University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Continue Preparation For Italy
8/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
It’s day two of a week of practices for the Golden Gopher women’s basketball team as they prepare for their trip to Italy.
During the week, Becky Bohm, the associate director of athletic communications, will post reports on the Gophers’ preparation for the first summer international tour in the program’s history.
Tuesday, Aug. 12
Practice started at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon, but it certainly wasn’t the first commitment of the day for the Gopher players. Having all the players here on campus in August provided an opportunity to take care of some things usually squished into an insanely busy month of September and the start of the fall semester. The team sat through its annual meeting with members of the Compliance Office to go through various NCAA forms and rules.
That meeting was followed by a photo session for various purposes from the schedule poster to the head shots for the web and media guide to pics for Deborah Diamond to use in her marketing of the team. We saw some interesting poses today. It’s never easy to come up with that different pose than everybody else. I have to say one of my favorites was Katie Ohm with a smug look and a hand signaling three fingers in a bit of a tribute to the three-pointer. Deborah made a point of having Emily “work the pony tail.” We have some fun photos with that going on. They maybe won’t see the light of day, but hey, it was a fun moment.
Once in the gym, the Gophers took a few minutes to go over the international rules the team will use in Italy. We mentioned the trapezoid lane yesterday, but there are a few others as well. Coach Pam Borton asked Zoe Harper to list off the other international rules that are different. A couple of them are a longer three-point arc and have eight seconds to bring the ball up the court. We’ll touch on those more later.
It’s not unusual for the Gophers to run through some basic offensive sets at the start of practice during the season. We saw some of that today as well. Borton at one point stopped play and reminded the players how important execution is, it doesn’t matter if this is a drill without defense or during a game. Good point. The focus on execution of every drill makes good players into great players.
After a team stretch, it was associate head coach Barb Smith who took the reins of the practice, winged by Ted Riverso on the right and Marisa Moseley on the baseline. “Great start,” encouraged Barb to the team. “Let’s keep it going.”
The team worked on some transition drills. Let’s just say with only eight players (nine with Leslie Knight), the Gophers get a good aerobic workout on this one. Five minutes of some three-player weave and a little five-player weave was more than enough.
One element added today was having four of the scout guys at practice Evan, Mike, Jared and Brad. Brad is the newby to the group. Zoe did a little initiation during some one-on-one post drills. No time like the present to tattoo a bruise or two on the scout guys. No, seriously, these guys work hard and deserve a lot of credit. They end up wearing those bruises like a badge of courage out there on the court.
The team worked against the scout team during a three-on-three drill. The coaches made the point to demand the ball. Tanisha Smith followed up with a nice strong power move and a left-handed lay-in that drew a cheer from her teammates.
Coach Borton has given the responsibility of running practice to her assistant coaches, but it should come as no surprise to any of you that Pam was a more dynamic participant during drills on team defense. No pad of paper necessary. It’s an active Borton on the end line. She watches and encourages. When play stops she’ll give a pointer to a specific player. She asks what this team, any team, needs to have good team defense. “Trust,” she states. “This is the chemistry we need on the court. You have to trust that your teammate has your back.”
The Gophers went five-on-five half court versus the scout team for 10 minutes. Midway through the shot clock was added. That’s a twist I failed to include earlier. The shot clock is only 24 seconds in international play, so in the half court 18 seconds was placed on the shot clock. Like the veteran she is, Emmy drilled a long jumper on the first possession.
Ouch, I look up to see the Kay Sylva caught an elbow in the nose. Yup, a bleeder. Our athletic trainer Moira and her intern Heather attend with their purple gloves. Nothing serious thankfully. Kay returns in the very next drill.
You have to be a bit of a self-proclaimed basketball junkie to write a blog like this and during practice nonetheless. It’s interesting to see the coaches teach on the court. This is the perfect environment, with little pressure, to refine skills and teach. The youngest coach of the staff, Marisa, is one animated coach on this particular defensive breakdown drill. Her arms are waving and she’s coaching her heart out. Animated, is the best way to describe it.
Coach Riverso’s turn now. He’s a cool and collected cat as he directs the Gophers through a bunch of in-bounds plays. This coaching staff works so well together and even in mid-summer, these practices run smoothly. Focus and get some work done and do so in an efficient manner.
A spirited 2-minute controlled full-court scrimmage was the finale of practice. Except, free throws. Got to hit those free throws.
While the team was finishing the free throws on the court, Coach Borton sat down with the freshmen for a few minutes. The freshmen can only watch. Per NCAA rules, they aren’t allowed to participate in practice. “Are you bored out of your gourds, yet?” she asked. They shared a light moment. Coach then asked them if they had learned anything. I heard one of them answer that it is difficult to learn by watching and not doing. If nothing else, watching may just make the four incoming rookies, all of them home-grown Minnesotans, even more hungry to get it going come fall.
The team gathered at center court as practice came to a close. “I’m proud at how hard you are all working,” said Coach Borton. “I really appreciate your efforts. I hope you are having some fun at the same time. I believe this is the start of something special.”
