University of Minnesota Athletics
Shaq's Wooden Award Weekend in LA
4/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Enter stage right, Janel McCarville…a fun-loving kid from central Wisconsin. She’s going to play basketball at Minnesota. After a sensational senior year of high school and a trip to the state tournament, she earned acclaim as a talented player by her home-state fans. So, they asked, “Why would you want to go to Minnesota?”
McCarville’s answer, like many before her, was to build a tradition…to turn the program around.
Others tried but no one can look at their Gopher career and say she did what McCarville did. Not even the great Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer, can boast of four NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four and two Sweet 16’s. McCarville, as well, is found among the top five in each and every of the major statistical categories of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The closest to McCarville in this instance is Laura Coenen, who was ranked in four.
After a career in which she experienced more success than any of her predecessors, McCarville got the chance to cap her storied career with one more glory. This time the glory was away from the lights of the hardwood and away from her teammates. McCarville was named a finalist of the prestigious Wooden Award and was whisked off to Los Angeles for a weekend of movie star treatment.
McCarville, who will forever be remembered as “Shaq” by the Gopher faithful, got the chance to bask in the limelight one more time. After a season that started and ended with thoughts of how good the Gophers would be and what kind of team they would become without the departed All-American Whalen, McCarville got to experience the Wooden Award gala weekend, something that Whalen, most likely thanks to two broken bones in her shooting hand midway through the season, doesn’t have on her extensive collegiate resume.
A week away from becoming an expected very high WNBA draft pick, McCarville was joined by head coach Pam Borton for a weekend of pomp and circumstance, formal galas and yacht clubs. The senior Gopher All-American was joined by other top collegiate players from both the men’s and women’s venues. The players were treated like royalty and had the experience of a lifetime.
So, roll out the red carpet, Shaq was back in LA. This time it was our Shaq and we had the chance to follow along.
Janel and Pam arrived at LAX on Thursday evening. A representative of the Los Angeles Athletic Club was there to greet them and escort them downtown to “The Club,” as the Los Angeles Athletic Club would be home base for the weekend’s activities.
You couldn’t help but notice the Wooden Award trophy prominently displayed in the lobby of The Club. The trophy was the men’s version, now in its 29th year of existence. At first, you noticed the impressive list of players who had previously received the award, starting with UCLA’s Marques Johnson in 1977. The woman’s award is in just its second year, with Duke’s Alana Beard winning the inaugural award.
A closer inspection reveals a precise description of the brass figures that grace the trophy. The women’s trophy has the figures embossed in glass. Each figure is a basketball player honoring five aspects of the game: rebounding, passing, defense, shooting and dribbling. Rebounding, passing, defense, shooting and dribbling…truly Janel McCarville was deserving of such an honor. She was a complete player for the Gophers.
Janel received a nice goody bag upon checking in. The prize piece was a basketball perfect for collecting the autographs of the many talented players and respected coaches that would be joining her for the weekend’s festivities.
The evening was spent relaxing at a nice dinner at The Club with our escort Skip. In a weekend of many experiences, meeting Skip was yet another. Skip is a decorated Army veteran of the Vietnam War, who lost his foot to a land mine during a training mission. Skip is now a successful businessman in Long Beach and a member of The Club’s Board of Governors.
Friday would be a full day for the players, beginning with a breakfast meeting at 9 a.m. at which Mike Solum, the Director of the John Wooden Award, went through the schedule for the weekend.
The first event for the women’s finalists was a luncheon at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rae, sponsored by Applied Materials, a major sponsor of the women’s Wooden Award. The luncheon was a great chance for the players and coaches to get to know each other a little better.
ESPN commentator Annie Meyers-Drysdale emceed the event and helped award the finalists with their Wooden Award jackets. Marti Remmell of Applied Materials then announced that each of the finalists’ schools would receive a $10,000 scholarship to their general scholarship fund in the name of the finalist.
That afternoon, the players served as coaches for the After-School All-Star Basketball Tournament. The concept behind the tournament was for the Wooden Award All-American players to interact with underprivileged children from the After School All-Stars Foundation, creating a positive fun atmosphere where the children can learn basketball and life skills from the All-American players. Each All-American was assigned a team and acted as the honorary coach of that team.
Janel and her team were pitted against the squad that featured Kansas State standout Kendra Wecker as their coach. The game came down to the last second before Wecker’s team pulled out the victory on a game-winning free throw.
The Wooden Award finalists were great role models for the kids and stressed the importance of education and staying off drugs. The kids had the chance to interact with all the Wooden All-Americans between their games. Illinois’ Dee Brown quickly became a crowd favorite with his quick smile and out-going personality.
