fill.
Yet, one of the best things about collegiate athletics is that players graduate leaving their younger teammates with great opportunities to make their own mark.
Now it's Shannon Bolden's turn to step up.
"The coaches wanted me to understand that this year we needed someone to step up and fill the role that Corrin had. They stressed that everything I did last year has to be taken to the next level."
Knowing the expectations for her sophomore season included this expanded role, and the chance to earn a spot in the starting lineup, Bolden set her mind to an off-season of hard work. She pinpointed two aspects of her game to improve upon during the summer, her outside shot and her ball handling.
"Playing in the post, compared to the perimeter, is completely different. It's more of a quickness issue on the perimeter, it's physical but it's more quickness than strength. Defensively, you have to defend the drive and the outside shot. For me offensively, I knew I had to improve on my outside shot and ball handling. When you go from a four (power forward) to a three (small forward/guard), you do a lot more of those kind of things."
Bolden became a daily visitor to the brand new YMCA in Marshall during the summer. She'd set up shots from the perimeter and require herself to make five in a row before moving on to the next spot. Then, she'd help break in the new gym floor with ball handling drill after ball handling drill. She estimates that she put in an average of 60 to 90 minutes a day on the court.
"I was used to shooting inside or driving and pulling up. I needed to extend my range and able to shoot the three pointer."
Though this routine undoubtedly helped her become a better basketball player, it was her time working as a team counselor at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis that really set the stage for her offseason improvement campaign.
While afternoons were spent on the court coaching the very best high school players in the country, the mornings were all about pick-up games. If you've ever watched pick-up games at any level, it's easy to see that players love to display their offensive moves. Not for Bolden. Here was an opportunity to hone her defensive skills each day, against the finest player in the game, Connecticut's Diana Taurasi.
"It was a really good experience. I was a little in awe at first, thinking, wow, I'm guarding Diana Taurasi, and not doing a bad job of it either," said Bolden. "It's obviously a little different in a pick-up game. It's not organized team defense, it's a lot of one-on-one. I think I frustrated Diana a little bit at one point. She kept trying to drive on me and I kept cutting her off, so finally she just stood way behind the three-point line and threw it up long threes."
Not only did Bolden get the experience of testing her defensive skills against last year's Final Four MVP and national player of the year, she also gained some insight on what it's like to be part of a national championship program.
"I learned from Diana that Connecticut is such a good team because they expect it; they expected to win every game, to be the best team in the nation," explained Bolden. "They have so much confidence and it's not cockiness either. She is one of the most modest people I've ever met. She's so confident in herself and her teammates."
Bolden expects her Golden Gopher team to follow UConn's example.
"This is something we've talking about as a team. We can't just want to be Big Ten champions. We have to expect to be champions and not only expect but do what it takes to get there. We want to be the team that's there in the end."
Unlike a year ago when a weak non-conference schedule provided extra time for the Gophers to find their team's identity, this season there is a sense of urgency with as Minnesota embarks on the 17th-toughest non-conference slate in the nation.
Shannon Bolden expects her offseason work to pay dividends for both herself and her team.
"It starts today, it starts against Southern."
Note: This article was featured in the Golden Gophers' game program for the Subway Classic. Bolden started her first collegiate game in the Gophers'season-opener against Southern and contributed six points, two assists and a rebound. The 2002-03 season had just ended. The team was very successful and for then-freshman Shannon Bolden, she had learned a lot.
After all, she had earned playing time at power forward for the Golden Gophers' squad that advanced to the Sweet 16. The power forward position was much different than the post, back to the basket, position she excelled in at Marshall High School.
Even though Bolden had played well and contributed as a freshman, Pam Borton and the rest of the coaching staff had bigger plans for her as a sophomore. Bolden would be asked to change positions once again, this time to the third guard/small forward position, the same spot held down so prominently by Corrin Von Wald for the last two seasons. Von Wald earned the reputation of being a hard-nosed, tough defender, the team's defensive stopper if you will. She was also the team's second-leading scorer averaging 14.8 points a game. These are big shoes to fill.
Yet, one of the best things about collegiate athletics is that players graduate leaving their younger teammates with great opportunities to make their own mark.
Now it's Shannon Bolden's turn to step up.
"The coaches wanted me to understand that this year we needed someone to step up and fill the role that Corrin had. They stressed that everything I did last year has to be taken to the next level."
Knowing the expectations for her sophomore season included this expanded role, and the chance to earn a spot in the starting lineup, Bolden set her mind to an off-season of hard work. She pinpointed two aspects of her game to improve upon during the summer, her outside shot and her ball handling.
"Playing in the post, compared to the perimeter, is completely different. It's more of a quickness issue on the perimeter, it's physical but it's more quickness than strength. Defensively, you have to defend the drive and the outside shot. For me offensively, I knew I had to improve on my outside shot and ball handling. When you go from a four (power forward) to a three (small forward/guard), you do a lot more of those kind of things."
Bolden became a daily visitor to the brand new YMCA in Marshall during the summer. She'd set up shots from the perimeter and require herself to make five in a row before moving on to the next spot. Then, she'd help break in the new gym floor with ball handling drill after ball handling drill. She estimates that she put in an average of 60 to 90 minutes a day on the court.
"I was used to shooting inside or driving and pulling up. I needed to extend my range and able to shoot the three pointer."
Though this routine undoubtedly helped her become a better basketball player, it was her time working as a team counselor at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis that really set the stage for her offseason improvement campaign.
While afternoons were spent on the court coaching the very best high school players in the country, the mornings were all about pick-up games. If you've ever watched pick-up games at any level, it's easy to see that players love to display their offensive moves. Not for Bolden. Here was an opportunity to hone her defensive skills each day, against the finest player in the game, Connecticut's Diana Taurasi.
"It was a really good experience. I was a little in awe at first, thinking, wow, I'm guarding Diana Taurasi, and not doing a bad job of it either," said Bolden. "It's obviously a little different in a pick-up game. It's not organized team defense, it's a lot of one-on-one. I think I frustrated Diana a little bit at one point. She kept trying to drive on me and I kept cutting her off, so finally she just stood way behind the three-point line and threw it up long threes."
Not only did Bolden get the experience of testing her defensive skills against last year's Final Four MVP and national player of the year, she also gained some insight on what it's like to be part of a national championship program.
"I learned from Diana that Connecticut is such a good team because they expect it; they expected to win every game, to be the best team in the nation," explained Bolden. "They have so much confidence and it's not cockiness either. She is one of the most modest people I've ever met. She's so confident in herself and her teammates."
Bolden expects her Golden Gopher team to follow UConn's example.
"This is something we've talking about as a team. We can't just want to be Big Ten champions. We have to expect to be champions and not only expect but do what it takes to get there. We want to be the team that's there in the end."
Unlike a year ago when a weak non-conference schedule provided extra time for the Gophers to find their team's identity, this season there is a sense of urgency with as Minnesota embarks on the 17th-toughest non-conference slate in the nation.
Shannon Bolden expects her offseason work to pay dividends for both herself and her team.
"It starts today, it starts against Southern."
Note: This article was featured in the Golden Gophers' game program for the Subway Classic. Bolden started her first collegiate game in the Gophers'season-opener against Southern and contributed six points, two assists and a rebound.
