University of Minnesota Athletics
Senior Salute: Janel McCarville
2/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Janel McCarville is in a class by herself. Literally and figuratively. She has been, literally, the only member of the Golden Gopher class of 2005. Figuratively, the imposing 6-2 center from Central Wisconsin, has made a huge impression, whether by her hairstyle, hair color, tattoos or her outgoing and spirited personality.
McCarville already has the school record for the most wins by a class. She also has lived through a Minnesota career that no one, not even the three greatest Golden Gophers whose banners overlook the Williams Arena court, has ever been lucky enough to experience.
"Coming in, I never thought the program would come this far and this fast," said McCarville. "I also would never have the accolades I have received if I didn't have great coaches and teammates. Hopefully someday I'll have my jersey hanging in Williams with those players."
"Janel is one of the best post players in the country and is a major reason we have won over 20 games in each of the past four seasons," added Gopher head coach Pam Borton.
The game of basketball is obviously a team game. In the case of Janel McCarville and Golden Gopher women's basketball program, however, they thrived together. As big No. 4 established herself first as a premiere post player in the Big Ten, and then in the country, the Golden Gophers built a firm foundation for a tradition of success.
The storied career of Shaq begins before there was even a bandwagon for Gopher fans to jump on. A crowd of 1,103 showed up at the Sports Pavilion for her first game, much more interested in seeing a new coach on the sidelines than how good the Gophers would be following another disappointing season the year before.
What those 1,103 fans saw was the budding of a new flower, the dawning of the new age of Golden Gopher women's basketball. What those fans also witnessed was a new kid, a big kid donning number four on her jersey, making powerful and athletic moves around the basket.
McCarville made a lay-up just 40 seconds into her Gopher career, followed by another less than a minute later. In fact, McCarville made all seven shots she took that day. And, as a tell-tale sign of the all-around athlete she would become, she added nine rebounds and five assists to her 21 points. Who was that big kid from Wisconsin playing for Minnesota anyway? The world of collegiate women's basketball was about to find out.
The Gophers began to see the potential of their young center as the season progressed. Knowingly overweight when she came to college and self-proclaimed as, "the size of a bread truck back then," McCarville was working her way into the physical shape necessary to make a big impact at the collegiate level. She posted the first of her 40-plus career double-doubles 10 games into her career at High Point. Her first Big Ten game, Dec. 28, 2001 at home versus Penn State, will not be remembered for her 21-point performance but instead for her unveiling of a new hair color - bleached blonde. What people first thought was a crazy, if not cocky, statement later turned into being what we know Janel is today. That blonde out there was just Janel being Janel.
Perhaps the one game remembered as the jump-start to the major turnaround in the fortunes of this Minnesota program was also the first game in which McCarville played against her home-state Wisconsin university. Minnesota stunned the fifth-ranked Badgers that day in a sold-out Kohl Center in Madison. McCarville's last-second steal and layup in the first half were highlights of her 19-point outing that day.
McCarville's freshman campaign saw the Golden Gophers win over 20 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time. Post-season awards followed as Shaq was a clear-cut pick for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Like any good novel, there is a period of trial and doubt. For McCarville, you can point to her sophomore season. A turbulent coaching departure and possible NCAA penalties led to a summer of doubt and confusion. Clashes with her new coach (Pam Borton) and early-season injuries resulted in sub-par performance and the loss of her starting position.
"I think it took a whole year for Janel to grasp our system," said Borton. "She realized we were only trying to make her better and that we weren't going anywhere. Yes, we butted heads but there's not many times you get to coach a kid like Janel. I think She's made us better as coaches."
"Our relationship has grown," said McCarville. "I had to take to heart what she was teaching us. She makes us better as players and as a team."
The adaptation to Borton's system took a while but once McCarville bought into her new coach's vision, Shaq has seen vast improvement in her all-around game, especially on defense. That sophomore season ended with the Gophers' first trip to the Sweet 16. For McCarville though, basketball was secondary as she found out her mother Bonnie was battling cancer.
"You don't want to take anything for granted," explains McCarville. "You have to take one day at a time. My mother has been a big inspiration to me, mentally and physically." Since that time Janel has drawn nothing but inspiration from her mother. A tattoo with Bonnie's initials adorn Shaq's left forearm. The other forearm bares a large M for McCarville with family names and the adage, "Strength Lies Within."
McCarville's junior season was one of hard work and reward. Shaq also learned an important lesson with her All-American teammate Lindsay Whalen went down with an injury late in the season.
"I tried to pick up anything I could from Whalen and how she played," said McCarville. "My main goal was to hold down the fort until she got back."
"Lindsay taught Janel how to play as an All-American," added Borton.
