SEATTLE – Perhaps they should play ”O Canada” along with the Star Spangled Banner prior to today’s Washington women’s basketball game.
There will be plenty of connections with our neighbors to the north when the Huskies play host to Oregon at 7 p.m. at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Four Oregon players hail from Canada, and Ducks head coach Bev Smith is in the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, and is the former Canadian National Team coach. As for the Huskies, starting frontcourt players Andrea Plouffe and Breanne Watson are both Canadian.
Watson admits that playing Oregon holds just a little more meaning for her because of the Canadian link.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” she said. “I love playing Oregon. And the fact that they beat us last time, I think that makes us even more pumped.”
Watson, a Richmond, British Columbia native, knows two of the Ducks well. She and guard Kaela Chapdelaine of Okotoks, Alberta, were members of the Canadian World University Games team last summer. Oregon forward Carolyn Ganes of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was in the tryout camp to make that team. The other Canadians on Oregon’s team are guard Tamika Nurse of Hamilton, Ontario and forward Yadili Okwumabua of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
And at the forefront of Oregon’s Canadian movement is Smith. The Salmon Arm, B.C., native was the Canadian Olympic coach from 1997-2001, a position now held by Smith’s former Oregon assistant, Allison McNeill.
As a player, Smith was a two-time All-American at Oregon, led Canada to a silver medal at the 1999 Pan-Am Games, fourth place at the 1984 Olympics and 10th place at the 2000 Olympics. She is a member of the Canadian National Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.
“What I know about her is she was an all-world player,” Watson said. “She totally ran our national teams. She’s held in very high standard in the eyes of young Canadian women. She’s definitely a role model.”
Plouffe, an Edmonton, Alberta native, said she doesn’t have as strong a connection to Smith or any of the Oregon players, and says that today’s game doesn’t mean any more to her than any other game.
“I know Bree has some connection to them,” Plouffe said. “I know a couple of the players on the team, but for me, I’m going to compete each game the same. I don’t really have any intense connection with them.”
The connection has worked out well for both teams. Chapdelaine is the starting point guard for Oregon and Ganes and Nurse are both key reserves. Plouffe is Washington’s second-leading scorer and Watson is one of the Huskies’ top rebounders.
Plouffe was not recruited by Oregon, but Watson took a recruiting trip to Eugene, only it was for volleyball. She said she didn’t meet Smith there, but did run into a couple of her assistants who are now involved with the Canadian national program.
Washington coach June Daugherty said she’s not sure if Smith’s background gives her an edge when it comes to recruiting Canadian players, but she says it can’t hurt.
“She’s done a great job with it,” Daugherty said. “Being Canadian, a former Olympian, and a big name there, I’m sure that helps. Her former staff is now the Olympic program staff, so they have a pretty good network there. They’ve been working with those kids for so long, through the development program. It’s good for them, and we’ve enjoyed the benefit of some Canadian players with Bree, Dre (Plouffe) and Amber Hall.”
Ultimately, Watson doesn’t think the simple fact that Smith is a Canadian legend gives her an edge when it comes to getting the best Canadian players.
“I think it comes down to the player,” Watson said. “Some people look at who they want to play with, some look at the coaches, some look at where the school is. Everyone looks for what’s right for them, and for some it might be the coach, but that’s not everything.”
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