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From interim to head

» Courtney Gerwing selected as the head women’s basketball coach

Courtnie Martin
Sports Reporter

 

&

Wr the women’s
basketball team lost its
head coach, Curtis Nelson,

just before winter break, the
scramble to find the perfect
replacement for the very green
team was on. The search ended
well, and ultimately Courtney
Gerwing accepted the position
as interim head coach, allowing
the team to finish out their
season without undue stress.
With the season and a series of
interviews over, Gerwing can
now remove “interim” from her
title.

Gerwing’s work with the
team was no doubt a strong
factor in her hiring. With both
an impressive CIS athletic
and academic background as
a player and assistant coach,
Gerwing had the resumé for the
job; the question was whether
that would translate to the
court. She took the Royals from

hosted playoffs, to a gold medal
game appearance. Although
they fell short, the team’s finish
was a perfect showing for her
talent and knowledge of the
game with just slightly over two
months with the group. The
Cinderella story run definitely
stuck with the team.

“It’s kind of fitting in a way.

: We had some adversity that we
: got through and really rallied

: towards the end of the year. I

: still think we surprised other

: people more than we surprised
: ourselves by making it to

: provincials and then winning a
: silver medal. So the ‘Cinderella’
: is fitting in our ranking in that

: each of our wins at provincials

: and our overall finish as second
: were all upsets of sorts,’ said

: Gerwing.

Even though Gerwing

: had done well, the players still

: nervously awaited the news of

: the new head coach. However,

: they needn't have. After going

: through an interviewing panel

: and completing a 40-minute

: on-court session with the team,
: the obvious candidate had

: been chosen. Gerwing officially
: sealed the title of head coach.

She talked about her pre-

interview jitters: “It’s a position
: and an opportunity that I

: really care about and therefore
: approached it as prepared

: as possible, but there were

a season potentially headed fora : definitely nerves. Interviews are

no-show at the Douglas College- ! not my strong suit. ’d much

: prefer the on-court session.”

“T was relieved when we

found out coach Courtney

: would be staying. Our team has
: grown so much with her and I

: couldn't imagine having another
: coach after her. I couldn't be

: happier with the decision,” said

: guard Amber Beasley.

After the end of the

: season while things were still

: in limbo, Gerwing continued

: to stay involved with the team

: throughout the entire interview
: process—it was business as

: usual with the team continuing
: its 6a.m. workouts and late

: evening scrimmages.

Being a bit behind the

: recruiting game with all the

: new adjustments, Gerwing is

: quickly looking to get the ball

: rolling. She also expressed the

: importance of longevity when it
: comes to recruiting: “Recruiting
: is about longevity. It’s important
: to realize recruiting is done

: with three to four years ahead

: in mind rather than just season

: by season. We will have a tryout
: and start down some avenues

: with potential student-athletes,
: always keeping in mind that

: we are building a program,

: and that is only accomplished

: with long-term planning and

: recruiting in mind.’ She also

: plans to implement a lot of skill
: development over the summer.

The change in the team’s

game is evident to more than
: just the squad itself. “Because
: we travel quite a bit, I have

: an opportunity to watch the

: girls play before we do and I

: have seen their performance

: peak tremendously. Whatever
: coach Courtney is doing is

: definitely working,” commented
: men’s basketball player Grant
: Campbell. “Their defence has
: gotten much better as well.”

Know the score?

Contact: Eric Wilkins, Sports Editor

M sports@theotherpress. ca

www theotherpress.ca

 

 

Courtney Gerwing // By Emily Wright (Flickr)

 

Take back the Knight

» Bob Knight criticized for his choice of words

  

Courtnie Martin
Sports Reporter

he NCAA has been a cash

cow since its inception, and
this year’s March Madness was
no different. Warren Buffett’s
billion-dollar challenge to the

sparked additional viewers this
year as well. With all the money
flying around though, there was
more to be discussed than just
basketball.

With more viewers tuning
in, many began to take a closer
look at the big-name athletes

: playing in the tournament.

: Players like Jabari Parker and

: Andrew Wiggins have been

: questioned on their mental

: and physical preparedness for
: the NBA. Coming out of high

: school, the two were some

: of the biggest names since

: LeBron James. After the duo

: didn’t make it anywhere in the
contender with a perfect bracket: tournament, the media began

: to wonder about their abilities

: to successfully contribute in the
: NBA at sucha young age.

Former famed Hoosiers

: coach Bob Knight ignited a

: media frenzy, when he used

: aless than suitable term to

: describe the NBA and NCAA's

: relationship. He was quoted on

: ESPN’s radio show Mike and
: Mike, saying, “It’s as though

: [the NBA have] raped college
: basketball”

Pause. Let’s talk about what

: he meant exactly.

When a player goes into

: the NBA at a young age, it

: doesn’t allow them to develop
: fully, mentally or athletically.

: Both Parker and Wiggins were

Knight’s full quote reads as:

: : time he’s used the term to prove
: “If | were involved with the NBA :
: | wouldn't want a 19-year-old ora :
: 20-year-old kid to bring into all
: the travel and all the problems

: that exist in the NBA. I would

: want a much more mature kid. I :
: would want a kid that maybe I’ve :
: been watching on another team
: and now he’s 21, 22 years old

: instead of 18 or 19, and I might

a point. In the late ‘80s, he had
also been quoted when asked

: how to handle stress, saying

: that, “I think that if rape is

: inevitable— just relax and enjoy
: it.” His comment was completely

inappropriate, and you could

: certainly understand why some
: heads would turn after finding
: out he slipped another time.

: expected to be huge prospects,
: and they blew it at the biggest
: tournament of their collegiate
: careers. Would it be safe to

: trade for that kid. Ontopofit  :
: all, the NBA does a tremendous, : behind the comment were

: gigantic disservice to college : seemingly clear, his word

: basketball. It’s as though they’ve : choice was woefully poor. He

Although his intentions

: assume it was just a bad night, or
: was it the competition catching

: up to them—this is what Knight
: was trying to express when he

: made the outlandish comment.

: raped college basketball in my
: opinion.”

Now everyone is pointing

: fingers over his comment. Likely, :
: itis because this isn’t the first —:

: could have made a strong
: statement, but instead his
: comment is disgusting and very

disappointing.