2010-11 Recruiting Class

Hi Folks,

Time for another update. First and foremost in this issue is the announcement of our recruiting class for the fall. Below is the press release courtesy of our Sports Information Office:

Basketball (W): Women’s basketball announces five outstanding recruits for 2010-11 season

KINGSTON, Ont. (June 7, 2010) – Women's basketball head coach Dave Wilson announced today his recruiting class for the upcoming 2010-11 season. The incoming recruits are highlighted by four members of Ontario Basketball Association's (OBA) Division 1 champions, the Kitchener/Waterloo Lightning, coached by Bob Urosevic. They include two guards, Rachael Urosevic and Lisa Minutillo, forward Gemma Bullard, and post Jordan Tomas. The fifth member of Wilson's recruiting class is Liz Boag, a point guard who played at Lasalle Secondary School in Kingston, Ont.

“This is one of the strongest recruiting classes in Queen's women's basketball history,” said Wilson. “We were looking at addressing three specific areas through our recruiting; improving our perimeter shooting skills, improving our perimeter ball handling/play-making capability, and adding some size/scoring punch to our post play. The following stellar athletes have allowed us to meet these goals.”

Boag, a 5'3 point guard who also played with the Kingston Impact, was named the Most Valuable Player at last year's Queen's Tindall Invitational Tournament. Coach Wilson describes her as being an excellent play-maker with strong leadership qualities who can score from either inside the paint or from beyond the three-point line.

Urosevic, a 5'8 guard who graduated from Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate, was the floor general for the Lightning's run to the OBA Championship. A knock-down three point shooter, she also possesses excellent ball handling, passing and leadership skills. Aside from winning the OBA Championship, Urosevic has twice played in the OFSAA Championship, played for the renowned A-Game program for three years under coach Yaw Afful, and was a member of U15 provincial team that won the national championship in 2006. Urosevic was also just named as one of the participants in the 10th annual All-Canada Classic high school all-star game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The third guard to join the Gaels is Minutillo, who was a graduate of North Park Collegiate in Brantford, Ont.. At 5'9, she is another outstanding three-point shooter whose knowledge of the game, combined with excellent court vision and play-making capabilities will make her an instant asset to the Gaels. Last year, she was a tournament all-star at the Queen's Tindall Invitational Tournament.

Bullard, a 5'10 forward from John F. Ross High School in Guelph, Ont., is a current member of England's U18 National Team that will compete at the European Division B Championships in Romania later this summer. She is described by Coach Wilson as a multi-dimensional player who can handle the ball, attack the basket and knock down shots from beyond the three-point arc.

Rounding out this year's class is Tomas, a 6'0 post player from Sir John A. MacDonald High School in Waterloo, Ont.. Coach Wilson describes her as having a tenacious competitive spirit that allows her to be an excellent rebounder that can finish around the hoop. Tomas joined Urosevic in capturing the 2006 U15 national championship where she was the team captain for Team Ontario. She has also been involved in both the Canada Basketball Centre of Performance program and the Ontario Performance Enhancement Program.

Since the above press release, we have also been able to secure Meaghan MacDougall, a 5’9 guard transfer from Division 1, Indiana State U. You may recall that we heavily recruited Meg last year, before losing her to Indiana State. A disappointing year, dominated by lower leg injuries, saw Meg sidelined as a medical red-shirt. Surgery last December has restored her health and she is excited to join the Gaels this fall. She is a very quick athlete, with terrific ball handling, penetrating and passing skills --- not to mention her outstanding 3-point shooting skills.

Two other very talented players are looking to contribute to our fall lineup;

Ryley Beddoe is a 5’7 guard with a passion and competitive spirit second to none. A Ph.D student in Civil Engineering, Ryley has been on (and off) the recruiting radar screen for the past 12 (yes 12) years, when she was a Gr. 9 high school student.

Sophie Kaufmanis, a 6’0 post player from Crofton House High School in Vancouver, BC shows tremendous potential to develop as a university player. What she lacks in experience at this point, she makes up for with her athleticism and commitment. Surrounded by a very talented Gaels squad, she will have the opportunity to be challenged everyday in practice.

Our schedule for the 2010-11 season is pretty much complete and should be posted on our web site (www.queensbasketball.net) shortly. Fans (and coaches) will get an early look at the exciting squad as we host Waynesburg University (Waynesburg, Pennsylvania) on Labour Day Sunday (September 5) at 2:00pm.

The 100th Anniversary of Women’s Varsity Basketball at Queen’s will provide the second early opportunity to view the new squad, as we host McGill University on Saturday, September 18th at 3:00pm (following our Alumni vs Alumni game at 1pm).

FYI – the Ambassador Conference Resort will host the 100th Anniversary banquet and will serve as the host hotel. Rooms will be set aside and I will have information on rates in the near future.

An exhibition series with Memorial University will see the Gaels tour Newfoundland the weekend after Thanksgiving, followed by a trip to Quebec City for the Laval Tournament. After hosting our own Tindall Tournament, we will head into league play. A return trip to the Concordia Tournament in Montreal is scheduled at the end of December.

That’s it for now – more information, particularly with the 100th Anniversary weekend (September 18, 19) will follow.

All the best.

Dave.

Lazy days of Summer - not really!

While I would like to think - maybe hope that summer time allows me and the program to take a bit of a break. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I would say that I have my hands full trying to pull together various projects.

Ask any coach and they'll tell you that recruiting is a huge project in and of itself. With the vast majority of OVA events being held in the Toronto or Waterloo areas I'm finding my time on the road is occasionally extreme. If this time was spread out over a few months that would be great but they always seem to be within weeks of each other with very little break in between.

Had a chat today with Ryan Sheahan about putting together a women's volleyball highlight video. So excited to see us have something available for the future and as a record of the season for the graduating players to get a copy of.

Well, I'll keep you posted on how the summer is shaping up.