MU sales pitch has ring of truth

The Journal staff

Jim Jabir didn't have a lot to sell when he went after his first recruiting class.

What could the new coach say about a program that hadn't had a winning season since 1983-'84 and had only five winning seasons in the 16 years women's basketball had been a varsity sport at Marquette University?

Jabir was on the way to a 7-20 record in 1990-'91, his first season.

Tradition? Traditional losers.

But he could sell Marquette's academic reputation. And more important, he could sell his enthusiasm.

"He was so enthusiastic," said Kerri Reaves, who was an all-state player in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, when Jabir came calling on a recruiting trip. "He was very young and very enthusiastic."

Christine Kennedy was an all-stater at Eagen (Minn.) Rosemount.

"Jim came into my home and said, `I want to build a nationally recognized program and go to the NCAA tournament,' " Kennedy said. "I thought, `Oh, sure. Sounds good.' "

Lori Goerlitz was the Wisconsin player of the year in her senior year at Oshkosh North.

"It was the whole enthusiasm of turning the program around," she said. "I wanted to be part of something that was going to be great some day."

Sold on what could happen instead of what had happened, the three high school stars came to Marquette in Jabir's first recruiting class.

Now they're seniors, the first four-year class in Marquette's history to have never played on a losing team.

What Jabir talked about did happen: Marquette went to the National Women's Invitation Tournament two years ago. Last year, the Warriors, as they were known then, went to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.

This year, the Golden Eagles will take a 16-11 overall record and 9-3 conference record into the Great Midwest tournament starting Thursday at the Arena. Marquette, seeded third, will play Dayton (5-21, 3-9 Great Midwest) at 5 p.m. Thursday in a first-round game.

The three seniors have had a lot to do with that success.

Reaves, who was recently named to the all-conference first team, has scored 1,134 points and grabbed 592 rebounds in her career.

Kennedy, named to the all- conference second team, ranks second in Marquette history with 1,525 points and has pulled down 1,045 rebounds.

Goerlitz, also named to the all-conference second team, has scored 1,093 points and holds the school records for three-point goals in a game (7), season (85) and career (217).

"They've meant everything to the school and the turnaround," Jabir said. "They're responsible for what's happened here.

"When I took this job, I told {athletic director} Bill Cords that I wanted to be in the NCAA tournament in four years. If we didn't sign those three kids, it wouldn't have happened.

"If it wasn't for those three kids, a lot of the other kids we recruited later wouldn't have come because there wouldn't be anything to come to."

For the three seniors, the team's four successful years came as no surprise. After all, Jabir told them it would happen.

"I guess it's kind of what I expected," Goerlitz said.

"When I came in as a freshman, he told us we were going to the NCAA tournament. That's all I thought of. I thought we were going to win games and get to the tournament. We did that."

They also established a winning tradition at a program that had little experience with winning before they arrived.

"I think what we've accomplished in four years is pretty incredible," Kennedy said. "Not a lot of schools have been able to do what we've done, and I'm proud of what we've been able to do."

But they haven't done everything.

"This season hasn't gone the way I wanted it to," Goerlitz said, "but hopefully we can end it by getting back to the NCAA tournament."

The Golden Eagles' inconsistent play this season has been frustrating to Jabir and his players. Going into the conference tournament, however, the third- seeded Eagles have won five of their last six games, including a victory on the road over conference champion Memphis. They finished their season by knocking De Paul out of a tie for first place.

"We want to win the conference tournament," Kennedy said. "That's something we've never been able to do. We've lost in the championship game or been knocked off in the semifinals.

"Winning the tournament is something we really want to do, especially now that it's on our home court."

Copyright 1995
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