Another View
The national spotlight is now on downtown Minneapolis, where the first of two conference postseason tournaments begins this week. Unlike many who might argue otherwise, the first-ever sellout of the Big 10 WBB postseason tournament is much more than Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
Six Minnesota-born Black players on Big Ten rosters also are participating this week out of 73 Black players total:
ILL – Adelia McKenzie (Park Center), 5-10 junior guard – scored at least 10 points 16 times this season
NEB – Kendall Coley (Minneapolis), 6-2 junior guard/forward – 2.3 ppg
WIS – Ronnie Porter (St. Paul), 5-4 soph guard – 10.1 ppg, 4.3 asst, 5.8 rpg
MIN – Amaya Battle (Hopkins), 5-11 soph guard – 11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg; Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie), 6-0 redshirt frosh – 3.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg; Kennedy Klick (Brooklyn Park), 5-11 frosh guard – injured, out for season
Wisconsin 6-4 soph forward Serah Williams leads the Badgers in scoring and rebounding. She had 30 points in a Feb. 20 win at Minnesota. Her teammate Porter is second on the team in scoring, leads her squad in assists, and is second in the Big Ten in steals.
“Ronnie is my dog,” said Williams as she spoke of Porter. “We both are competitive. It’s just a really good balance.”
The Badgers and Minnesota are the conference’s youngest squads. Wisconsin Coach Marisa Moseley, one of two Black HC in the league, told us, “We knew that it was going to be a process throughout the season, and for us to be playing some of our best basketball here towards the end, I think that is what you’re looking for.”
Northwestern Associate HC Tangela Smith is among the 29 Black assistant coaches in this week’s tournament. “I think it’s good to see Black and brown faces in our positions,” she noted. “I believe it’s super important” for Black and POC youth in attendance at the games to see her and other Black coaches in action, she said.
“If there’s something that they want to do in the future, I feel this is great because they see it right up front, up close,” said Smith.
Conference officials predict that more than 109,000 fans will attend the five-day event, scheduled for March 6-10 at the downtown basketball arena. Hopefully, this number will also include Black fans.
Porter has a large family and many friends who are expected to be there, as well as Holloway’s folk and supporters.
“Growing up, Niamya didn’t get the opportunity to see Black and brown girls on the court,” noted her mother Nolana Holloway. Having the tourney in town is an added bonus for many reasons, she added.
“You have to have money to be able to travel” to attend out-of-town tournaments, she pointed out. “It’s important for people to see that we [Black people] show up” for such big-scale sporting events.
The Terrell Battle family and friends also will be there to see his daughter Amaya this week, and his son Jamison when he comes to town in another week—he plays for Ohio State.
“There’s a lot of young ladies and young men who never got a chance to experience what a real college tournament is like,” said Terrell. “Being here opens it up for people to come and experience this.”
Minnesota Sports and Events (MSE) are the local co-organizer of both Big Ten tournaments. “There’s so much going on downtown for everyone,” said Andrea Graham, the tourney’s co-executive director. “All the ancillary events are free and open to the public.”
“Yes, the games are important,” said MSE President/CEO Wendy Blackshaw. “But what’s more important is what we can give back to the community.”