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| Guard Elizabeth Hornberger Signs as Boldon's First Recruit |
| Monday, June 7 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Elizabeth Hornberger, a point guard from Reading, Pa., has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Youngstown State University under first-year head women’s basketball coach Bob Boldon.
Hornberger, who is 5-foot-7 and Muhlenberg High School’s all-time top 3-point shooter, is the first recruit Boldon has signed since taking over the reins of the program on April 14.
Liz Hornberger“Liz is a point guard who can stretch the defense with her 3-point shot, but she also handles the ball well and has the ability to get to the rim,” Boldon said. “She is a bright student-athlete who brings with her a lot of success at both the high school and AAU level. We feel she will be a tremendous addition to our program.”
Hornberger comes to YSU after starting all four seasons at point guard for the Mules. She scored 888 points over her career and directed Muhlenberg to an 87-25 record. She hit a school-record 185 3-pointers in her career, and she hit six triples in a contest, which tied a school record.
With Hornberger at point guard, Muhlenberg won four straight division titles and qualified for districts all four seasons. The Mules qualified for the state tournament three times, and they were the top defensive squad in Berks County in each of Hornberger’s four years.
As a senior, she averaged 10.8 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds to earn all-county honors. She started at point guard in the All-Berks County All-Star game.
Hornberger also played for the Philadelphia Belles AAU squad that reached the finals of the 2009 U.S. Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C. |
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| Veteran Canfield Coach John Cullen Hired as Director of Operations |
| Friday, June 4 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Long-time Canfield High School boys basketball coach John Cullen has been hired as the Director of Women's Basketball Operations at Youngstown State, first-year YSU head coach Bob Boldon announced.
Cullen joins the collegiate ranks for the first time after coaching high school basketball for the past 37 years in the Youngstown area. He amassed 472 victories in his 32 seasons as a high school head coach.
"We are ecstatic to have Coach Cullen join our staff," Boldon said. "He brings an incredible amount of basketball knowledge to our team. His connection to the local community will also be invaluable in helping to restore the winning tradition of Youngstown State women's basketball."
Cullen spent the last 28 seasons as the Head Boys' Basketball Coach at Canfield High School, leading the Cardinals to a 433-186 record under his leadership. In his tenure on the bench, Canfield won 15 sectional titles, 12 league championships and five district titles. He was named the Mahoning County Coach of the Year 15 times in his 28 years.
Prior to his successful stay at Canfield, Cullen also coached three seasons at Brookfield High and one year at Badger High. He led Brookfield to a 38-18 record and three sectional championships. Cullen got his coaching start as an assistant at Brookfield, helping the Warriors to five sectional championships, a regional title and a berth in the state semifinals over five years.
Cullen also spent four seasons coaching in the Amateur Athletic Union. His squads qualified for the AAU national tournament three times.
In the classroom as a high school teacher, Cullen taught physical education, health and integrated science.
Cullen will begin his duties on July 1, 2010. |
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| Horizon help: Butler’s run aids Slocum with recruits |
| Thursday, June 3 2010 |
| Courtesy of: Joe Scalzo The Vindicator |
By Joe Scalzo
scalzo@vindy.com
west middlesex, pa.
Butler’s run to the NCAA men’s championship game this spring did more than uplift the image of Horizon League basketball.
It gave YSU a welcome recruiting boost, too.
Since losing five seniors to graduation and another four to transfer, Penguins coach Jerry Slocum has added four recruits during the late signing period and five overall.
“Anytime your program isn’t where you want it to be, change is a part of that,” said Slocum, who went 8-22 this winter. “We’re really happy with the kids we’ve brought in. We feel like we’ve really helped ourselves in the backcourt with the recruits that we have signed.
“With [Warren Harding High graduates] Damian Eargle and Sheldon Brogdon playing next year, we’ve very excited about the upcoming year.”
Eargle, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, sat out last season after transferring from Division I UNC-Greensboro.
