The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

There were supposed to be two recruits who signed in fall. KSU has never named named them. They stopped putting names out three or four years ago, something I've never understood. [/i]

O'Banion has her first assistant -- a guy from Boston College with MAC experience.

http://www.kentstatesports.com/sports/wb...0501x484em

I am not a very touchy feely type but I thought it was good to receive a letter from the new womens basketball coach thanking me for my season ticket support over the years. It looks like we definately have a coach that will represent Kent in a public relations way. Now we will just have to wait and see if she can coach and recruit.

(05-04-2012 06:46 PM)burden Wrote:  I am not a very touchy feely type but I thought it was good to receive a letter from the new womens basketball coach thanking me for my season ticket support over the years. It looks like we definately have a coach that will represent Kent in a public relations way. Now we will just have to wait and see if she can coach and recruit.

2nd asst coach hired under O'Banion:

http://www.kentstatesports.com/sports/wb...05079w9e84

We did lose one of Lindsay's best recruits -- Miriam Justinger of suburban Toledo -- all-state, District I Player of the Year, Toledo Blade Player of the Year. She had signed a letter and asked for a release when Lindsay was fired.

She's going to BG.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns...3465.story

Brady Sallee, a popular KSU assistant in some of its best years, is the new coach at Ball State. He had been a very successful head coach at Eastern Illinois. I'm happy with O'Banion, but Sallee could have been a good coach here. But he probably had too much of a Lindsay connection for Nielsen.

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/2012...nav%7Chead

O'Banion's 1st 2 recruits:

http://www.kentstatesports.com/sports/wb...0516i6re66

Went to the reception for O'Banion at the MACC Monday (guess I was invited because I've had season tickets forever). Some interesting stuff:

-- She's very personable. So is assistant Geoff Lanier, who came from Boston College and once was an assistant at Akron. The third assistant, Wyketha Harrell (Wa KEITH a) is a little quieter
-- She expects to name her last assistant and her director of basketball operations by mid-June.
-- She expects to add two or three more recruits before the end of June.
-- She's very high on transfer center CiCi Shannon, who apparently is a shot blocker extraordinaire (five blocks in five different games at Southern Illinois last year). She'll have to sit out a year, though.
-- The other transfer -- Amber Dunlap -- is a wing. She was all-league in her junior college conference last year. (When are the going to add a true point guard?)
-- One Lindsay recruit, guard-forward Heather Justinger, asked to be released from her letter and has signed with Bowling Green. She was a tough loss -- district player of the year.
-- The other Lindsay recruit was 6-4 center Heather Bachman of Bloomington, Minn. She's "excited" about coming. O'Banion still has connections to Minnesota because of her time as an assistant there.
-- All the other scholarship players are coming back...except maybe an important one. Itziar Llobet from Spain. Apparently her father is quite ill and she may stay in Europe to be close to him. I thought she was the best of the freshmen last year.
-- Trish Krewson, the transfer who struggled with injuries last season, had surgery on her wrist and should be OK for the season. (She, Blackford and Schaffer were at the reception. All were happy, nice people who seemed truly excited about playing for O'Banion.)
-- Blackford had shoulder trouble at the end of the year that's healed nicely.
-- O'Banion is planning to run a motion office -- four out, one in -- which I thinks means a point, three wings and a center/forward. She said Schaffer likes to play some facing the basket so they may make some adjustments there.
-- She said it was clear the team got tired at the end of games last year, and she was going to have enough players to make sure that didn't happen.
-- She's going to have each player introduce herself at the beginning of games, give their hometown and a "fun fact" about each about themselves. (Sounds hokey.)
-- She is still living out of a hotel. Lanier is looking for a house. He said he started recruiting before he got to campus.
-- O'Banion seems to be quite serious about talking to fans and community members if they want to drop by her office.
-- She goes by "Danny."

All in all, I liked what I saw and heard.

