Goree Specializes in Positive Transformations
10/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Steve Kornacki
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan women's basketball forward Cyesha Goree is all about positive transformations.
Last year, she put in the hard conditioning work necessary along with the willpower of a proper diet to go from being a non-factor to becoming the Wolverines' leading rebounder. Goree lost 20 pounds and scored 12.1 points per game with 9.3 rebounds after playing less than three minutes per game as sophomore.
And two weeks ago, she contributed to the renovation of a Habitat for Humanity house in nearby Ypsilanti, Mich. She knows a thing or two about that, having grown up in a Habitat for Humanity house that she helped paint and work on when she was an eight-year-old girl in Grand Rapids, Mich.
"It was nice," Goree said, "growing up building a house from the ground up to two stories through the Habitat. They worked with us, and it took a good year to finish. It was the house we built, and it was really nice to work with other people and learn how to build, paint and do all the work in and out. And we lived in the house 12 years, but when we all grew up my mom sold the house and moved out west.
"So, when I heard about this community service, I said, 'I've worked with Habitat.' It was a house that was already there, but we just kind of remodeled it. When we got there, the inside was done. So we worked outside putting up panels and stuff. Yeah, I'm good with a hammer. It's pretty special. It's giving back to the community, and the fact that I had a Habitat house, I know what relief it is to have a home. And in order for me to give back was really nice."
Goree, 6-foot-3 with an angular frame that provides a long wing span, will team with senior classmate Nicole Elmblad of St. Ignace, Mich., to return the Wolverines' top two rebounders. Elmblad, 5-foot-11, averaged 7.6 rebounds and 11.4 points last season.
"It's exciting for me to have both those players returning," said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. "Cyesha came off an outstanding year last year. She came in really and didn't play a lot prior to last year and finished the season as a second-team all-conference player. She's a driven kid. She's always in the gym. She wants to be better. So I'm excited to see with a year under her belt of experience how she's going to perform this year.
"And Nicole Elmblad is just a special, special kid. Last year, she was named an Academic All-American. I think she's received one grade under an A (she has a 3.94 grade-point average in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience). Not only is she driven on the basketball court but also in the classroom. And she is our leader. She's just tremendous in everything she does. She sets an example each and every single day, and she plays extremely hard."
Barnes Arico believes Elmblad and Goree will continue to be a force again this year for Michigan, which was 20-14 last season and finished tied for sixth in the conference at 8-8.
"Last year, we really developed a chemistry for rebounding together," said Elmblad, "and it's exciting to go into this season and develop that even more. On the boards, I feel that she's just a rebounding monster. And it's fun to play with somebody who has that high motor and is just able to get on the glass like that.
"Rebounding is just about effort. And to have both of us returning, that's what we embrace. I think it's going to be helpful for our younger kids to see that and know that rebounding is just about 100-percent effort all the time. We're going to help them develop that motor and also work together to support each other."
Goree was asked how they work together under the boards.
"We fight for rebounds, and sometimes we run into each other," Goree said with a laugh. "If I have a bigger girl, and she's a really good rebounder, I'll box her out. That's when Nicole will go chase the rebound down. And if I have a girl that I'm more athletic than and can run around, then Nicole will box out her man, and I'll pull down the rebound."
Goree is capable of dominant play. She scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds last season in a 70-63 win at Illinois. That kind of game seemed out of the question after her sophomore year, but she put in the conditioning work to make it possible.
"I stayed at Michigan during the spring and summer for conditioning," Goree said, "and got myself stronger by lifting three times a week. I lost a good 20 pounds."
She also had to come back from surgery on her left knee, and said that the rehabilitation for that complemented her overall conditioning as well. She realized significant cardiovascular and strength improvements.
"I want to build off what I did last year -- be a strong rebounder, hustle, go for loose balls and take charges -- get more in the way of intangibles," Goree said. "We have a lot of great post players in the Big Ten, and if I can stop them inside that will help our team become better.
"This team is really hard working, and we're looking forward to this year."
