The team’s excursion to Malibu, Calif. for the Pepperdine Tournament not only gave the players an escape from the frigid Wisconsin weather for a while, but also included a dinner with former UCLA Bruins head coach, John Wooden. Wooden, also known as the “Wizard of Westwood,” churned out a remarkable ten national championship teams and orchestrated an 88-game winning streak during his coaching tenure. He has coached the likes of NBA Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton and is considered by many sports analysts to be the greatest basketball mind in the history of the game.
UW women’s basketball head coach Jane Albright has known John Wooden for several years and considers him to be “at the top of the coaches pyramid.” She appreciated the time the 92-year-old legend set aside for the team to pick his brain and was in awe of the respect he showed them during their meal together.
“The honor and respect that he showed to each of my players and staff was truly amazing, as he made each of us feel like the evening was for us, and we were special, and (the evening was) not about him,” said Coach Albright.
Senior forward Kristi Seeger shared similar sentiments and will not soon forget her meeting with Coach Wooden.
“Meeting John Wooden was an amazing experience because there is so much history behind him. If I could meet anyone in basketball history, next to James Naismith, this is probably the person I’d love to meet,” said Seeger. “He just knows so much about life and about basketball and about people. It was just awesome to hear him talk and share with us what he’s learned in his lifetime because he’s so knowledgeable.”
Trips home:
Last night, the Badgers returned to junior center Emily Ashbaugh’s home area with a game against the Washington Huskies in Seattle. Playing in one of her players’ respective hometowns is one of the enticements for head coach Albright’s recruits, as she tries to schedule as many games as possible in her players’ home areas.
“It’s 100 percent the reason why we’re going out there — [for Ashbaugh]. Just like we’ll go to South Carolina for Sasha,” said Albright. “That’s what we tell them when we recruit them, that we’ll go home at least once when they’re here and possibly twice.”
Badgerball sharp-shooter injured:
The Badgers will be playing without one of their leading scorers, Leah Hefte, for roughly a month. Hefte dislocated her right shoulder Nov. 28 in practice and the injury will leave Hefte on the sidelines for three to four weeks. The senior captain led the Badgers with 11 points against Northern Iowa and is averaging nine points per game. She is one of UW’s key perimeter scoring threats.
Badgerball cracks top ten in attendance:
The University of Wisconsin Sports Information Department released the first unofficial women’s basketball Division I home attendance figures for the 2002-03 season Monday. After one home game, the Lady Badgers are ranked seventh in national attendance, as 6,221 spectators were on hand to see their Kohl Center-opener Nov. 24 against UW-Green Bay. Tennessee ranks No. 1, averaging 11,336 through their first two games.