There were about 25 people there (the MACC loge). I just turned 63 and was one of the youngest people there.

The cookies weren't as good as usual.

[quote='cschierh' pid='7918941' dateline='1337663122']
Went to the reception for O'Banion at the MACC Monday (guess I was invited because I've had season tickets forever). Some interesting stuff:

-- She's very personable. So is assistant Geoff Lanier, who came from Boston College and once was an assistant at Akron. The third assistant, Wyketha Harrell (Wa KEITH a) is a little quieter
-- She expects to name her last assistant and her director of basketball operations by mid-June.
-- She expects to add two or three more recruits before the end of June.
-- She's very high on transfer center CiCi Shannon, who apparently is a shot blocker extraordinaire (five blocks in five different games at Southern Illinois last year). She'll have to sit out a year, though.
-- The other transfer -- Amber Dunlap -- is a wing. She was all-league in her junior college conference last year. (When are the going to add a true point guard?)
-- One Lindsay recruit, guard-forward Heather Justinger, asked to be released from her letter and has signed with Bowling Green. She was a tough loss -- district player of the year.
-- The other Lindsay recruit was 6-4 center Heather Bachman of Bloomington, Minn. She's "excited" about coming. O'Banion still has connections to Minnesota because of her time as an assistant there.
-- All the other scholarship players are coming back...except maybe an important one. Itziar Llobet from Spain. Apparently her father is quite ill and she may stay in Europe to be close to him. I thought she was the best of the freshmen last year.
-- Trish Krewson, the transfer who struggled with injuries last season, had surgery on her wrist and should be OK for the season. (She, Blackford and Schaffer were at the reception. All were happy, nice people who seemed truly excited about playing for O'Banion.)
-- Blackford had shoulder trouble at the end of the year that's healed nicely.
-- O'Banion is planning to run a motion office -- four out, one in -- which I thinks means a point, three wings and a center/forward. She said Schaffer likes to play some facing the basket so they may make some adjustments there.
-- She said it was clear the team got tired at the end of games last year, and she was going to have enough players to make sure that didn't happen.
-- She's going to have each player introduce herself at the beginning of games, give their hometown and a "fun fact" about each about themselves. (Sounds hokey.)
-- She is still living out of a hotel. Lanier is looking for a house. He said he started recruiting before he got to campus.
-- O'Banion seems to be quite serious about talking to fans and community members if they want to drop by her office.
-- She goes by "Danny."

All in all, I liked what I saw and heard.

There were about 25 people there (the MACC loge). I just turned 63 and was one of the youngest people there.

The cookies weren't as good as usual.

[/quote
cschierh,
Thank you for all of the detailed info. Sounds like they hit the recruiting trail hard from day 1, which is great to hear. Its all about getting the best talent and then coaching them up. Losing that player to BG sounds like it will hurt, but you had to think with the coaching change you will lose 1. Great to hear that the 6'4" recruit from MN is still coming to KSU.

When you say 2-3 more recruits by the end of June, is that for the upcoming season or next season? Wonder if they will be transfers as well? Don't they already have the Director of Basketball Operations on staff? I think that you mean Beckford, as in Diamond Beckford, not Blackford.

All,

Has anyone heard if Lindsay/Bodnar plan on coaching this season or are they taking a year off and then getting back into it?

She didn't say whether the new players were HS, JC or transfers. It's late for HS, but they picked up the kids from Europe in summer. She's said she's going to bring in a point guard, so I'd guess JC there.

Old director of BB operations is off the Web site.

Yes, it was Beckford. I typed wrong.

Shot blocking transfer she was so high on isn't a scorer. Four points a game off the
Bench last year. Second in rebounding, though.

I was going to send thank/you note to Lindsay and Bodnar. BB office had email for Lori, not Bob. Haven't sent note yet. Will keep you posted.

Great story on the new coaching staff and what to expect this year in the ABJ:

http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/new...g-1.321017