University of Minnesota Athletics
One-on-One with Carlie Wagner
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 18, 2014
University of Minnesota freshman guard Carlie Wagner joins the Gopher women's basketball team following a standout prep career at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) High School, where she finished her prep career ranked second all-time in the state of Minnesota with 3,957 points. As a senior, Wagner averaged 37.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 steals per game to be named Minnesota's Miss Basketball for 2014, the 2014 Associated Press Minnesota Girl's Basketball Player of the Year and the Albert Lea Tribune All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the third-straight season. She led NRHEG to back-to-back state titles in 2014 and 2013, including the program's first as a junior and holds the all-time state tournament scoring record with 371 points, while also establishing state tournament records for single-game scoring (53 points) and single-game field goal attempts (43). She capped her impressive career at NRHEG High School with a 61-game win streak, including an undefeated (31-0) senior season. Get to know more about the rookie in the Q&A video above.
Why did you choose Minnesota?
What brought me to Minnesota was the location. It was close to home, and I like being close to home and with my family. And, it was a Big Ten school and a great education opportunity for me.
What is it like to play for Coach Marlene?
Playing for Coach Marlene is really amazing. She's a great coach; she understands every aspect of the game so well. And, she's a very passionate coach. When she coaches you, you can see how much passion and love she has for the game and it really inspires you to work really hard and be the best player you can be for her.
Describe the team culture.
The team culture is definitely intense andt it's really challenging, but everything we do has a purpose and it makes us better basketball players. Everything we do we do it hard; we do it at championship level. We're trying to get better and that's pretty much the culture that we have here right now.