Brogdon, a 6-0 guard, redshirted his freshman season while rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered his senior year. Two weeks ago, doctors gave Brogdon full clearance to resume basketball activities, Slocum said.
“It’s a work in progress,” Slocum said of Brogdon’s recovery. “Our athletic training staff is working with him and we feel probably sometime in the first semester he’s going to be 100 percent.”
Brogdon and Eargle will join incoming recruits Devonte Maymon, DuShawn Brooks, Josh Chojnacki, Fred Ford and Kendrick Perry on what will be a very young and inexperienced Penguins squad next winter.
YSU’s schedule, which will be released in a few weeks, will feature road games against Akron, Kent State and North Carolina State.
Slocum said Butler’s success played a key role in recruiting.
“It’s something we all take pride in,” he said. “I think it’s awesome for our conference and believe me, when we were [talking to] Fred [Ford] and some of those guys from major junior colleges, Butler’s run was something we were always talking about.”
On the women’s side, new coach Bob Boldon recently completed his coaching staff and has turned his attention to recruiting for next season.
“We’re in the thick of it with a lot of other mid-major schools throughout the Midwest, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania,” said Boldon, who takes over a program that went 0-30 last winter. “We’ll see how it shakes out when it comes to sign, but we think we’re on some pretty good kids.”
Boldon’s program could get a boost soon when the school names a director for basketball operations. Longtime Canfield High boys coach John Cullen is reportedly close to accepting that job. |
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| FGCU Star Kate Schrader Completes Boldon's Coaching Staff |
| Wednesday, May 19 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Kate Schrader, the most decorated women’s basketball player to ever play at Florida Gulf Coast University, has joined former FGCU assistant Bob Boldon on the Youngstown State women’s basketball staff.
Schrader, who coached alongside YSU’s first-year head coach last year, completes Boldon’s staff of assistants. Jen Gwin and Tavares Jackson were announced as the first two assistant coaches on May 3.
Kate Schrader
Schrader will be responsible for junior college recruiting, on-floor coaching, game preparation and compliance needs.
“Kate has a tremendous understanding of how to play the game of basketball, and she will be counted on to be a great teacher,” Boldon said. “She was an All-American as a player, and she’s been in two consecutive postseasons as a coach. She is a winner, and I am thrilled to have Kate join our staff.”
After two remarkable seasons on the court for FGCU, she spent the last two years on the Eagles’ bench. She was a graduate assistant in 2008-09, and she and Boldon were both assistant coaches in 2009-10.
In Schrader’s two years on the FGCU staff, the Eagles went 50-12 in just their second and third seasons at the Division I level.
In 2008-09 with Schrader as a graduate assistant, FGCU went 26-5, won the Atlantic Sun regular-season title and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. One of those victories came against Florida in the season opener. The Eagles won 17 straight games before their loss to South Florida in the WNIT, and they received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
In 2009-10, FGCU went 24-7 and earned invitations to compete in both the preseason and postseason WNIT. The Eagles were 17-3 in the Atlantic Sun and went a perfect 14-0 in home contests.
As a student-athlete, Schrader led FGCU to a combined two-year record of 63-3. She was a First-Team Division II All-America selection her senior year when she led the Eagles to an appearance in the National Championship game. She finished second in the nation in field goal percentage (.628), and she led FGCU in free-throw percentage (.809), rebounds (5.5 per game) and points (17.4 per game). She was a Division II Honorable-Mention All-America honoree as a junior in 2006. Despite playing only two seasons at FGCU, she is the school’s all-time leader in points, field goals made, free-throws made, free-throws attempted and free-throw percentage.
Schrader went on to play professionally in Holland for the Perik Jumpers.
Prior to her days at Florida Gulf Coast, Schrader played two seasons at Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Ariz.
