Murrell Stays Ahead Of The Game During Recruiting Season
http://www.goviks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=19300&ATCLID=1506583
In a way, PSU Head Women’s Basketball Coach Sherri Murrell is lucky.
When she arrived at PSU a year ago this July, she found the team still had three scholarships available (she used those for this fall’s incoming freshmen and went last season with only 11 scholarship players).
She inherited a talented team which compiled a 22-9 record (11-5 Big Sky Conference and a tie for third place) during her first year as head coach.
That 2007-2008 squad also only lost one player to graduation and, if everything goes as planned, will lose only three to graduation off the 2008-2009 team, for which she has high hopes.
And, as she and her staff hit the recruiting trail in July, one of the country’s most prestigious summer tournaments was right on their doorstep. Murrell’s first stop was to be at the Oregon City High School tournament, which draws some of the nation’s top teams.
“Having those three scholarships available was really a gift. It meant that we had the luxury of signing four high school players in the fall early signing period, allowing us to begin concentrating our efforts on the 2009-2010 team right away,” said Murrell.
She used those scholarships to attract 5’10” forward Stephanie Egwuatu from Auburn Riverside High School in Auburn, WA; Eryn Jones, 5’8” guard from Meadowsdale High School in Lynnwood, WA; and Oregon players 6’3” Center Kimberly Vandyke, McMinnville High School, and 6’2” Forward/Center Katy Wade from Portland’s Central Catholic High School.
Murrell had been following at least some of them during her stint as head coach at Washington State University and was able to hit the ground running when presented with the opportunity to add early signing players.
And, because she signed those players and is losing only one (although what a player to lose—national first team all-academic 6’ Guard/forward Delaney Conway who also had a breakout year on the court) that means she and her staff can be very picky as they head off into the basketball coaches’ (both men’s and women’s) version of July madness.
July is recruiting month for basketball coaches and involves non-stop travel to summer tournaments around the country to scout players they’ve identified as prospects. From Oregon City, Murrell will head for Chicago (“there are some mornings in July when it takes me a few moments after I wake up to remember where I am”) and her staff have equally demanding travel schedules.
PSU coaches are looking more for “athleticism and quickness than we are for weight and heft. In the style I coach, we like to get up and down the floor quickly,” Murrell said.
Although their travels will take them to such places as Chicago, Memphis and Las Vegas, they’ll start in Oregon City early in July—and having that tournament on their doorstep pays other dividends than just the opportunity to return home at night and the ability to show promising players the nearby PSU campus.
“The Oregon City tournament draws top teams from throughout the U.S. When we talk to players and parents who’ve been there they say ‘oh yes, I’ve been to Portland and I really liked it’,” she said, adding that one Big Sky competitor lamented over the number of potential players he finds who already have PSU on their radar.
That’s a particularly good thing because, even more than other PSU sports, the university’s downtown location and Portland’s livability are major parts of what attracts young women to play at PSU. Many people want to live downtown in Portland but can’t afford it. A PSU scholarship gives them that experience, Murrell said.
“Women athletes are interested in just about all aspects of their college existence--the school’s academics and social life, that light rail is at their doorstep and can take them to a Blazer game and to great shopping, the livability of the area, that they have a chance to win a championship. Where they play is often much more important than for male athletes who really just want to play somewhere and showcase their talent,” she said.
To some extent, this is because playing opportunities beyond college are more limited, so “they want to make the most of this experience.”
Selling Portland is something Murrell loves to do because she’s a true believer. “This is one of the most livable cities in the country. A lot of our players choose to stay here after they’ve finished college. Our location gives us a big advantage over our Big Sky competition and even over some PAC-10 and WAC schools. Portland has never been a disadvantage in our recruiting,” says the woman who moved to Portland from Redmond and attended St. Mary’s High School, adjacent to the PSU campus.
While PSU and Portland compete well with many bigger programs, Murrell said she also tries to be realistic and doesn’t often go head-to-head with such programs as Stanford.
In her 13 years of coaching, she’s also discovered that female athletes often like playing a little closer to home (a real advantage because the I-5 corridor has a number of strong programs). She pointed to Central Catholic’s Wade, who, like a number of her recruits, “could have played a lot of places, but chose PSU because she is close to her family and wanted them to be able to watch her play. A lot of our student-athletes want the independence of being away from home, but want it to be close enough to visit if they get a little homesick.”
At this point, things look fairly settled for the next couple of years—and Murrell expects her young team to be actively in the hunt for the Big Sky title and the chance to follow this year’s men’s program into a first-ever appearance at the national NCAA tournament.
Still, all is not honey and roses stretching on forever. There are seven juniors on the 2008-2009 team. But the current situation has provided Murrell and her staff with another luxury. Assistant Coach Mike Hood already is concentrating on the 2010-2011 team.
Murrell hopes for a seamless transition...with any luck.
