Gopher Sports: Gopher WBB Scout Team Article

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http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/021517aaa.html


You won’t see them on the Gopher women’s basketball roster, but they show up to practice several times a week. They learn plays and opponent personnel. The pool of 25 men on the Minnesota scout team may not be recognized by most followers of the program, but these men play an important role for the Gophers on a daily basis.

“They’re invaluable to our prep,” head coach Marlene Stollings said. “We’ve had the luxury of having a really nice group because we are a large campus. …They’re really engaged with our kids. They show up at games. Sometimes they have signs. They watch us on TV. They become big fans of our program.”

Many of these men joined the scout team after hearing about it from friends who were already part of it. As a freshman Corey Paylan played intramural basketball with senior scout players. Now a senior, he has helped recruit more members, including TJ Schaff. Mikal Baschnagal heard about the scout team from a friend last year and decided to sign up. Brandon Barta was a team manager for his first three years, but joined the scout team his senior year because of his job’s time commitment.

Gophers scout players are basketball junkies. They played through high school and still find time for intramural and pickup basketball in addition to team practices. Paylan worked for the Lynx, Barta works with the Timberwolves and Schaff coaches high school. As their schedule allows, each practices with the team 2-5 times a week.
 




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