Schrader, a native of Fort Collins, Colo., received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida Gulf Coast in 2007. |
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| Boldon Announces Dates for Summer Camp Series |
| Thursday, May 13 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Youngstown State head women's basketball coach Bob Boldon and his staff will hold three different youth camps this June for players aspiring to develop their skills.
The Penguins will host an elite camp for high school student-athletes on June 16, a team camp on June 19 and a half-day youth camp from June 21-24. All camps well be held on the Youngstown State campus.
The elite camp is designed to get players ready for the next level. There will be intense workouts focusing on shooting, ball handling, passing, post moves, and defense. There will be competitive games as well as speed and agility drills. It will be run very similarly to a college practice.
The team camp is designed to help high school varsity and junior varsity teams develop. Teams are guaranteed three games per day with certified high school officials. Coaches and players can begin the team bonding process at this camp and find new ways to stay on top of their game.
The focus of the half-day youth camp, designed for players entering second through ninth grade, is to improve the all-around game. Participants will work on ball handling, passing, shooting, defensive techniques and rebounding skills. There will also be individual and team competitions where awards will be given. Campers will be separated into groups based on age and skill level.
For more information and to register, call the Youngstown State Women's Basketball office at (330) 941-3004. Registrants can also download the Camp Brochure and mail in the registration form. |
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| Boldon Welcomes Jen Gwin, Taveras Jackson to Coaching Staff |
| Tuesday, May 4 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Youngstown State first-year head women's basketball coach Bob Boldon announced today that Jen Gwin and Taveras Jackson have joined his staff as assistant coaches for the 2010-11 season.
Gwin has spent the last three seasons coaching at the Division I level, including the past two at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. Jackson comes to YSU after spending the past six seasons as the recruiting coordinator at Division II Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania.
"I'm very pleased to welcome two enthusiastic and passionate coaches to our staff in Jen and Taveras," Boldon said. "Their experience, knowledge and character will be great assets as we begin to re-establish the winning tradition here at Youngstown State."
Gwin will be responsible for on-floor coaching, game preparation, assistant with recruiting, overseeing academic and equipment needs and organizing YSU's individual camps. Jackson will serve as the recruiting coordinator as well as helping with on-floor coaching, game preparation, scheduling and the program's team camp.
Although Gwin has been in the full-time coaching ranks for just three seasons, she's been part of two successful mid-major programs at Canisius and Saint Francis (Pa.). In her first season at Canisius, the Golden Griffins went 24-9, advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship game and played Women's National Invitation Tournament. Gwin's duties on the Canisius staff included recruiting high school student-athletes, scouting opponents, assisting with guard development, overseeing compliance issues and monitoring academic progress.
Gwin spent the 2007-08 season at Saint Francis (Pa.) and helped start the rebuilding effort that allowed the Red Flash to win the Northeast Conference Tournament this past year. There, in addition to her duties at Canisius, Gwin was charged with organizing travel arrangements, exchanging film and overseeing team community service activities.
Gwin got her coaching start as a student assistant at her alma mater, Division II Gannon University in Erie, Pa.
A four-year starter and two-time team captain for the Golden Knights, Gwin still owns Gannon's school record for career assists with 835 from 2001-05. She also finished her career with 1,045 points, which ranked 16th in school history when her career ended. Gwin also ranks among Gannon's career leaders with 112 games played, 538 rebounds and 260 steals (260). A two-time First-Time All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, Gwin played under Boldon her freshman season when he was an assistant at Gannon. That season the Golden Knights went to the NCAA Division II Tournament as Gwin was named the conference freshman of the year.
"Jen has had a successful career as a player and as a coach, and she has a great understanding of how to be successful," Boldon said. "She approaches everything she does with a great deal of enthusiasm, and she will be a terrific addition to our staff."
