Women's basketball: U makes most of local talent

Don't be mistaken: Gophers women's basketball coach Pam Borton is still recruiting on a national level, intent on getting elite players who can return her program to the Final Four.

But a snapshot of Borton's signings today on the first day of the early signing period would give the impression that her focus is exclusively on closing the state's borders to rival recruiters. Minnesota signed four state high school players to national letters of intent today: twin sisters Brianna and Nicole Mastey from Becker, wing Kiara Buford of St. Paul Central and forward Jackie Voigt of Park Cottage Grove.

What's more, the Gophers have verbal commitments from two in-state players who are currently juniors, and another commitment from a prep sophomore. That's seven commitments from Minnesota high school players, zero from anywhere else.

Borton said appearances are deceiving, because she is recruiting top players nationally. But she is more than happy to take Minnesotans who fall into the category of elite players, and she said the four players signed today fit that definition.

"We're going to recruit Minnesota kids if they can play at a national level, and help us win a national championship," she said. "We know the type of kids we need to win a championship, and we'll go wherever we need to get those kids."

You have to look no further than last year's recruiting class, which netted 6-4 forward Kristen Dockery from South Bend, Ind., and guard Kay Sylva from North Idaho Junior College.

It just so happens that Borton believes there are currently plenty of national-caliber players within the state's boundaries. The Gophers have verbal commitments for 2009 from 6-6 Amber Dvorak of Hinckley and 6-4 Katie Loberg of Princeton. And 5-7 point guard Shakila Boler, a sophomore from Bloomington Kennedy, has already made a verbal commitment.

Borton said she's been surprised at the depth of talent in the state. She said she expects between 18 and 23 Minnesota high school players to sign Division I tenders between the fall and spring signing periods.

"I realize that there's a lot of kids in-state, and our goal is to keep the best kids at home," she said.

She appears well on the way to doing just that.

• Gophers men's coach Tubby Smith will not publicly discuss signees until Thursday.