Signings: 2021 Class

Ignatius L Hoops

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It's signing day:


Katie Borowicz has another season to go at Roseau High School. This will be her fourth as the starting point guard on Roseau’s girls’ basketball team, her sixth with the varsity. Expectations up near the Canadian border are high.

But, in some ways, Borowicz already feels like a Gopher.

Borowicz is expected to sign a national letter of intent Wednesday to play for Lindsay Whalen at the University of Minnesota next season. She should be part of a three-person class that includes Watertown-Mayer wing Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux, a physical, 6-2 power forward at Wayne (Mich.) Memorial High School.

Even up in Roseau, with her senior season about to start, Borowicz is keeping track of the Gophers. She fell in love with the staff and the team during her official visit late last winter, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Since the team started practicing this fall the Gophers coaches have been sending out practice film and weekly updates that have Borowicz eager to get to campus.
 




whats the story on Alanna Micheaux?
 


whats the story on Alanna Micheaux?


Kent Youngblood:

But a third expected member of the incoming class, Alanna Micheaux of Wayne Memorial (Mich.) High, has yet to sign her NLI. A 6-2 forward, she is a four-star recruit, the No. 75 player overall in the country and the No. 9 power forward according to ProspectNation.com.
 



Very excited about this class and the class of 22. I also think this year’s team can be better than last year. I think future is looking bright!
 




MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen has announced the addition of three student-athletes that have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2021-22 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Katie Borowicz, Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux.

"I am thrilled to announce our 2021 Gopher Women's basketball recruiting class," Whalen said. "This trio brings us three extremely unselfish players who are willing to fill whatever role they need to in order to bring continued success to our program. They bring us dynamic skills on the court, as well as team first personalities off of it. They will be additions our fans will be thrilled to watch compete for four years at the University of Minnesota."


A native of Roseau, Minn., Borowicz (buh-RAH-vitch) currently attends Roseau High School. A four-star recruit according to ESPN, she is the 98th-ranked player overall in the class and the No. 19 point guard. The 5'7 Borowicz is a three-time all-state honoree, including this past season as she averaged 31.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 steals and 6.0 steals per. On the varsity team since seventh grade, she has scored over 2,000 points in her career and reached 1,000 by her sophomore season. Borowicz has helped Roseau to a state title in 2017, a runner-up finish in the following season and a spot in the semifinals in 2019. On the AAU circuit, she plays for Minnesota Stars.

In addition to basketball, Borowicz is also a two-time all-conference honoree in volleyball and finished eighth at state in the pole vault in 2016.

"Katie is a point guard who has tremendous court vision as well as an ability to score," Whalen said. "She put up elite statistics during her time at Roseau High School and I am excited for her to wear the Maroon and Gold for her home state."


Hailing from Watertown, Minn., Czinano (sih-NON-oh) is a 6'0 guard who attends Watertown-Mayer High School. She's a three-time all-conference honoree and was named all-state this past season as she averaged 21 points, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists per contest. Czinano has helped her school to a pair of conference championships, a section championship and a third-place finish at the 2017 state tournament. Her AAU team is the Minnesota Fury, which won back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020 and finished second at the 2019 UAA Nationals.

In addition to basketball, Czinano has earned five letters each in soccer and track and field. She was a two-time all-conference honoree and a 2018 all-state honorable mention in soccer, and on the track she has finished second in her conference in the 200 meters and 4x200 relay.

Czinano will be the second member of her family to play in the Big Ten as her sister, Monika, is currently a junior at Iowa.

"Maggie is another home grown talent with championship level experience," Whalen said. "Her ability to play on the wing, as well as some stretch 4, set her apart for us during her recruiting process."


Micheaux (mih-SHOW) comes to the Gophers from Wayne, Mich., and Wayne Memorial High School. A 6'2 forward, she is a four-star recruit, the No. 75 player overall in the country and the No. 9 power forward according to ProspectNation.com.

Micheaux is coming off a junior season in which she was named first team all-state and all-region as she averaged 26.4 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per contest while shooting 64 percent from the floor. She helped lead her team to district and regional championships and an appearance in the Final Four in her first two seasons at Wayne and a third district championship a year ago before COVID-19 brought the season to an end. She plays AAU for 1Nation Detroit.

"Alanna comes to us from Detroit with an ability to score, defend and rebound the basketball," Whalen said. "Averaging a double-double last season in high school, we were impressed with how willing she was to do the little things necessary to help her team win."
 

I’m really loving the direction that Whalen is heading with her recruiting. Can’t wait for these 3 to get to campus.
 

Can’t wait to see what Borowicz can do for the gophers. She’s from my neck of the woods.
 

Can’t wait to see what Borowicz can do for the gophers. She’s from my neck of the woods.
I can’t wait either! The team I coach moved back into her section and it was really fun to watch her play at Concordia in MoorheAd in March.
 



Looking forward to seeing the new talent on the court and what they bring to the team!! Go, Gophers!!
 

Yes ! Looks like we have a number of new talented players. I hope the coaching staff can continue to develop our bigs so we have an improved strength in the paint.
 


Maggie Czinano

The Watertown-Mayer girls basketball team is making the most of their time on the court, enjoying every minute they spend together.

“It has been so fun, I’ve loved it,” Maggie Czinano said of the start to the season. “We have played hard together as a team because you never know when a game is going to be your last game, so you have to play each game like it’s your last.”

Not only are they having fun, the Royals are seeing a lot of success to start 2021, going 4-0 over the first 2 weeks of play.
[...]

The only slight bump in the road on the way to a 79-48 victory was a little bit of foul trouble in the first half. Yet the Royals still managed to score 51 points in the opening 18 minutes.

“Our shots were falling tonight, the touch was there,” said Czinano. “We didn’t stop attacking the rim even though we were in foul trouble. We didn’t shy away and that made a big impact.”

The Royals got contributions up and down the lineup as four players reached double figures – Czinano (33), Penegor (11), Carly Killian (10), Mercedes Burmeister (10) – and six more players also got on the scoreboard – Bella Barden (5), Madelynn Onell (3), Julia Otto (2), Eleanor Rundell (2),Mallory Czinano (2), Allison Kind (1).
 


Lets hope she can provide something up front next year, maybe backing up Kadi at the 4?
Its hard to keep going young and younger, a solid grad transfer or an experienced kid in transfer portal would go a long way. I feel length is what we need like a Kadi, Bello etc., a lean kid that can get out and defend and rebound.
The 3 position, which in my opinion is the most dynamic spot in girls basketball, is what we lack going into next year. Ideally Kadi would be a 3, we'll see if she grows into that spot. If so, then a long, lean 4 like Alana would be ideal fit. Its hard to tell right now if as a freshman she will contribute, my intel tells me she is athletic, but she relies on her athleticism rather then fundamentals and at the BIG level that will involve a transition phase.
 



Its hard to keep going young and younger, a solid grad transfer or an experienced kid in transfer portal would go a long way. I feel length is what we need like a Kadi, Bello etc., a lean kid that can get out and defend and rebound.

My dream transfer this offseason would be Ayoka Lee (6’6” center) - another Minnesotan coming back to the state. I think we’ve got a great young group of guards and are very thin / undersized in the post. Ayoka is a redshirt sophomore at Kansas State out of Byron, MN and was Big 12 Freshman of the Year her redshirt freshman season. She signed the fall before Lindsay was hired, and I’d like to see some posts with size to team up with our other options.
 


I believe Minnesota will have some transfers in and out. I’m very interested to see how this post season will look.
 




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