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Wednesday, December 9, 1992
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Guard sets sights on bright future
Continued from Page 9.
When she wanted to play basketball, Sampson would drive out of South Central and play in a safer neighborhood, such as Beverly Hills.
"And if I wanted to play in the local gym," she says, "I wouldn't walk there. I'd always get a ride."
Although she is still adjusting to life in college, she says she is much happier in Lawrence. "Feel more involved here," she says. "Back home, I couldn't get myself involved with anything except for my schoolwork and basketball. It was from home to the gym, and from the gym to home. I didn't want to get involved with the wrong crowd."
Sampson now feels she is beginning to blend in and is doing better in basketball. In her Kansas debut against Minnesota, she scored 11 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range.
The 5-foot-10 freshman has always excelled in basketball. She was named the Los Angeles City Player of the Year last season, as well as the Southern California Player of the Year. She averaged 27 points and 17 rebounds at Washington Prep and was one of the top recruits in the nation. This season she has a good chance to be the Big Eight Conference newcomer of the year.
"I could have gone to any school I wanted to go in the United States," Sampson says, after setting aside her heavy book bag. "But Kansas has the best coach, I think, in the nation. And I know that she's going to look out for my best interests. They're going to get me out of here with a degree. I believe that."
Sampson was heavily recruited by Stanford and by USC, and she says that some college coaches who looked at her saw only athletic potential.
"They only looked at my abilities and wouldn't push me to be the best that I can be," she says. "But I know that at Kansas, Coach Washington and Coach Brown will push me to be the best that I can be academically and athletically."
Assistant coach Renee Brown, an assistant at Stanford in 1991, helped in recruiting Sampson, and Kansas coach Marian Washington says she was ecstatic when she learned of Sampson's commitment to Kansas.
"She is a wonderful, gifted person," Washington says. "I feel very fortunate - not just for us, but for Charise. We can't even imagine a lot of
Sampson says her father helped give her an early start in basketball.
the things she has seen. She truly knows that it's not just about the x's and o's."
"For Christmas all the other girls got dolls, but my father gave me a ball. I was one of the girls who really wanted to play. I played on the playground with the guys all the time. I realized in high school that, if I worked at it, I could get out of L.A."
Although her parents now are divorced, she remains close to her family, especially her stepfather and her grandmother Marian, with whom she has lived for the past four years. "My stepfather takes care of me," Sampson says. "He's like my best friend."
Now, as she sits inside the empty field house, she sets aside her worries from the past and looks forward to the possibilities of the future.
"Ithink about the future all the time," she says, looking up at the retired jersey number of former Kansas basketball player Lynette Woodard. "My goal is to play here, get my degree, hopefully get recruited to play overseas, and then come back here and get another degree. And play in the 1996 Olympics."
Lofty goals for a freshman in college. But not impossible ones. Woodard, a professional basketball player in Japan, earned her degree at Kansas and played on the 1984 Olympic goldmedal team. She gave Sampson her seal of approval.
"She's still a baby, but she has the potential to be a great player." Woodard said.
As Sampson relaxes in the field house, she realizes she has a lot of work to do. She will major in either sports medicine or physical therapy while she learns the point guard position. Sampson was an inside player for most of her high school career.
"The team has really helped out a lot, especially learning the point guard," she says. "They let me know where I'm supposed to go, and they kind of push me."
As for her future after basketball, Sampson says she might try coaching. "I think I'd like to help young people do what I'm doing now," she says. "Maybe I'll move to Beverly Hills or somewhere like that. It depends on how rich I get."
But for now, Sampson's home is Naismith Hall, a home where she can walk down the street to class without worrying or looking over her shoulder at the cars passing by.
"I'm real happy," she says, as she puts the strap of her book bag around her shoulder, heading for home. "I'm still adjusting, but so far so good."
Holly McQueen / KANSAN
Charisse Sampson, Los Angeles freshman guard, passes the ball for one of her three assists against Southwest Missouri State.
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