Last winter, Karen Force '04 walked off the court at
Newman Arena, her final home game of her career complete. This winter,
the former All-Ivy point guard will be back on the sidelines at Newman
Arena, although in a much different role, as Force was recently named an
assistant coach of the women's basketball team.
"I love the game so much, and I wasn't ready to give
it up after ending my career as a player," said Force. "All throughout
your senior year, whether you're a student or a student-athlete, you're
trying to figure out what to do with that next year. I was thinking
about coaching in one aspect or another."
Force will serve as a volunteer assistant this season,
juggling a job at CBORD in addition to her coaching responsibilities.
She will be involved in many of the team's basketball decisions and will
work with the guards alongside assistant coach Val Klopfer. Force has
also been organizing several different things such as the team's golf
outing in September, the Cornell Kids' Club, the Alumni Game and
basketball clinics for the community.
The team will benefit from adding another point guard
to the coaching staff, as both head coach Dayna Smith and Klopfer played
the position in college.
"We're a completely new team, a different team losing
five starters, so Karen won't have the luxury of just teaching the next
point guard what the offenses were last year," said Smith. "I think she
understands what we expect out of a point guard, what I expect out of a
point guard, and I think especially with our four freshmen coming in,
Karen's going to be great helping them out, teaching them the ropes."
After serving as a captain for three seasons, Force
will have a markedly different role now that she is in the coaching
ranks, but her leadership experience during her playing days will help
her in her new position.
"As you go through periods of your life, I think any
leadership role that you have is important to any job that you have in
the future, whether it's five or ten years ahead or whether it's just
next year, like in my case," said Force. "I think that being a captain
has been beneficial in many ways. It's helped me better lead on the
court and hopefully I can take those leadership skills to this
perspective of the game."
For the returning members of the team from last
season, it will be different experience for them now that their former
captain is one of their coaches.
"As far as the players are concerned, it's always nice
to have someone you're comfortable with join a coaching staff. When
someone new joins, there's a lot of unknowns, so for them, they know who
Karen is, they know she loves the program, and she's going to work very
hard," Smith said.
Force finished her playing career on the East Hill as
the program's all-time assist leader and became the first player ever in
the league to amass 1250 points and 400 assists. She became the first
Cornell player to be named to the All-Ivy first team as a junior, and
was a second team selection her senior year.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Newcomers Ready to Fill in for Lost Vets
While one All-Ivy standout has departed the East Hill,
the men's basketball team welcomes six new players to the team this
season. Junior Ryan Rourke, sophomore Ugo Ihekweazu, and freshmen Khaliq
Gant, Jason Canady, Shawn Oliverson, and Will Scott look to contribute
on the court this year at several positions.
"With the class, we attacked a lot of different needs that we had. I think, since I've been here, we haven't been able to get a four-man who's been really skilled in the system that I like to run," said head coach Steve Donahue. "With Ryan Rourke, we address that. I think that's a kid with size and athleticism, a very skilled player that can play that position. We have some guards that can compliment our veteran guards, and then we have some size inside to help us rebound."
While the team returns three starters from a year ago, it loses its starting point guard in All-Ivy first-team selection Ka'Ron Barnes '04. The new members of the Red are not only high in number, but come highly regarded, as Cornell's recruiting class was ranked number one in the Ivy League by Hoop Scoop.
Gant, a point guard from Taber Academy in Boston, was ranked as one of the top 200 recruits nationally by Prep Basketball magazine. He has the maturity as a player that will allow him to make an easy transition to the college game.
"He's been away from home for three years, so he's more mature than a typical eighteen year-old college freshman," Donahue said. "He's a very confident kid, he's a very mature guy and he understands what his role will be when he's given it."
Scott, a guard who committed to Cornell before last season, spent last year playing at Blair Academy in New Jersey. While playing at the Collegiate School, he was the school's all-time leading scorer, and was an all-state selection as a senior.
"He's been around real good players at Blair, and was an all-league player at that level. He's a very good player in terms of his ability to make the transition to college I feel," Donahue said.
Rounding out the guards is Canady, who played his final two seasons of high school ball at the Millbrook School. He was named the team's most valuable player as a senior and was also selected as the New York Boys' Club Student-Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Oliverson, a center from Preston, Idaho, was a second-team all state selection as a senior, and helped his team win the state championship.
"He's going to have to transition to how fast the game is played and playing against bigger guys finally, and the quickness of the game, just playing a lot more basketball against better players than he ever has before," Donahue said.
Rourke comes to Cornell from Mesa Community College in Arizona, and will contribute at the four spot. He was a National Junior College Athletic Association all-american honorable mention as a sophomore.
"We know needed someone to step in and play the four, and we were looking for that skilled guy with talent. He played at a very high level in junior college ball, and I think he could be one of the top players in the league at his position," Donahue said.
Ihekweazu is a transfer from Wofford, and will sit out the 2004-05 season because of transfer requirements.
"With the class, we attacked a lot of different needs that we had. I think, since I've been here, we haven't been able to get a four-man who's been really skilled in the system that I like to run," said head coach Steve Donahue. "With Ryan Rourke, we address that. I think that's a kid with size and athleticism, a very skilled player that can play that position. We have some guards that can compliment our veteran guards, and then we have some size inside to help us rebound."
While the team returns three starters from a year ago, it loses its starting point guard in All-Ivy first-team selection Ka'Ron Barnes '04. The new members of the Red are not only high in number, but come highly regarded, as Cornell's recruiting class was ranked number one in the Ivy League by Hoop Scoop.
Gant, a point guard from Taber Academy in Boston, was ranked as one of the top 200 recruits nationally by Prep Basketball magazine. He has the maturity as a player that will allow him to make an easy transition to the college game.
"He's been away from home for three years, so he's more mature than a typical eighteen year-old college freshman," Donahue said. "He's a very confident kid, he's a very mature guy and he understands what his role will be when he's given it."
Scott, a guard who committed to Cornell before last season, spent last year playing at Blair Academy in New Jersey. While playing at the Collegiate School, he was the school's all-time leading scorer, and was an all-state selection as a senior.
"He's been around real good players at Blair, and was an all-league player at that level. He's a very good player in terms of his ability to make the transition to college I feel," Donahue said.
Rounding out the guards is Canady, who played his final two seasons of high school ball at the Millbrook School. He was named the team's most valuable player as a senior and was also selected as the New York Boys' Club Student-Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Oliverson, a center from Preston, Idaho, was a second-team all state selection as a senior, and helped his team win the state championship.
"He's going to have to transition to how fast the game is played and playing against bigger guys finally, and the quickness of the game, just playing a lot more basketball against better players than he ever has before," Donahue said.
Rourke comes to Cornell from Mesa Community College in Arizona, and will contribute at the four spot. He was a National Junior College Athletic Association all-american honorable mention as a sophomore.
"We know needed someone to step in and play the four, and we were looking for that skilled guy with talent. He played at a very high level in junior college ball, and I think he could be one of the top players in the league at his position," Donahue said.
Ihekweazu is a transfer from Wofford, and will sit out the 2004-05 season because of transfer requirements.
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