| Boldon hopes new staff, season will help Penguins rebound |
| Wednesday, September 22 2010 |
| Courtesy of: JON MOFFETT Vindicator sports staff |
| Youngstown One of the first priorities of new head coach Bob Boldon was to quickly remind his Youngstown State women’s basketball team that last year is over, and this year is all that matters. The first-year head coach, and sixth in the program’s history, was hired in April after the sudden resignation of Cindy Martin. The Penguins finished with a record of 0-30 last year. But Boldon said the past has no bearing on the future. “Every basketball season has a new identity,” Boldon said. “If you’re coming off a 30-win season, or a 30-loss season, none of it matters this season.” Boldon, a Louisville native and standout point guard at Walsh University, hopes he and his staff can help create a new identity for the team. He said priority No. 1 is to start small and work on fundamentals. “We want to shoot the ball a little bit better,” he said. “I think that was a deficiency they had last year that we’re trying to improve. I don’t know if there is anything more important than that.” Boldon admitted that he and his staff are still learning what the team has in terms of personnel. The team is not allowed to practice as a unit until next month. And Boldon has little more than last year’s game film to go on. Still, he hopes to use the knowledge he has gained from the film, and his interactions with the players, can give him a leg up come practice time. “We’ve got everybody back who was able to come back and play,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to delve into specifics, because we’ve only worked with them for three weeks. But I think there is a willingness to learn, which is exciting from a coaching standpoint. “They have shown a desire to improve across the board.” Boldon added there hasn’t really been much of an opportunity for any of the players to stand out. But he said he has been impressed by the limited amount of play he has seen. “I’m very happy with them collectively,” he said. “I’m very happy with where we are today. We have a long way to go before we’re good, but I think what we’ve accomplished in the last month is that we’ve gotten better.” One highlight from last season was the emergence of then-freshman forward Brandi Brown. Brown averaged a double-double last year in points and rebounds. The Pomona, Calif. native opened eyes with her ability to play underneath the basket. Boldon said he hopes she can continue on that path. “Brandi had a great season last year, and she stands out; she stood out on tape,” he said. “You can tell she is a very good player.” |
| Women's Basketball Staff to Hold Coaching Clinic on Sept. 18 |
| Thursday, September 9 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
| Youngstown -- First-year head coach Bob Boldon and the Youngstown State women's basketball staff will hold a basketball coaching clinic on Sept. 18 at YSU's Beeghly Center. Boys and girls basketball coaches at all levels are invited to attend the offense-centered coaching clinic. The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to noon, and the cost is $10 for an individual or $15 for an entire staff. There will be four 30-minute sessions focusing on offensive strategies. Those sessions will cover shooting drills and technique, out-of-bounds plays, quick-hitters against zone defense and quick-hitters against man-to-man defense. The third hour will consist of a demonstration of shooting, passing and transition drills on Rosselli Court with members of the YSU women's basketball team. There will also be a session covering recruiting and a questions-and-answers period. Lunch will be included at the clinic at no additional cost. Coaches wishing to attend may pay the day of the clinic, but they must register ahead of time. To register, contact women's basketball director of operations John Cullen at (330) 941-3116 or jlcullen@ysu.edu. There is also a faxable form available on the women's basketball page on YSUsports.com. A Quick Look at the Staff Boldon is in his first year as YSU's head coach. He's been a Division I assistant for five seasons and coached with two national coaches of the year. Boldon was an All-America point guard at Walsh. Tavares Jackson spent the last six years as the top assistant at Slippery Rock. He also coached at Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois. Jen Theissen coached the last two years at Canisius and spent a season at Saint Francis (Pa.). Kate Schrader coached with Boldon at Florida Gulf Coast, her alma mater, last year. She played professionally in Holland. Cullen amassed 433 wins in 28 years as the head boys' basketball coach at Canfield High. |
| Boldon Announces 2010-11 Women's Basketball Schedule |
| Thursday, September 9 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team will play three home games in November and a series of uncommon opponents during the non-conference portion of its 2010-11 schedule, first-year head coach Bob Boldon announced Wednesday. YSU has not played seven of its 11 non-conference opponents in at least the past five seasons. In contrast, the Penguins will play Pittsburgh, Bowling Green, Kent State and Akron for the third straight year. The Penguins will open the season at Pittsburgh at 11 a.m. on Nov. 12. YSU's home opener is Nov. 20 against IPFW, and the Horizon League opener will be Dec. 31 at Loyola. "We have a very competitive schedule that consists of great teams as well as great individual players," Boldon said. "We will be tested early, but the quality of our opponents should properly prepare us for Horizon League play." "Our schedule is also very fan-friendly with 13 homes games and three road games within 100 miles from Youngstown." Following its opener against Pitt, YSU will then play another tough road contest against Bowling Green on Nov. 17. The Falcons are coming off a 27-win season. Boldon will make his Beeghly Center debut against the Mastadons, a team he coached as an assistant from 1999-2001, on Nov. 20 at 1:05 p.m. The Penguins will also welcome Bucknell and Ohio to campus on Nov. 24 and Nov. 27 in two doubleheaders with the Youngstown State men's basketball team. The Penguins will open December at Kent State on Dec. 1, and they'll play road games at American and Western Michigan on Dec. 4 and Dec. 12 as part of a three-game road trip. YSU will play Akron, another team Boldon coached, at Beeghly Center on Dec. 16. The contest against the Zips will be its lone home game over a 39-day span, however. Two games at Stetson University's Hatter Holiday Classic on Dec. 20-21 begins a season-long four-game road swing that extends into opening weekend of the Horizon League schedule in Chicago. Following its two games at Loyola and UIC to open the league season, the Penguins will come home to play defending regular season champion Green Bay and Milwaukee on Jan. 6 and Jan. 8. YSU will go back on the road to play at Valparaiso and Butler before opening a three-game homestand against Wright State, Detroit and Cleveland State over the next two weeks. The second tour through the Horizon League begins at Milwaukee and Green Bay the first week of February. YSU will play its lone home games in February against Butler and Valpo on Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, and they'll close out the month with road games at Detroit, Wright State and Cleveland State. The regular season wraps up at home with games against UIC and Loyola on March 3 and March 5. |