Enrollment up at MSU women’s bball camps

By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer

June 19, 2009 12:44 am

— Maggie Nagel has attended other basketball camps, but when she read about Minnesota State women’s basketball team winning the Division II championship in late March, the 14-year-old from Olivia figured that might be the place for her to go this summer.
“I thought the coaches would be better,” she said during a break in practices earlier this week. “This is the best camp I’ve been to. They really make you feel special.”
Nagel is one of 129 girls attending Minnesota State’s overnight girls basketball camp, the largest turnout since coach Pam Gohl joined the staff in 2006 and will require 20 or so players serving as coaches. There will be another 50 to 60 elementary-aged kids attending the Mavericks’ day camp next week.
It’s one of the first tangible benefits the program has received since winning the national championship.
There was the Bresnan Arena celebration to welcome the team back from San Antonio and a trip to the Metrodome to throw out the first pitch at a Twins’ game. Gohl said the Minnesota Lynx plan to honor the Mavericks at a WNBA game later this summer.
Certainly, there will be folks wearing national championship T-shirts next season, and more fans might show up to watch the games.
Gohl said that the current recruiting class was in place before Minnesota State went on that historic run, but the next group of high-school seniors seem to be more interested in the Mavericks. Being on TV surely didn’t hurt the program, and this week’s campers have had a chance to watch a replay of the title game, though many saw it live.
Sometime next season, the university will likely honor the national-championship team in some public way, perhaps with a banner for Bresnan Arena. In the future, perhaps one or two or three of these players will be inducted in the school’s Hall of Fame.
Last season showed that anything is possible, and nearly 200 girls are on campus during this two-week period to try and play like the Mavericks. The benefits of winning are clearly evident with the turnout at the Mavericks’ camps, when many other such camps are struggling with attendance.
This week, the youngsters are developing their games, with a little help from national champions. The campers have never had such an opportunity, and many are taking advantage.

Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 507-344-6353 or e-mail at ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com.