It was late last spring when I first encountered an opportunity to attend a K-State women's basketball game. That evening, I was in the midst of a discussion about the team that with a group of people I had just met.
Those people noticed that I struggled to contribute in the discussion, making it obvious I knew little about the team, and therefore even more obvious that I, along with most of the student body, wasn't keen on women's basketball.
Then came the invitation.
Instinctively, I gave a weak excuse as to why I would be unable to attend a game, along with a weak promise that someday I would take them up on the offer.
Little did I know at the time that after one year and one season of covering the team they were so fond of, I too would be advocating the women's basketball team to others.
Life has a funny way of doing thing's like that.
It is quite amazing that this team is not celebrated throughout the K-State community. While covering head coach Deb Patterson's squad for the Collegian, this year I found myself hooked after only a few games.
It was downright incredible to watch the prolific play of Shalee Lehning as she exhausted the stats sheets each night, leaving a permanent mark on the program after her jersey was retired and lifted to the rafters on March 1.
Lehning broke a Big 12 Conference and K-State record this season when she recorded her fifth career triple-double against Colorado. She also set a career record with 900 assists during her Wildcat tenure, highlighted by a single season record of 229 this past year.
Yes, the loyal fans of women's basketball celebrated her, but it is a shame that during her senior year, Bramlage only averaged 4,400 fans per game to witness her final season at K-State.
Compare that to the 2007-08 season, when Michael Beasley wore the Wildcat jersey and an average of 12,529 fans packed the "Octagon of Doom" each night.
Yet as those 12,529 fans were jumping at the opportunity to see Beasley, who only used K-State as a one-year springboard to the NBA, Lehning and the women's team captured a Big 12 title in his shadow.
"The team always comes first," said Joshua Kinder, sports editor of the Manhattan Mercury. "It's not about them. They are not chasing the riches of the NBA. They're chasing titles. They want championships."
But just one year ago, I too was blind to the idea of women's basketball. See, I was among the myriad of students and sports fans throughout Manhattan that leave the women's team in the rearview mirror of the bandwagon of men's athletics.
Gradually, as I covered the women's basketball team, I realized that these athletes are just as entertaining to watch as their men counterparts.
No, they may not have the ability to dunk a basketball, but when it comes down to the pure fundamental ability to play the sport, it is ludicrous to claim they are sub par.
Because they don't have the athleticism and speed of the men, they have to be fundamentally sound.
"The fundamentals, I think, are the biggest difference," Kinder said. "They have better passers, better shooters, better footwork, and that's because they have to be. They can't rely on the athleticism."
It is good basketball.
Not only are they more fundamentally sound than the men's team, but they are playing for each other. They play for K-State. We should embrace that as students because we too are K-State. These players are not one-and-done athletes.
Deb Patterson's team will return next season looking to reach its ninth consecutive post-season appearance, most likely playing in front of a one-third capacity crowd. If the K-State community says they celebrate success, then let's keep to our word and support the women's basketball program next season.
No comments:
Post a Comment