During the week, Becky Bohm, the associate director of athletic communications, will post reports on the Gophers’ preparation for the first summer international tour in the program’s history.
Tuesday, Aug. 12
Practice started at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon, but it certainly wasn’t the first commitment of the day for the Gopher players. Having all the players here on campus in August provided an opportunity to take care of some things usually squished into an insanely busy month of September and the start of the fall semester. The team sat through its annual meeting with members of the Compliance Office to go through various NCAA forms and rules.
That meeting was followed by a photo session for various purposes from the schedule poster to the head shots for the web and media guide to pics for Deborah Diamond to use in her marketing of the team. We saw some interesting poses today. It’s never easy to come up with that different pose than everybody else. I have to say one of my favorites was Katie Ohm with a smug look and a hand signaling three fingers in a bit of a tribute to the three-pointer. Deborah made a point of having Emily “work the pony tail.” We have some fun photos with that going on. They maybe won’t see the light of day, but hey, it was a fun moment.
Once in the gym, the Gophers took a few minutes to go over the international rules the team will use in Italy. We mentioned the trapezoid lane yesterday, but there are a few others as well. Coach Pam Borton asked Zoe Harper to list off the other international rules that are different. A couple of them are a longer three-point arc and have eight seconds to bring the ball up the court. We’ll touch on those more later.
It’s not unusual for the Gophers to run through some basic offensive sets at the start of practice during the season. We saw some of that today as well. Borton at one point stopped play and reminded the players how important execution is, it doesn’t matter if this is a drill without defense or during a game. Good point. The focus on execution of every drill makes good players into great players.
After a team stretch, it was associate head coach Barb Smith who took the reins of the practice, winged by Ted Riverso on the right and Marisa Moseley on the baseline. “Great start,” encouraged Barb to the team. “Let’s keep it going.”
The team worked on some transition drills. Let’s just say with only eight players (nine with Leslie Knight), the Gophers get a good aerobic workout on this one. Five minutes of some three-player weave and a little five-player weave was more than enough.
One element added today was having four of the scout guys at practice Evan, Mike, Jared and Brad. Brad is the newby to the group. Zoe did a little initiation during some one-on-one post drills. No time like the present to tattoo a bruise or two on the scout guys. No, seriously, these guys work hard and deserve a lot of credit. They end up wearing those bruises like a badge of courage out there on the court.
The team worked against the scout team during a three-on-three drill. The coaches made the point to demand the ball. Tanisha Smith followed up with a nice strong power move and a left-handed lay-in that drew a cheer from her teammates.
Coach Borton has given the responsibility of running practice to her assistant coaches, but it should come as no surprise to any of you that Pam was a more dynamic participant during drills on team defense. No pad of paper necessary. It’s an active Borton on the end line. She watches and encourages. When play stops she’ll give a pointer to a specific player. She asks what this team, any team, needs to have good team defense. “Trust,” she states. “This is the chemistry we need on the court. You have to trust that your teammate has your back.”
The Gophers went five-on-five half court versus the scout team for 10 minutes. Midway through the shot clock was added. That’s a twist I failed to include earlier. The shot clock is only 24 seconds in international play, so in the half court 18 seconds was placed on the shot clock. Like the veteran she is, Emmy drilled a long jumper on the first possession.
Ouch, I look up to see the Kay Sylva caught an elbow in the nose. Yup, a bleeder. Our athletic trainer Moira and her intern Heather attend with their purple gloves. Nothing serious thankfully. Kay returns in the very next drill.
You have to be a bit of a self-proclaimed basketball junkie to write a blog like this and during practice nonetheless. It’s interesting to see the coaches teach on the court. This is the perfect environment, with little pressure, to refine skills and teach. The youngest coach of the staff, Marisa, is one animated coach on this particular defensive breakdown drill. Her arms are waving and she’s coaching her heart out. Animated, is the best way to describe it.
Coach Riverso’s turn now. He’s a cool and collected cat as he directs the Gophers through a bunch of in-bounds plays. This coaching staff works so well together and even in mid-summer, these practices run smoothly. Focus and get some work done and do so in an efficient manner.
A spirited 2-minute controlled full-court scrimmage was the finale of practice. Except, free throws. Got to hit those free throws.
While the team was finishing the free throws on the court, Coach Borton sat down with the freshmen for a few minutes. The freshmen can only watch. Per NCAA rules, they aren’t allowed to participate in practice. “Are you bored out of your gourds, yet?” she asked. They shared a light moment. Coach then asked them if they had learned anything. I heard one of them answer that it is difficult to learn by watching and not doing. If nothing else, watching may just make the four incoming rookies, all of them home-grown Minnesotans, even more hungry to get it going come fall.
The team gathered at center court as practice came to a close. “I’m proud at how hard you are all working,” said Coach Borton. “I really appreciate your efforts. I hope you are having some fun at the same time. I believe this is the start of something special.”
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballHighlights: Gophers 55, Ohio State 60
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