Small town girl takes initiative
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
It all started with a tape and a dream.
It's the usual story of a 6-foot-2 girl from small town Wyoming with a dream of spending four years in northern Indiana. But none of the recruiters wanted that small town girl, so she had to take some small town initiative to let the world know what she could do.
Well, maybe that's not a usual story, but for freshman forward Kelsey Wicks that very story landed her in the middle of her dream.
"It was my dream to go to Notre Dame," the Gillette, Wyo. native said. "I was like, `I'm just a little girl from Wyoming,' so I sent them a tape and they started recruiting me ... That's how it started, with a dream and a tape."
Her senior year in high school, Wicks knew where she was going to college, even if her future choice wasn't quite aware that she even played basketball. While other schools were recruiting her, and other players struggled with their college choice, Wicks kept her answer simple.
"No matter what school was recruiting me, I always said Notre Dame is my first choice even when they weren't recruiting me," she said. "I was actually considering just coming here and walking on if I didn't get a scholarship; I wanted to play so bad."
So Wicks sent a tape to the coaching staff, in effect saying, "Hey, look at me."
"We hadn't heard of her," said head coach Muffet McGraw. "After watching the film we said, `Hey, she's pretty good.'"
And with that, Wicks found herself on the way to Indiana.
Following the Irish loss to Connecticut on Monday, however, Wicks went from a small town Wyoming girl to an integral part of a growing Irish team. The forward stepped into her own with a season-high 16 points, leading the Notre Dame effort.
Coming in with five other talented freshmen, the role Wicks would play on the team was unclear. With eyes turned first to South Bend native Jackie Batteast, and then Teresa Borton and Katy Flecky, Wicks seemed to be a solid bench player.
"Kelsey we saw as a player that would be coming off the bench," McGraw said. "We really weren't sure what spot she was going to play because she and Jackie are kind of similar in the roles that they play."
But after the Connecticut game, McGraw saw that Wicks brought with her something she hadn't seen since Beth Morgan hit the court — a real spark.
"[Kelsey is] willing to be the one that steps up to say, `Give me the ball. I want to win this game and I'm going to take over to try to do it,'" McGraw said. And although Wicks has found her 3-point shot and stepped up for the Irish on the court, it's not her skills that set her apart. Although she played all five positions in high school, she's not as versatile in college, but she still makes her presence known.
"At this level, I wouldn't say she's a versatile player," McGraw said. "I think the biggest thing with Kelsey is that she's fearless. She's so determined. She doesn't really care. There was a game where she knocked somebody over off the ball and she kind of smiled as she picked her up."
Those kinds of stories seem to fit with the Wyoming native who makes it quite clear that she's not from anywhere near South Bend. She's the only player, and probably the only Notre Dame student, to laugh that the best part about being a student at Notre Dame is the gorgeous weather.
"She's the kind of person that the team kind of laughs with and at," McGraw said. "I think she responds well to that because she's from Wyoming, which is such a whole different place than anywhere else."
That laid-back personality brings with it an ability to stay cool on the court. Even though the Irish were facing off against the top-ranked team in the country on Monday, Wicks looked like she was back at home playing in front of her high school fans.
"I think if you say to yourself, `Oh my gosh, we're playing the No. 1 team in the country,' they become an entity and that's always harder to beat than a person," Wicks said. "I think the point of every game is to say, `I'm coming in, I'm matched up against this person.' I'm going to help my team do this and ultimately it comes down to how well you play for your team."
And for Wicks, what team that is has taken on all kinds of forms. In addition to the once-a-vacation "Wicks family shoot-out" in the driveway of their home, Wicks found a spot as a high jumper on Campbell County High School's track team (she was a four-time state champion) and the school's first state championship golf team. Although she was a multiple-sport star, basketball is still her first love.
"I love basketball," she said. "At basketball, I worked hardest."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, January 24, 2002