Friday’s activities concluded with a private dinner with Duke Llewellyn, Chairman and Founder of the Wooden Award.
The moment everyone was waiting for arrived on Saturday morning when the Wooden Award was presented during the live nation-wide broadcast on CBS. After each of the finalists, men’s and women’s, were highlighted, the winning envelopes revealed the winners to be Utah’s Andrew Bogut and LSU’s Seimone Augustus. McCarville finished fourth in the balloting for the women’s award.
“It’s a great honor to be named one of the top five players in the country,” said McCarville. “To even have my name mentioned with the Wooden Award, considering what John Wooden has meant to the game, is very special.”
A press conference interviewing both the winners and finalists, as well as, a photo session followed. That afternoon, a VIP reception gave the players the opportunity to relax and gather autographs and pictures with their fellow Wooden Award All-Americans. Coaches too got into the act, working the room with basketball and pen in hand.
The Wooden Award Banquet was held at the Omni Hotel. The players and coaches were treated to a private reception to meet John Wooden to take pictures with the legendary coach and get his autograph. A large crowd gathered for the banquet. Each player was honored and received their Wooden All-American trophies. Following the meal, Wooden addressed the crowd, giving a motivational message gathered from his vast life experiences.
In speaking, Wooden referred to his famed definition of success, “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
All those attending the Wooden Award festivities left in awe of the 94-year-old Wooden and in deep gratitude for the experience of meeting the most revered coach in the history of collegiate basketball.
“The Wooden Award Banquet was my favorite part of the weekend,” said Borton. “The whole event was amazing. You had 1,500 people there to honor this year’s best players in the game, all in the presence of such a legend of the game as John Wooden. The Wooden Award weekend was truly one I’ll never forget.”
Janel returned to Minnesota on Sunday, tired, yet energized from the amazing experience of the Wooden Award weekend. Though she didn’t win the big prize, Janel and the other finalists were truly winners overall.
Somehow it seems fitting that such a spectacular event as the Wooden Award weekend put the finishing touches on McCarville’s brilliant career with the Golden Gophers. Janel will always be Minnesota’s first Wooden All-American. And hopefully, thanks to the tradition that she, Lindsay Whalen, and many others have now built, she won’t be the last. The fittest start to this story is perhaps as long as four or five years ago. That is ancient times for the Minnesota women’s basketball program. Wins were far and few between and no one, players…coaches… fans… no one, saw the emerging dawn of what has become the ultra-successful Golden Gophers.
Enter stage right, Janel McCarville…a fun-loving kid from central Wisconsin. She’s going to play basketball at Minnesota. After a sensational senior year of high school and a trip to the state tournament, she earned acclaim as a talented player by her home-state fans. So, they asked, “Why would you want to go to Minnesota?”
McCarville’s answer, like many before her, was to build a tradition…to turn the program around.
Others tried but no one can look at their Gopher career and say she did what McCarville did. Not even the great Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer, can boast of four NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four and two Sweet 16’s. McCarville, as well, is found among the top five in each and every of the major statistical categories of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The closest to McCarville in this instance is Laura Coenen, who was ranked in four.
After a career in which she experienced more success than any of her predecessors, McCarville got the chance to cap her storied career with one more glory. This time the glory was away from the lights of the hardwood and away from her teammates. McCarville was named a finalist of the prestigious Wooden Award and was whisked off to Los Angeles for a weekend of movie star treatment.
McCarville, who will forever be remembered as “Shaq” by the Gopher faithful, got the chance to bask in the limelight one more time. After a season that started and ended with thoughts of how good the Gophers would be and what kind of team they would become without the departed All-American Whalen, McCarville got to experience the Wooden Award gala weekend, something that Whalen, most likely thanks to two broken bones in her shooting hand midway through the season, doesn’t have on her extensive collegiate resume.
A week away from becoming an expected very high WNBA draft pick, McCarville was joined by head coach Pam Borton for a weekend of pomp and circumstance, formal galas and yacht clubs. The senior Gopher All-American was joined by other top collegiate players from both the men’s and women’s venues. The players were treated like royalty and had the experience of a lifetime.
So, roll out the red carpet, Shaq was back in LA. This time it was our Shaq and we had the chance to follow along.
Janel and Pam arrived at LAX on Thursday evening. A representative of the Los Angeles Athletic Club was there to greet them and escort them downtown to “The Club,” as the Los Angeles Athletic Club would be home base for the weekend’s activities.
You couldn’t help but notice the Wooden Award trophy prominently displayed in the lobby of The Club. The trophy was the men’s version, now in its 29th year of existence. At first, you noticed the impressive list of players who had previously received the award, starting with UCLA’s Marques Johnson in 1977. The woman’s award is in just its second year, with Duke’s Alana Beard winning the inaugural award.
