Allison McNeill hopes to borrow a page from the London Olympics' promotional playbook for the upcoming years.

"Inspire a generation," McNeill, head coach of Canada's senior women's team, said this week from Vancouver.

"That was sort of a theme (Great Britain) had for the Olympics and I'm really hoping that will happen, especially with women's soccer and basketball.

"We definitely have the programming in place."

McNeill, longtime coach of Canada's national women's basketball team, will be in Saskatoon this weekend for the annual University of Saskatchewan women's basketball brunch.

Female sport, including women's basketball, has enjoyed a bit of an upswing in Canada following success at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. McNeill wants to take advantage of that.

"The women had a great Olympics," she said. "For us to even be there and a lot of people saw it, and to get some publicity, that was pretty big because we don't get a lot."

McNeill, a recipient of the prestigious Geoff Gowan coaching award, is considered a Canadian hoops icon. As a valued resource for the sport of basketball and coaching community, McNeill has dedicated over 30 years of her life to coaching female basketball.

To read the entire articel by Darren Zary, from The Star Phoenix, click here.

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