McCarville stepped forward from Whalen's shadow, and out of necessity took over the spot in the limelight. Teams threw everything they had at McCarville to slow the powerful Gopher, and at first they succeeded. Then, as she became used to the extra attention, McCarville's all-around game once again flourished. A triple-double in the Big Ten Tournament was the crowning moment of her achievement in learning to dominant play without her backcourt partner Whalen on the court.
When Whalen returned for the NCAA Tournament, the Gophers and the newly- focused McCarville took to the task of engineering the most exciting postseason run in school history. The Gophers started as a seventh-seed and finished as a national semi- finalist with the ultimate goal of attaining a Final Four now etched on their collegiate playing resumes. McCarville joined Whalen as Kodak/WBCA All-American, making Minnesota the only school with two players on the elite squad.
And now Janel is a senior. She is the player the team looks up to. Expectations are lofty for the Gophers' lone senior. McCarville was tabbed a preseason All-American and the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and among everyone's watch lists for the various national player of the year awards.
A broken hand pushed back her start to the season by a pair of games, but once again on the hardwood, McCarville has played every game living up to her All-American status. She poured in a career-high 31 points against No. 1 LSU as a national television audience looked on. Shaq has led the charge in putting Minnesota into fine position for earning the fourth NCAA Tournament berth of her fine career. McCarville is on pace to finish in the top five in Minnesota history in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, the first and only Golden Gopher ranked so highly in so many major statistical categories.
Granted, there are two items missing from her loaded resume, a Big Ten title and a dunk. She is chasing both with all she's worth, now playing with the urgency that only seniors in the final weeks of their careers can understand.
Ask McCarville how she hopes to be remembered and you get a humble reply. "Hopefully as one of the best post players ever at Minnesota.a hard worker who got the job done and came out everyday, in games and practice, and gave it every she had."
Regardless of the outcome of this season, McCarville has made a deep impression on all of us. She plays the game with intensity, power and finesse but also was quick to flash a big grin or chest-bump a teammate after a big play. She helped us see the power of family and taught us how to be who we are and not who someone else wants us to be.
"She has a swagger about her," said teammate Shannon Schonrock. "We feed off that. She's a spark."
Call it swagger. Call it confidence. Janel McCarville has it. And, now, thanks in part to the big kid with the headband and the tattoos patrolling the paint for the last four seasons, so do the Golden Gophers.
Story by Becky Bohm
Janel McCarville is in a class by herself. Literally and figuratively. She has been, literally, the only member of the Golden Gopher class of 2005. Figuratively, the imposing 6-2 center from Central Wisconsin, has made a huge impression, whether by her hairstyle, hair color, tattoos or her outgoing and spirited personality.
McCarville already has the school record for the most wins by a class. She also has lived through a Minnesota career that no one, not even the three greatest Golden Gophers whose banners overlook the Williams Arena court, has ever been lucky enough to experience.
"Coming in, I never thought the program would come this far and this fast," said McCarville. "I also would never have the accolades I have received if I didn't have great coaches and teammates. Hopefully someday I'll have my jersey hanging in Williams with those players."
"Janel is one of the best post players in the country and is a major reason we have won over 20 games in each of the past four seasons," added Gopher head coach Pam Borton.
The game of basketball is obviously a team game. In the case of Janel McCarville and Golden Gopher women's basketball program, however, they thrived together. As big No. 4 established herself first as a premiere post player in the Big Ten, and then in the country, the Golden Gophers built a firm foundation for a tradition of success.
The storied career of Shaq begins before there was even a bandwagon for Gopher fans to jump on. A crowd of 1,103 showed up at the Sports Pavilion for her first game, much more interested in seeing a new coach on the sidelines than how good the Gophers would be following another disappointing season the year before.
What those 1,103 fans saw was the budding of a new flower, the dawning of the new age of Golden Gopher women's basketball. What those fans also witnessed was a new kid, a big kid donning number four on her jersey, making powerful and athletic moves around the basket.
McCarville made a lay-up just 40 seconds into her Gopher career, followed by another less than a minute later. In fact, McCarville made all seven shots she took that day. And, as a tell-tale sign of the all-around athlete she would become, she added nine rebounds and five assists to her 21 points. Who was that big kid from Wisconsin playing for Minnesota anyway? The world of collegiate women's basketball was about to find out.
The Gophers began to see the potential of their young center as the season progressed. Knowingly overweight when she came to college and self-proclaimed as, "the size of a bread truck back then," McCarville was working her way into the physical shape necessary to make a big impact at the collegiate level. She posted the first of her 40-plus career double-doubles 10 games into her career at High Point. Her first Big Ten game, Dec. 28, 2001 at home versus Penn State, will not be remembered for her 21-point performance but instead for her unveiling of a new hair color - bleached blonde. What people first thought was a crazy, if not cocky, statement later turned into being what we know Janel is today. That blonde out there was just Janel being Janel.
