Odds and Ends

Some of this is old, but:

• The Big Ten Network & Comcast have (finally) reached an agreement.
• A new practice facility and renovations to Crisler Arena are moving forward.
• Over at michladyballers.com there is a new post about recruiting. Lindsay Booker, Troy Hambric and Juanita Cochran were all mentioned in connection with Michigan.
  

Lauren Young

According to the Girls Basketball Recruiting blog, Lauren Young will be transferring from Colorado State to Michigan. She is a 6'2" forward from Minnesota who started five games for the Rams and averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds/game. Presumably she will sit out this season and will be eligible to play in the 2009-2010 season.

Kelsey Smith commits to Michigan State

From hoopgurlz:

On Monday the Spartans of Michigan State received some great news as Kelsey Smith, ranked No. 68 in the class of 2009 by ESPN HoopGurlz, verbally committed. This is the first top 100 player for head coach Suzy Merchant since she took over for Joanne P. McCalley (Duke) last April.

Smith chose Michigan State over finalists DePaul, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. In Smith the Spartans get a fundamentally sound post player with Big Ten size at 6-foot-4.

Michigan Football radio station takeover

The Michigan football team will be "taking over" four radio stations in Ann Arbor today - WTKA (1050am), WQKL (107.1fm), WWWW (102.9fm) and WLBY (1290am) - to raise money for the new C.S. Mott Hospital. It isn't women's basketball, but it is a great cause.

Krista Clement Honored

From mgoblue.com:

University of Michigan men's soccer senior Michael Parke (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) and women's basketball senior Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) have been named U-M's male and female Big Ten Conference Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for 2007-08.

Parke and Clement were singled out from the list of 25 Wolverines -- one in each varsity sport -- recognized for sportsmanship during the course of the 2007-08 athletic year. The honor acknowledges those student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, they must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Former Borseth Assistant named coach at Saginaw Valley State

From mlive.com:

Shannon Baugh has experienced basketball from all angles, from playing, coaching and even covering it as a reporter, but she has found her home.

It's walking the sidelines.

On Friday, the 37-year-old was introduced as the ninth head coach of the Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team during a press conference at the school's Ryder Center.

...

In 2001, she joined the staff at Wisconsin-Green Bay under Kevin Borseth, now the University of Michigan women's head coach. She also had stints at North Dakota, Bradley and Buffalo, where she coached such Heritage graduates as Jamie Schiebner and Brooke Meunier.

Tayler Hill

Tayler Hill will be trying out for the U-18 National Women's Team:

Tayler Hill of South (Minneapolis) is one of 35 players trying out for 12 spots on the USA Basketball U-18 Women's National Team. The team begins tryouts in Colorado Springs next week.

Most of the players trying out are going to be freshmen in college this fall, but Hill is one of 13 who will still be in high school. She knows the odds might be against her making the team, but she isn't easily discouraged.

Recruting News

Over at michladyballers.com they have posted a recruiting update on some of the top players in Michigan. It includes several players Michigan has an interest in, including Amber Moore, Destiny Williams, Nya Jordan and Chenise Miller.