Jackson joins Boldon's staff after serving as the top assistant coach at Slippery Rock for the past six years. Among The Rock's achievements with Jackson on board, Slippery Rock advanced to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament, and three student-athletes earned All-PSAC recognition. Jackson oversaw recruiting efforts that led to signing two NJCAA All-America selections, five NCAA Division I transfers, four All-Ohio honorees and a Pennsylvania all-state pick. He also assisted with post play, game plan preparation, opponent scouting, budgeting, alumni activities and compliance issues.
Jackson got his first Division I experience at Austin Peay State University during the 2002-03 season as the Governors posted their best season in school history. The Governors went 27-4 that season, won both the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and played North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. Jackson worked primarily with Austin Peay's guards as well as assisting with scouting, offseason workouts, game preparation, academic progress, team travel, fundraising and community service. Jackson also coached in the OVC the following season at Eastern Illinois, helping two Panthers receive second-team all-conference honors. He focused on guard development and defense as well as team travel, conditioning, academics and summer camps at EIU.
Jackson's coaching career began at Division II Bemidji State University in Minnesota as a graduate assistant. He played two years at Division II Minnesota, Crookston after a two-year junior college playing career at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin.
"Tavares is genuinely passionate about the game of basketball," Boldon said. "He is a tireless worker and an outstanding recruiter. I am excited to have him join our staff."
Boldon will announce the third member of his coaching staff next week. Boldon was named YSU's head coach on April 14. |
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| Bob Boldon Named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Youngstown State |
| Wednesday, April 14 2010 |
| Courtesy of: YSU |
Youngstown -- Northeast Ohio native and experienced assistant Bob Boldon has been named the sixth head women’s basketball coach at Youngstown State University. Boldon has spent three successful seasons as a collegiate head coach, and he has been an assistant at the college level for 10 years. Five of those 10 years have been at the Division I level, including two seasons at Akron. He spent last season as the top assistant coach at Division I Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla.
“When I talked with some of Coach Boldon’s peers in the coaching profession, they all praised him as an up-and-comer who just needed a chance. We’re excited to give him that chance,” YSU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo said. “Upon visiting with him, he made it clear that he wanted to return to Northeast Ohio and help us resurrect our program. He’s had success as a head coach, and he has been a loyal assistant under very accomplished head coaches. Furthermore, he has recruiting experience in our region and a solid track record in turning programs around.”
Boldon, a 34-year-old native of Louisville, Ohio, located just outside of Canton, is equally excited to spearhead a rebirth in the women’s basketball program at YSU.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to be the next head coach at Youngstown State University,” Boldon said. “Mr. Strollo has a great vision not only for the future of the women’s basketball program, but the entire athletic department. I am excited and honored to be a part of it. I am also thrilled that my family and friends will have an opportunity to share in the excitement of re-establishing a winning tradition for the women’s basketball program at YSU.”
In his most recent head coaching stint, Boldon orchestrated the best season in school history in 2008-09 at Lambuth University, an NAIA school located in Jackson, Tenn. He led the Eagles to school bests with 29 wins, a final No. 3 national ranking and an .853 winning percentage. Lambuth was the runner-up for the national title, and Boldon was recognized as the Association of Independent Institutions Coach of the Year after the regular season and A.I.I. tournament.
At the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Boldon helped lead a major improvement for the Division II Cotton Blossoms in the Gulf South Conference. He inherited a team that went 1-15 in GSC play the year prior to his arrival, and he immediately brought them up to an 8-8 mark, which was the school’s best conference record in five years. In his two seasons at UAM, the Cotton Blossoms finished third in the GSC each year, made consecutive conference tournament appearances and earned the school’s first conference tournament victory since 1998.
Although Boldon has been an assistant coach at seven different institutions, he has served with only three head coaches and moved along with them as they received better opportunities. He has spent four seasons with Karl Smesko, the current head women’s basketball coach at FGCU, and five with Jodi Kest, who is the head coach at Akron.
Boldon and Smesko teamed up for a combined record of 85-34 over four seasons, which includes one year at Florida Gulf Coast, two years at IPFW and another at Walsh.
