David Thorpe Quotations

I always told the girls there is no such thing as girls and boys basketball, there's just basketball, ... I told them to be physical and block out. There is only one way to play the game. One of the reasons is hopefully I was non-sexist. I taught them to play the game the same way I taught the boys. We were one of the first teams to play up-and-down, in-your-face defense. I used the same approach with the girls as I did with the boys' team.

It's fun to watch them play on ESPN. I have a girl (Krista VandeVenter) who is the center for the Iowa Hawkeyes,

I told her not to look at her college basketball career, but at her earning power when she got out, ... She went to Harvard and is Harvard's second-leading scorer in its history. They made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, which is good for an Ivy League school.

It motivated the players to have women role models. They could go to the Target Center and watch the (WNBA's Minnesota) Lynx play, ... They could have heroes like Rebecca Lobo and those other great UConn players. They wanted to be like them. As a coach you just give them the skills needed for the opportunity to make it some day.

It is important for parents and guardians to not underestimate the gravity of the situation. Overweight backpacks can result in numerous short-term and chronic health concerns,

I've had girls play at Missouri, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Michigan State and Kansas State, ... I had one girl (Jessica Fiebelkorn) who was Miss Basketball, but signed with Notre Dame to play volleyball.

The biggest change is the kids get so much more respect, ... In 1983, kids who were not real athletic or big could get by. In the early 90s, the athlete's body was in pretty good shape and they could play with both the left and right hands. The kids took pride in their game. They started lifting weights, playing in the offseason and participating in AAU games. I had 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 centers.

I had so many Division-I coaches who would call me and ask me for a point guard, for example, ... I had double digit girls to play college basketball.

She helped me keep things in perspective - on a more even keel, ... She made me understand that basketball was a small part of what we have going.

We were ranked (two or three times) in the Top 10 of the USA Today poll and we were featured on High School Sports America. We had gone seven years without a loss at home and they did a special on us,