Danielle O'Banion Returns: Whalen Fills Last Assistant Coaching Position

Borton?

As one of those vocal Borton haters, I can say of the three assistants, the one non-Borton tied one (Carly) is the only one I'm over the moon about. Kelly is the one I had the most reservations about because she was there during the years where they missed tournament 5 years in a row. I cringed at Whalen mentioning Borton's name at the press conference. I want the program to have nothing to do with that cancer of a woman. She was gifted a final four team she had NOTHING to do with putting together and then proceeded to burn the program to the ground. She stated 4-5 seasons to long but im guessing her under the table extension from Maturi wasn't exactly earned under the highest of moral grounds.

Whalen obviously saw value in Borton or she wouldn't have brought her up... I will trust her judgement. I am always surprised at the hate that some posters seem to have towards Borton. Are you really second guessing Roysland's character for being an assistant under her? She was a young women wanting to learn the coaching ropes. How do you turn down an opportunity to do so at your alma mater?

For the record, Borton was the beneficiary of some great players in Whalen and McCarville but Oldfield had them playing absolutely NO team defense. I know it is a tired cliche but defense wins championships. Borton took a talented offensive group of individuals and helped them develop as a defensive team that had a nice fun to the Final Four. The players at the time spoke VERY highly of how she stepped in and developed them as all around players. I highly doubt Oldfield would have led them to the FF. Borton also had sustained success for the next five years before tailing off.

2002–03 25–6 12–4 T-2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2003–04 25–9 9–7 6th NCAA Final Four
2004–05 26–8 12–4 4th NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2005–06 19–10 11–5 T-3rd NCAA First Round
2006–07 17–16 7–9 T-5th WNIT First Round
2007–08 20–12 11–7 T-3rd NCAA First Round
2008–09 20–12 11–7 T-5th NCAA Second Round
2009–10 13–17 6–12 11th
2010–11 12–18 4–12 9th
2011–12 19–17 6–10 8th WBI Champions
2012–13 18–14 7–9 T-8th WNIT First Round
2013–14 22–13 8–8 T-6th WNIT Third Round
TOTALS: 236–152 104–94

Note how I am not cherry picking only the good years. Borton's lack of sustained success was her recruiting. She may have stayed too long but to describe her as a cancer seems a little harsh unless she kicked your dog or something. Give a little credit where credit is due and move on. It's not healthy to harbor this sort of hate for someone you've never met.

I wish Whalen and all of her assistants the greatest success going forward. Let's hope we are in for an enjoyable ride watching her develop as a coach.
 




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