Bob BoldonIn 2009-10, FGCU went 24-7 and earned an invitation to compete in the WNIT. The Eagles were 17-3 in the Atlantic Sun and went a perfect 14-0 in home contests. Chelsea Lyles earned first-team all-conference honors, and Adrianne McNally and Shannon Murphy both earned second-team honors.
Boldon and Smesko were part of a massive rebuilding project at IPFW as the Mastadons competed at the Division II level. IPFW was 2-24 the season before Boldon arrived on campus, and the Mastadons went 13-14 and 19-8 in the two years he was on the bench.
Boldon and Smesko first worked together in 1997-98 at Boldon’s alma mater, Walsh. The Cavaliers won the NAIA Division II National Championship that season behind a 29-5 record, and Smesko was recognized as the national coach of the year with Boldon’s assistance.
With Kest, Boldon was the top assistant coach at Akron for two seasons from 2006 to 2008. There, he helped lay the foundation for Akron to be competitive again in the Mid-American Conference. The Zips had won eight games combined in the two years before Boldon and Kest arrived on campus, and they won 10 games in the first season with Boldon on board. With some of Boldon’s recruits, Akron went 18-14 in 2009-10 and advanced to the MAC Tournament semifinals.
Boldon also spent two seasons with Kest at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi from 2002 to 2004, leading the Islanders to a combined 34-21 record as a Division I Independent. Boldon and Kest first worked together at Gannon in 2001-02 when the Lady Knights went 20-8 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Boldon was an assistant at Wilmington College with Jerry Scheve in 1998-99, helping to lead the Quakers to a 20-4 record and regular season and tournament titles.
Boldon graduated from Walsh in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. As a student-athlete, he was a two-time All-America selection as a point guard and helped lead the Cavaliers to the semifinals of the NAIA Tournament. A four-year starter, he remains the school record holder in assists (775) while also ranking fourth in scoring with 1,694 points. Boldon was a 2008 inductee to Walsh’s Wall of Fame.
He earned his master’s degree in liberal studies from Indiana in 2003.
Boldon and his wife, Diana, have three sons – Tyler and twins Luke and Zach.
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| YSU hires new women’s basketball coach |
| Tuesday, April 13 2010 |
| Courtesy of: The Vindicator |
Youngstown State University has hired Bob Boldon as its new women’s basketball coach.
Boldon was an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers last season, helping the Eagles finish 24-7 and earn a berth in the WNIT.
Boldon is originally from Stark County, graduating from Louisville High School and Walsh University, where he was a standout point guard. After graduating from Walsh in 1997, he spent one year as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers’ NAIA national championship team.
He then moved on to Wilmington College and has also coached at Lambuth, Arkansas-Monticello, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Gannon University.
Boldon, who replaces Cindy Martin, will be introduced at a press conference Wednesday. Martin resigned last month after going 0-30 in her second season with the Penguins. |
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| Vacant women's coaching job attracts many applicants |
| Friday, March 26 2010 |
| Courtesy of: Chelsea Miller Jambar SPORTS REPORTER |
A dismal season for Youngstown State University women's basketball team and the resignation of head coach Cindy Martin after only two seasons did not deter the application process in the search of a new head coach. Currently, 82 hopeful applicants have applied for the position, some from Big Ten schools.
Associate director of athletics Elaine Jacobs said applications will still have to be reviewed before a candidate is picked. The process will be difficult in that many of the coaches are well qualified for the position, she said.
On the list of 82 candidates contributed by Jacobs, a few names can be easily recognized. Bernard Scott, current assistant basketball coach at YSU who has been with the team for two years, is applying.
