Grace Coughlin Makes a 'Golden' College Choice

Grace Coughlin, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard from , has committed to the University of Minnesota women's basketball team. The Edina resident averaged 6.6 points per game as a freshman as she helped lead the Red Knights to a 26-6 mark, finishing third in Class 3A state tournament.

Coughlin talked to Patch Thursday evening about her decision and the upcoming season. She said there are plenty of things to like about her future school.

"I decided to commit to the Gophers today because I love the coaches and the coaching staff," Coughlin said. "I love the recruits that they have had commit in the last year, like Mikayla Bailey (senior from Osseo), Shayne Mullaney (senior from Eden Prairie), Jackie Johnson (senior from Eden Prairie) and Kenisha Bell (sophomore from Bloomington Kennedy). I love the school. It is a great school. I feel really pleased to have the opportunity to play for The Gophers. I think that it is really exciting that I get to stay home and play in the Big Ten and represent Minnesota. I am looking forward to it."

North Tartan AAU coach Bill Larson thinks Minnesota is getting a very special player.

"She is a pure point guard," said Larson. "She is a consistent and 100 percent pure point guard. She controls the ball and controls the tempo and is an extremely intelligent basketball player. I have had a lot of point guards, but this one is one of those really true, true kids that can really fill that position at the Division I level."

Coughlin played with most of the girls on the North Tartan AAU program since moving from Midland, MI two years ago. She admits having a lot of familiar faces on the current and future Minnesota rosters played a substantial role in her decision.

"North Tartan is a great program," said Coughlin. "We are all like a family and I think that it is really important on a team to have chemistry and I feel that we already have chemistry. I am looking forward to the next few years when I get to play at the 'U’ with those girls, because I love them on the court and I love them off the court. They are really nice people and I am looking forward to it."

"I know Mikayla and Shayne pretty well from North Tartan," she said. "I look up to them. They are on the Elite team, so I am really excited to play with them. I have played with Kenisha for a year. She is my age and she is a great player and is extremely athletic. I am looking forward to being her point guard and just giving her the ball and creating plays for her in college."

Coughlin thinks playing with these same girls in college will help her make an easier transition at Minnesota, as they "have played with each other and have chemistry already."

"I think that we will have an edge than the other colleges who we play against in the Big Ten and I am looking forward to it," Coughlin said. "I think it will be pretty neat if we could possibly take Minnesota back to the Final Four, where they were when Lindsay Whalen was there, with (former North Tartan and current freshman guard) Rachel Banham, Shayne and Mikayla Bailey, Jackie Johnson Kenisha and me."

Coughlin committed so early that her recruitment hadn't really completely taken off. She had offers from Minnesota and UW-Green Bay and had gone on visits to Iowa and Wisconsin, but offers had not yet come pouring in.

"I didn’t have offers from either of them, but they were interested and I had relationships with both of them," Coughlin said.

Larson feels that there were several major schools that were hoping to get in the mix for Coughlin.

"She had a wonderful summer, especially at Nike Nationals and that was really a big trigger in front of all those colleges," said Larson. "There was a lot of talk from big schools throughout the country. She felt comfortable with the way that the 'U' handled a lot of things. They were really professional and showed a lot of attention to her. She said that this is really where she wants to be."

Coughlin said the people closest to her were excited about the news of her college choice.

"I have been thinking about this for a long time and where I wanted to go to school,” said Coughlin. “My friends are happy. Not many of them know, actually. Only my close ones know right now. My family is really happy that I get to stay around. I am a family person and I am excited that they get to see me play and they are happy. I have little sisters, Olivia and Allie (who also play for the North Tartan program), and they are excited that they can come and watch me play when I am in college."

Coughlin admits that there is a bit of a weight off her shoulders with the decision.

"Yes. It is nice because now I can just go play and not have to worry about anything," said Coughlin. "Since I committed, people are like ‘You can just relax and enjoy basketball and not have any worries,’ but I feel like I have to work even harder to stay up there and prepare myself for the next level, so I can’t really relax."

Coughlin has high expectations for her high school team this season.

"I think that we are going to be pretty good," she said. "All of our girls have been working hard over at 43 Hoops (training facility) training. Everyone is looking really good. We lost a few seniors, but we have a lot more chemistry this year and I am expecting good things."

Coughlin hopes those good things will mean a return trip to the Class 3A state tournament in March.