Perhaps the one game remembered as the jump-start to the major turnaround in the fortunes of this Minnesota program was also the first game in which McCarville played against her home-state Wisconsin university. Minnesota stunned the fifth-ranked Badgers that day in a sold-out Kohl Center in Madison. McCarville's last-second steal and layup in the first half were highlights of her 19-point outing that day.
McCarville's freshman campaign saw the Golden Gophers win over 20 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time. Post-season awards followed as Shaq was a clear-cut pick for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Like any good novel, there is a period of trial and doubt. For McCarville, you can point to her sophomore season. A turbulent coaching departure and possible NCAA penalties led to a summer of doubt and confusion. Clashes with her new coach (Pam Borton) and early-season injuries resulted in sub-par performance and the loss of her starting position.
"I think it took a whole year for Janel to grasp our system," said Borton. "She realized we were only trying to make her better and that we weren't going anywhere. Yes, we butted heads but there's not many times you get to coach a kid like Janel. I think She's made us better as coaches."
"Our relationship has grown," said McCarville. "I had to take to heart what she was teaching us. She makes us better as players and as a team."
The adaptation to Borton's system took a while but once McCarville bought into her new coach's vision, Shaq has seen vast improvement in her all-around game, especially on defense. That sophomore season ended with the Gophers' first trip to the Sweet 16. For McCarville though, basketball was secondary as she found out her mother Bonnie was battling cancer.
"You don't want to take anything for granted," explains McCarville. "You have to take one day at a time. My mother has been a big inspiration to me, mentally and physically." Since that time Janel has drawn nothing but inspiration from her mother. A tattoo with Bonnie's initials adorn Shaq's left forearm. The other forearm bares a large M for McCarville with family names and the adage, "Strength Lies Within."
McCarville's junior season was one of hard work and reward. Shaq also learned an important lesson with her All-American teammate Lindsay Whalen went down with an injury late in the season.
"I tried to pick up anything I could from Whalen and how she played," said McCarville. "My main goal was to hold down the fort until she got back."
"Lindsay taught Janel how to play as an All-American," added Borton.
McCarville stepped forward from Whalen's shadow, and out of necessity took over the spot in the limelight. Teams threw everything they had at McCarville to slow the powerful Gopher, and at first they succeeded. Then, as she became used to the extra attention, McCarville's all-around game once again flourished. A triple-double in the Big Ten Tournament was the crowning moment of her achievement in learning to dominant play without her backcourt partner Whalen on the court.
When Whalen returned for the NCAA Tournament, the Gophers and the newly- focused McCarville took to the task of engineering the most exciting postseason run in school history. The Gophers started as a seventh-seed and finished as a national semi- finalist with the ultimate goal of attaining a Final Four now etched on their collegiate playing resumes. McCarville joined Whalen as Kodak/WBCA All-American, making Minnesota the only school with two players on the elite squad.
And now Janel is a senior. She is the player the team looks up to. Expectations are lofty for the Gophers' lone senior. McCarville was tabbed a preseason All-American and the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and among everyone's watch lists for the various national player of the year awards.
A broken hand pushed back her start to the season by a pair of games, but once again on the hardwood, McCarville has played every game living up to her All-American status. She poured in a career-high 31 points against No. 1 LSU as a national television audience looked on. Shaq has led the charge in putting Minnesota into fine position for earning the fourth NCAA Tournament berth of her fine career. McCarville is on pace to finish in the top five in Minnesota history in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, the first and only Golden Gopher ranked so highly in so many major statistical categories.
Granted, there are two items missing from her loaded resume, a Big Ten title and a dunk. She is chasing both with all she's worth, now playing with the urgency that only seniors in the final weeks of their careers can understand.
Ask McCarville how she hopes to be remembered and you get a humble reply. "Hopefully as one of the best post players ever at Minnesota.a hard worker who got the job done and came out everyday, in games and practice, and gave it every she had."
Regardless of the outcome of this season, McCarville has made a deep impression on all of us. She plays the game with intensity, power and finesse but also was quick to flash a big grin or chest-bump a teammate after a big play. She helped us see the power of family and taught us how to be who we are and not who someone else wants us to be.
"She has a swagger about her," said teammate Shannon Schonrock. "We feed off that. She's a spark."
Call it swagger. Call it confidence. Janel McCarville has it. And, now, thanks in part to the big kid with the headband and the tattoos patrolling the paint for the last four seasons, so do the Golden Gophers.
Story by Becky Bohm