A closer inspection reveals a precise description of the brass figures that grace the trophy. The women’s trophy has the figures embossed in glass. Each figure is a basketball player honoring five aspects of the game: rebounding, passing, defense, shooting and dribbling. Rebounding, passing, defense, shooting and dribbling…truly Janel McCarville was deserving of such an honor. She was a complete player for the Gophers.
Janel received a nice goody bag upon checking in. The prize piece was a basketball perfect for collecting the autographs of the many talented players and respected coaches that would be joining her for the weekend’s festivities.
The evening was spent relaxing at a nice dinner at The Club with our escort Skip. In a weekend of many experiences, meeting Skip was yet another. Skip is a decorated Army veteran of the Vietnam War, who lost his foot to a land mine during a training mission. Skip is now a successful businessman in Long Beach and a member of The Club’s Board of Governors.
Friday would be a full day for the players, beginning with a breakfast meeting at 9 a.m. at which Mike Solum, the Director of the John Wooden Award, went through the schedule for the weekend.
The first event for the women’s finalists was a luncheon at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rae, sponsored by Applied Materials, a major sponsor of the women’s Wooden Award. The luncheon was a great chance for the players and coaches to get to know each other a little better.
ESPN commentator Annie Meyers-Drysdale emceed the event and helped award the finalists with their Wooden Award jackets. Marti Remmell of Applied Materials then announced that each of the finalists’ schools would receive a $10,000 scholarship to their general scholarship fund in the name of the finalist.
That afternoon, the players served as coaches for the After-School All-Star Basketball Tournament. The concept behind the tournament was for the Wooden Award All-American players to interact with underprivileged children from the After School All-Stars Foundation, creating a positive fun atmosphere where the children can learn basketball and life skills from the All-American players. Each All-American was assigned a team and acted as the honorary coach of that team.
Janel and her team were pitted against the squad that featured Kansas State standout Kendra Wecker as their coach. The game came down to the last second before Wecker’s team pulled out the victory on a game-winning free throw.
The Wooden Award finalists were great role models for the kids and stressed the importance of education and staying off drugs. The kids had the chance to interact with all the Wooden All-Americans between their games. Illinois’ Dee Brown quickly became a crowd favorite with his quick smile and out-going personality.
Friday’s activities concluded with a private dinner with Duke Llewellyn, Chairman and Founder of the Wooden Award.
The moment everyone was waiting for arrived on Saturday morning when the Wooden Award was presented during the live nation-wide broadcast on CBS. After each of the finalists, men’s and women’s, were highlighted, the winning envelopes revealed the winners to be Utah’s Andrew Bogut and LSU’s Seimone Augustus. McCarville finished fourth in the balloting for the women’s award.
“It’s a great honor to be named one of the top five players in the country,” said McCarville. “To even have my name mentioned with the Wooden Award, considering what John Wooden has meant to the game, is very special.”
A press conference interviewing both the winners and finalists, as well as, a photo session followed. That afternoon, a VIP reception gave the players the opportunity to relax and gather autographs and pictures with their fellow Wooden Award All-Americans. Coaches too got into the act, working the room with basketball and pen in hand.
The Wooden Award Banquet was held at the Omni Hotel. The players and coaches were treated to a private reception to meet John Wooden to take pictures with the legendary coach and get his autograph. A large crowd gathered for the banquet. Each player was honored and received their Wooden All-American trophies. Following the meal, Wooden addressed the crowd, giving a motivational message gathered from his vast life experiences.
In speaking, Wooden referred to his famed definition of success, “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
All those attending the Wooden Award festivities left in awe of the 94-year-old Wooden and in deep gratitude for the experience of meeting the most revered coach in the history of collegiate basketball.
“The Wooden Award Banquet was my favorite part of the weekend,” said Borton. “The whole event was amazing. You had 1,500 people there to honor this year’s best players in the game, all in the presence of such a legend of the game as John Wooden. The Wooden Award weekend was truly one I’ll never forget.”
Janel returned to Minnesota on Sunday, tired, yet energized from the amazing experience of the Wooden Award weekend. Though she didn’t win the big prize, Janel and the other finalists were truly winners overall.
Somehow it seems fitting that such a spectacular event as the Wooden Award weekend put the finishing touches on McCarville’s brilliant career with the Golden Gophers. Janel will always be Minnesota’s first Wooden All-American. And hopefully, thanks to the tradition that she, Lindsay Whalen, and many others have now built, she won’t be the last.
