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St. Cloud State University
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Sho-time taking on new role
Former NCC Freshman of the Year, Andrea Shogren has seen her statistics drop, but she's carving out a new niche for the women's basketball team.
By Adam Czech
Published:
Monday, February 10, 2003
Media Credit: charles martin
Andrea Shogren, a junior guard for the SCSU women�s basketball team, has seen her role dramatically change since her freshman season in 2000-01. After being named Freshman of the Year, she�s taken on the task of being more of a role player.
When Andrea Shogren came to SCSU in 2000, she had no idea that she would be named Co-NCC Freshman of the Year with Brenda Davis of South Dakota State.
Actually, Shogren wasn't even sure if she'd be traveling with the team. The 5-10 junior guard from Moorhead, Minn., was like any other freshman on her own for the first time: scared and confused. There was even a call home to her parents to question what she was doing at SCSU.
But Shogren's father, Paul, knew a thing or two about the pressure and anxiety of playing college basketball. He was an All-American in basketball at North Dakota State. He knew his daughter - who was a four-time letter winner and three-time team MVP in high school - belonged at SCSU and would do fine. But Freshman of the Year?
"That was something I really didn't expect," Shogren said. "To have that kind of season was nothing I ever expected. It was fun, and making it to the national tournament was something I'll never forget."
Shogren started 19 of 30 games for the Huskies in her freshman season, averaging seven points and swiping 35 steals. She also canned 29 three-point field goals and dished out 31 assists.
Shogren's sophomore season saw her scoring average drop to 5.7 points per game, but she still started 23 of 27 games for SCSU.
But this year Shogren has only started nine of 21 games and her scoring average has fallen to 4.5 ppg. One year ago, she averaged 23.1 minutes per game. That number has dropped to 18.2 this season.
It's safe to say that Shogren's role with the Huskies has changed since her arrival. Now she's a veteran on an otherwise young team. Much like her parents were there for her when she had her doubts about SCSU, Shogren is now someone that the younger players on the team turn to for guidance.
"She's a junior now," SCSU head coach Lori Ulferts said about Shogren's current role. "She doesn't need to be told what to do anymore. Now she's a big help with the younger players on the team."
Of course Shogren would like to be the one to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds every night. What player doesn't? However, the shots have not been dropping like they were her freshman season.
"It's maybe not gone the way that I would have liked it to, but I've taken a different role than I'm used to this year," Shogren said.
Also, don't expect to see any pouting from Shogren about the cut in playing time.
"It's disappointing, but coach is going to put the five players out there that she feels are the best," Shogren said. "They've (the coaching staff) done a good job at that. I just work hard in practice and try to encourage everyone to get better.
"If you're not liking the role you're playing you can always go harder until you get to the place where you want to be."
One of the places that Ulferts would like to see Shogren is further up on the scoring list. The eighth-year head coach knows that Shogren is blessed with a great shooting touch, it's just a matter of instilling the confidence in her to use it.
"We actually want her to become more selfish on the offensive end," Ulferts said. "She comes from a great basketball family and is a tremendous shooter. She's already one of our most aggressive defenders and we would like to see more aggression offensively."
Shogren realizes that a drop in her scoring average and minutes played isn't the end of the world. She's still part of a team; a team that is trying to qualify for the Wells Fargo NCC tournament.
"First and foremost we want to get into the conference tournament," she said. "Right now it's not gone the way we've wanted it to but we just need to go for it and have fun. We have seven games left and we want to make them memorable for the seniors."
Ulferts also realizes that life does not begin and end on the basketball court for Shogren, who is a secondary education major at SCSU and an NCC All-Academic selection last year.
"She's extremely bright and she'll be a super teacher," Ulferts said. "She's got her priorities as far as life. She's mature and a dream to coach."
And with a little more than a full season of eligibility left, there's plenty of time for her to find her place higher up on the scoring chart.
