University of Minnesota Athletics
Jamie Broback: Taking It All In Stride
2/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
"Just let me know," answers Jamie Broback, a guard, no wait. a post. well, let's just leave it as a freshman on the Golden Gopher women's basketball team.
Broback is a versatile athlete and the Gophers are taking full advantage of it. The 6-foot, 3 inch rookie plays key minutes off the bench at both the third guard/small forward position and at the power forward spot.
At season's start, Broback was penciled in at small forward. The coaches loved the idea of the mismatches her height could force on the perimeter. Since she played with her back to the basket as an all-state player at Eastview High School, moving to the outside was a major adjustment. Broback struggled at her new position, lost a little confidence and as a result saw her playing minutes dwindle.
The coaches decided to move Broback back inside to the post in mid-January and the Gophers have been seeing the dividends ever since.
"I was frustrated playing at the three position back then," said Broback. "I moved back to the four and now feel comfortable, and confident to be able to play both positions."
Broback has shown in spurts what kind of impact she can have on the court. We have seen her on the low block, working hard for position and scoring to convert an effective high-low combination with center Janel McCarville. We have seen unblockable three-point rainbow treys. "Cutting backdoor, getting that pass from Shaq (McCarville) and scoring is exciting," says Broback when asked to name one of her favorite moments from her freshmen season. "It gets everyone going."
As she grasps the hard-nosed defensive style of Coach Borton's philosophy, we have also begun to see improvements in her defensive game.
On one such play last Sunday at Illinois, Broback defended a baseline drive perfectly, resulting in a big defensive stop in the second half for the Gophers in the second half of a big win in Champaign.
As one of the three freshmen on the Gopher roster this season, Broback understands the role of being ready at any time, in any circumstance, in any position.
Her role, and position, can change in the blink of an eye.
Another example for the Illinois game, Borton calls her into action. "Jamie, go get Kaddy (Kadidja Andersson)," she yells. Broback dashes to the scorer's table and checks in, ready to step in at the power forward position. A blow of the whistle, and in this case Kelly Roysland's fourth foul, and Broback's role is quickly changed. She heads into battle at the No. 3 third guard position instead.
"At first it was tough (changing position back and forth)," explains Broback. "But, I've adjusted to it. I have to keep working harder and stepping up whenever I'm called upon."
"You have to take it in stride and not try to do too much," says Shannon Bolden, who went through the same adjustment last year that Broback is this season. "You need to try to learn one thing at a time. You can't just step in. You have to work on it and become comfortable."
Bolden is a perfect mentor for Broback. Bolden has lived through the same tests of confidence last season and is now blossoming in the Golden Gopher system.
But Bolden had a little more time on her side. Broback, thanks to limited roster depth and now the added injury of court leader Lindsay Whalen, needs to continue to play confidently and speed through the learning curve.
"We no longer can afford for our freshmen to play like freshmen," said Borton in a recent media interview.
Broback, along with classmates Roysland and Liz Podominick, have accepted the challenge to play well beyond what you'd expect from a rookie class.
"You come in hoping you play," concludes Broback. "The fact that as a class we are playing a lot of minutes and contributing is something to be very proud of. Most of the time, I don't think we're playing too much like freshmen."
But luckily Broback, Roysland and Podominick are freshmen. Golden Gopher fans have three more years to watch all of this rookie experience pay off.
Story Written by Associate Media Relations Director Becky Bohm. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu. "Jamie, you might have to join the guards," said associate head coach Melissa McFerrin as the Gophers finished up a shooting drill with the guards at one end of the court and the post players on the other. "We're getting a little bit low in numbers."
"Just let me know," answers Jamie Broback, a guard, no wait. a post. well, let's just leave it as a freshman on the Golden Gopher women's basketball team.
Broback is a versatile athlete and the Gophers are taking full advantage of it. The 6-foot, 3 inch rookie plays key minutes off the bench at both the third guard/small forward position and at the power forward spot.
At season's start, Broback was penciled in at small forward. The coaches loved the idea of the mismatches her height could force on the perimeter. Since she played with her back to the basket as an all-state player at Eastview High School, moving to the outside was a major adjustment. Broback struggled at her new position, lost a little confidence and as a result saw her playing minutes dwindle.
The coaches decided to move Broback back inside to the post in mid-January and the Gophers have been seeing the dividends ever since.
"I was frustrated playing at the three position back then," said Broback. "I moved back to the four and now feel comfortable, and confident to be able to play both positions."
Broback has shown in spurts what kind of impact she can have on the court. We have seen her on the low block, working hard for position and scoring to convert an effective high-low combination with center Janel McCarville. We have seen unblockable three-point rainbow treys. "Cutting backdoor, getting that pass from Shaq (McCarville) and scoring is exciting," says Broback when asked to name one of her favorite moments from her freshmen season. "It gets everyone going."
As she grasps the hard-nosed defensive style of Coach Borton's philosophy, we have also begun to see improvements in her defensive game.
On one such play last Sunday at Illinois, Broback defended a baseline drive perfectly, resulting in a big defensive stop in the second half for the Gophers in the second half of a big win in Champaign.
As one of the three freshmen on the Gopher roster this season, Broback understands the role of being ready at any time, in any circumstance, in any position.
Her role, and position, can change in the blink of an eye.
Another example for the Illinois game, Borton calls her into action. "Jamie, go get Kaddy (Kadidja Andersson)," she yells. Broback dashes to the scorer's table and checks in, ready to step in at the power forward position. A blow of the whistle, and in this case Kelly Roysland's fourth foul, and Broback's role is quickly changed. She heads into battle at the No. 3 third guard position instead.
"At first it was tough (changing position back and forth)," explains Broback. "But, I've adjusted to it. I have to keep working harder and stepping up whenever I'm called upon."
"You have to take it in stride and not try to do too much," says Shannon Bolden, who went through the same adjustment last year that Broback is this season. "You need to try to learn one thing at a time. You can't just step in. You have to work on it and become comfortable."
Bolden is a perfect mentor for Broback. Bolden has lived through the same tests of confidence last season and is now blossoming in the Golden Gopher system.
But Bolden had a little more time on her side. Broback, thanks to limited roster depth and now the added injury of court leader Lindsay Whalen, needs to continue to play confidently and speed through the learning curve.
"We no longer can afford for our freshmen to play like freshmen," said Borton in a recent media interview.
Broback, along with classmates Roysland and Liz Podominick, have accepted the challenge to play well beyond what you'd expect from a rookie class.
"You come in hoping you play," concludes Broback. "The fact that as a class we are playing a lot of minutes and contributing is something to be very proud of. Most of the time, I don't think we're playing too much like freshmen."
But luckily Broback, Roysland and Podominick are freshmen. Golden Gopher fans have three more years to watch all of this rookie experience pay off.
Story Written by Associate Media Relations Director Becky Bohm. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
