Anyone see Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot?

Forums: Sports, College Basketball, Gonzaga, Womens Hoops, Courtney Vandersloot
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That girl can play. Unfortunately Gonzaga missed making the final 4, but did you see her play? She is incredible. She doesn't miss and her passes are about the best I've seen.

And all in a little package of 5'8". Pretty impressive. Her record is better than any college women or men's and better than any NBA player.

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@Linkat,

Samantha Prahalis is cooler. (Love her no-look passes.)

OK Vandersloot's kind of cool too.

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@sozobe,

I've heard of Samantha as well - which team is she on?

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@sozobe,

I should have known coming from you - Ohio - she's only a junior. Be interesting to see her next year.

My question - what the heck is up with their mascot. It is one (hate to say) ugly mascot.

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

I should have known coming from you - Ohio -

Of course! Very Happy

Quote:

she's only a junior. Be interesting to see her next year.

Definitely. I hope she's as good without Jantel Lavender (giant amazing amazon lady).

This is a year old, but gives an idea of her coolness. (I love the stuff about when she played football.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/sports/09buckeye.html

also old:

Quote:

My question - what the heck is up with their mascot. It is one (hate to say) ugly mascot.

Fer sure. It's a Buckeye. I always forget his name because my alma mater is Wisconsin, whose mascot is Bucky (the Badger). So I always think the OSU mascot is Bucky. (Buckeye/ Bucky.) But it's not, it's Brutus. Whatevs.

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@sozobe,

I believe with women's sports becoming more acceptable for girls (no more of the vision that you need to be a sterotypical big lesbian to be a girl jock) - you are going to see more and more of this type of player. The non-traditional athletic woman. More skill rather than just big brute strength. It is quite exciting to watch this unusually skilled women play fast confident and strong.

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@Linkat,

I totally agree!

Here's to seeing our strong, tough, skilled basketball girls in the Final Four! <clink>

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@sozobe,

Yeah - wouldn't that be cool - both rivals - we go to the not only the final 4 - the final final - and there I look across at Ohio's fans - mine of course plans to play for UConn - and there is sozobe and her little one trying to defend my little one...

pretty cool thought.

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My daughter went to state a couple of times and actually knows Courtney through friends (not sure if she played against Courtney) ....she is one hell of an inspiration. A lot of the national scouts wrote her off as too short but Courtney did not give a ****, she was never interested in them anyways. She signed with little Gonzaga because she believed in them and wanted to stay local, and then went on to continue to be a star.

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@Linkat,

I do love that these amazing girls (Vandersloot, Prahalis) are so short -- 5' 8", 5' 7". I don't know where mine's gonna end up, she's tall for her age but I doubt she'll top 6 feet.

And I highly doubt she'll have the skillz to be a college standout but I like the thought! Hey if yours makes it I'll be there cheering for her.

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@hawkeye10,

The WNMA draft is in a couple of weeks. Little Courtney is on a list of favorites for the draft.

I really love watching some of these women and some of the men as well play - you can tell the ones that really love playing. They are really fun to watch.

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@sozobe,

Oh its great fun. My daughter has talent, but at 12 it is way to far to tell. I don't doubt she will play college basketball, just at what level. She loves the game so much to not want to play. Her favorite two things are playing basketball and sleeping in. Also, she is average height so I doubt she will have the height. She will be most likely the height of these two point guards which is her current position and the position she most loves to play.

The other little one - still 8 loves to play pretty much anything. Right now she is starting softball. And man at tryouts - all the coaches rated her with As across the board on all skills and she was one of the youngest at tryouts. But ask her now what her favorite sport is - she says basketball. Well, at the beginning of basketball it was soccer (which she had just got done playing). She just plain out likes to play.

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I also figure - if they are enjoying the experience its great. Once it stops being fun, then I worry.

And these girls are great for them to watch - gives them good role models. Many are excellent students as well. A whole lot better than having some of the Disney actors as role models.

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@Linkat,

Quote:

"She's the best point guard in the nation," said St. Mary's coach Paul Thomas, whose team repeatedly has been pummeled by Gonzaga. "If I had to pick a team right now, I'd start with her."

The shy blonde, who is treated like a rock star in this city of 200,000, is leading the NCAA Tournament with 30.7 points per game, 11 more than her season average. Vandersloot also is averaging her usual 10 assists per game, putting Gonzaga (31-4) on the brink of its first Final Four.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/27/SP3V1IKDLL.DTL#ixzz1I1FDKjhI

Not bad for a little girl who a few years ago most of the best national coaches did not much want....

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@hawkeye10,

She is impressive. I can't wait to see her in the WNBA. One of things I like about her mode of play is she increases the speed of the game. Often times women's basketball moves a bit slower than the men's.

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@Linkat,

Quote:

She is impressive. I can't wait to see her in the WNBA

Does she want to do that? The WNBA is really struggling, they dont pay much or get much attention....post Great Recession the fact that most women's sports are not popular with spectators is a huge problem at all levels, high school through pro.

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@hawkeye10,

She is listed as one of the top 12 draft picks.

http://www.draftsite.com/wnba/mock-draft/2011

We went to the CT Sun last year. It looked close to being sold out if not sold out. Not sure how all the other locations are doing, but by all appearances, they seem to be doing well. Have a great time too.

Hope to go again this year. Not really close enough to go more often.

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@Linkat,

Jantel Lavender is #5 on that list. (She's only 6' 4"? I thought she was way taller than that. What I love about her is that she's a classic center but then she has a sweet 3-pointer too!)

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@sozobe,

I sometimes wonder how accurate the height is - Samantha's I think on her college roster says 5'8", but every where else I read her at 5'7".

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@Linkat,

Quote:

The average starting salary in the WNBA is around $35,000 a year. The average starting salary in the NBA is $458,000 a year. A vet in the WNBA can earn up to $110,000 a year. I don't think I have to tell you how much the men make. OK, twist my arm. Kobe Bryant makes nearly $25 million a year.

We'll likely never hear of Courtney Vandersloot again, although I hope we do. I'll do my part and go see a Liberty game this summer, you know, support the league. Maybe get a hot dog and some popcorn. Fan up, women! And congrats to Courtney

http://thestir.cafemom.com/sports/117935/hoops_star_courtney_vandersloot_outscores

Quote:

The Great Recession has challenged the WNBA by disrupting audience attendance, revenue and owners' financial interest. The WNBA is attempting to maintain its viability by discovering new sources of income, such as its eight-year TV arrangement with ABC/ESPN.

Meanwhile, WNBA players continue to head overseas to collect larger paychecks in places such as Poland, Israel and Turkey during their off-season.

http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0410/Top-WNBA-Salaries.aspx

Kinda reminds me of the decades long economic truth of jazz ,

Quote:

And then there is the money from the tour. A musician, especially one with a following in Europe, can earn up to 80 percent of his annual income during a summer tour. It is not unusual for a headliner to make $100,000 or more in a month of concerts. Not rock-star money, perhaps, but for jazz musicians it is substantial.

"Europe is absolutely essential for jazz musicians," said Joel Criss, a booking agent in New York. "Musicians can survive here not going to Europe, but to get the big money, Europe is very important. The money allows them to relax a bit during the year so they can recharge and work on their art."

What's more, American record companies believe that much of Europe remains to be mined as a jazz market. The festival circuit, already huge, is still growing, which means that there are ripe opportunities for familiar artists to be rediscovered and for new ones to build reputations.

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/31/arts/for-us-jazz-players-europe-is-the-place-to-be.html

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Anyone see Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot?

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