Another hopeful is Gwen Burton, assistant coach at Chicago State University. Burton is in her sixth season with the basketball staff. Prior to working at CSU, she served as assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Blizzard, a now nonexistent National Women's Basketball League team. Burton also worked as assistant coach at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, where she led the team to consecutive semifinal appearances. As a player at Allen County Community College, she held the record for career three-pointers with 120 and averaged 16 points per game. Now Burton hopes to try her hand at head coaching a Division I school and helping turn around a failing program.
"The opportunity [at YSU] to bring the program back to where it used to be in the '80s … is a great opportunity for me, if I can. Back then, it was exciting to watch," she said.
Burton said if hired she will use her skills as recruiter to get the team back on top.
"I'm a recruiter," Burton said. "I recruit top athletes … I would bring in more community to be supportive of the team. If you have a great community, you have a successful team."
Corey Laster, assistant coach at Bucknell University, also believes he can help turn things around for the Penguins. In his third season at Bucknell, Laster has the experience turning failing programs around. While working as head coach at Defiance College, he led an eight-win turnaround for his team to improve their record to 14-11 during his second season as coach. Laster also arrived at Taylor University with a season record of 4-20 which he led to 25-3 and a fifth place showing in the National Small College Athletic Association his next year with the team. Laster said despite a record of 3-57 the past two seasons at YSU, he sees potential in the program.
"Even though it was a very rough season … there's a lot of potential," Laster said. "I enjoy the rebuilding aspect of the program." |
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| Cindy Martin Resigns as YSU’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach |
| Monday, March 15 2010 |
| Courtesy of: ysu |
Youngstown -- Cindy Martin has resigned from her position as the head women’s basketball coach at Youngstown State University, announced Ron Strollo, YSU’s Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. A national search for Martin’s replacement will begin immediately.
Martin was the head coach at YSU for two seasons, and the Penguins went a combined 3-57 in her tenure. The Penguins were 3-27 in 2008-09 and 0-30 in 2009-10.
“I have decided to step down from my position because I feel in my heart it is what’s best for the program at this time,” Martin said. “I want to thank Youngstown State University and the athletic department for the wonderful opportunity. We signed back-to-back recruiting classes that are committed to their successes both on and off the court.”
“I hope my ladies and staff have learned as much from me as I have learned from them over the last two years.”
Martin inherited a roster that was heavy on relatively-inexperienced seniors and had one incoming signee when she took over the program in April 2008. After a 3-27 season in which she depended on many first-time contributors, Martin and her coaching staff signed a total of 10 student-athletes who would have been eligible to play in 2009-10. However, only three of those appeared in a game during the year as the Penguins had a maximum of eight players in uniform. Three incoming players had season-ending injuries, three players did not meet academic requirements and another left the university on the first day of the fall semester.
Those that did play were effective as newcomers Brandi Brown and Bojana Dimitrov were the team’s top two scorers. Brown was runner-up for the Horizon League Newcomer-of-the-Year award and had one of the best freshman seasons in school history.
“We were surprised at Coach Martin’s decision to resign at this time,” Strollo said. “She accepted a difficult challenge in rebuilding the winning tradition of YSU women’s basketball, and she and her staff worked tirelessly the past two years toward that end. We understand the end results of this past season put their efforts to the test, but a full examination of the extenuating circumstances that led to this year’s outcomes makes those familiar with the situation supportive of the progress she made.”
“However, Coach Martin’s unselfish attitude has led her to decide that the perceptions are too difficult to overcome, and, in the best interest of the future of YSU women’s basketball, she needed to step down. She has brought two solid recruiting classes to our program, most notably All-Newcomer Team selection Brandi Brown, so the foundation is much stronger than before her arrival. The integrity she has displayed in resigning only magnifies the reasons she was the right choice when we chose her as our head coach. We wish her nothing but the best in her future coaching endeavors.”
Off the court, the women’s basketball team was a model program. The Penguins were a fixture in the community as they completed at least 30 community service projects in the past two seasons. The team was also strong in the classroom as it had a combined 3.29 grade-point average in the fall 2009 semester. |
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