A Peek Inside The Women's Basketball Program: Blog 4
11/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Peek Inside The Bulldog Program is a season-long blog that will give insight into the women's basketball program. Hope you enjoy this look.
Peek Inside The Bulldog Program: Blog 4 (Nov. 22, 2011)
I was sitting on the bus after Gonzaga's tough setback to Stanford University - glued to my computer as I usually am after games - when I heard head coach Kelly Graves say he would like to introduce the team to somebody. I didn't think much of it at that moment, thinking it was a friend of Kelly's who had made the trip, so I continued to feverishly write my game recap until I heard him say "team this is Joan Ensign, she is a Gonzaga women's basketball alum from 1964".
My head snapped up, I set my computer down, and looked towards the back of the bus and low and behold, decked out in Bulldog gear from head to toe was a vibrant woman who quickly got laughs from the bus when she said "I played when there was half a court and we could only take two dribbles."
The instant connection Joan and the players had put a wide smile on my face. Joan's continued quick wit made me chuckle and as the team got together for a picture with her my continued smile mostly had to do with the realization of what a family this program creates.
Joan was just one of many who either were in the stands cheering that day, or had been watching or listening on the internet, or using social media to send their good lucks - to a team most had never met before.
Ashley Anderson, a Bulldog alum who played from 2003-06, got huge hugs from the coaching staff minutes before the Stanford tipoff, while recent graduate Carter Schick drove back from Chicago just in time to sit in the stands for GU's opening game versus Hofstra. And her former teammate Courtney Vandersloot - all the way in Turkey - tweeted that exact day 'wish I could be in Spokane with my best friend Carter to watch my Zags!!'
Hours later, after my game story had been posted and released, my mind - still thinking of the Gonzaga family - drifted back to the locker room after the game. Needing to get a few players for a press conference and post-game radio with Steve Myklebust, I had headed into the locker room to grab Taelor Karr and Haiden Palmer - ironically both transfers. Just eight months before Karr was taking off her Kansas State uniform after the Wildcats had exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round and nearly two years prior Palmer was wearing orange and black for Oregon State. But in that moment, as I directed the two in different directions, the pride of wearing that Gonzaga uniform showed in their disappointment of the what-could-have-been loss. The two definitely aren't transfer anymore; they are just Zags who may end up on a bus in 40 years retelling tales of 'when I played'.
And what I learned most on that trip? That the passion for a program, if it be mere months into wearing the uniform like Taelor and Haiden or decades after graduation like Joan, solidifies to me what a special place Gonzaga is.
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Remember Gonzaga returns home to the McCarthey Athletic Center Sunday, Nov. 27 when it hosts Portland State University at 2 p.m.
Women's Basketball Tidbits
BEST OF THE WEST RANKINGS FOR NOV. 21: LeftCoastHoops.com came out with their 'Best of the West' rankings for the week of Nov. 21 and the Bulldogs check in at No. 4. It states of Gonzaga: 'Kelly Graves won his 300th game against Idaho last Thursday and take a weeklong break before playing at home against Portland State Sunday'. To see the full 'Best of the West' click here.
KACZOR BERRY ONE OF TOP 25 ASSISTANTS: CollegeInsider.com recently put together a Top 25 Mid-Major Women's College Basketball Assistants. Gonzaga University assistant Jodie Kaczor Berry made the list at No. 4. It states 'Kaczor Berry has helped guided Gonzaga to new heights, as the Bulldogs have made three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances since she was promoted as top assistant in 2008. The Bulldogs' amazing run of success includes winning 36-straight West Coast Conference games, making their first-ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2010 and their inaugural appearance in the Elite Eight in 2011. To see the full list, click here.
GRAVES' WEEKLY RADIO SHOW: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves has his own radio show in 2011-12. You can here Graves every Tuesday from 5:30-6 p.m. on 15010 KGA AM. Listen in to get all the inside scoop on every Gonzaga women's basketball!
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER: If you don't know, the Gonzaga University women's basketball program is on Facebook and Twitter! You can get an inside look into the Bulldogs program with 'Picture-A-Day' and videos, and always find out the up-to-date news. Become a fan of the Zags on Facebook by clicking here and follow the Zags on twitter at www.twitter.com/ZagWBB.
