FEATURE
9
AN UNCOMMON SELECTION
Canadian Krysten Boogaard chose basketball over hockey, other traditional sports
By Ben Ward and Christian Lucero bward@kansan.com and clucero@kansan.com
Growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan, it only seemed natural that Krysten Boogaard would lace up some skates, pick up a stick and give Canada's national sport a try.
"I tried to play hockey," she says. "It just wasn't for me."
In a household dominated by mostly by hockey,it's almost ironic that it was her mother who introduced Boogaard,now a junior,to basketball,a sport she says was not so popular when she was growing up.
"My mom was my first coach, so she was the one who taught me the game," Boogaard says. "She's basically the basketball side of the family, and my dad's more of the hockey side."
Even then, basketball was never a sure thing because Boogaard excelled at a number of sports, from badminton to water polo. Basketball stuck with Boogaard though, and she became one of the best high school prospects in Canada. She even played for the Canadian Junior Women's National team last summer in the FIBA Americans-Under 18 Championships.
Kansas is thankful Boogaard chose basketball as well, because she has been a steady presence for the Jayhawks during her first two seasons in Lawrence. She has averaged 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in her career, and she boasts All-Big 12 Rookie Team accolades from her freshman campaign.
As solid as her numbers may be, the 6-foot-5 junior's play has always been considered more finesse than physical, and despite being the tallest player on the team. Boogaard finished second in blocks last season.
Determined to improve her all-around game, Boogaard spent the offseason working hard during the team's strength and conditioning program to gain more muscle.
Krysten Boogaard is preparing for her junior year at Kansas. Boogaard, who is from Canada, said her mother introduced her to basketball after Boogaard had tried other sports such as hockey.
"I've been working on getting stronger," she says. "It's been one of my goals since I got here."
The argument could be made that physicality runs in the family. Two of her brothers, Derek and Aaron, play for the Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguin NHL organizations, respectively. Both are known for their hard-hitting style and enforcer-type roles, and have started a fighting camp for youngsters. Boogaard joked that her brothers are never shy about offering up advice on being tough.
"They say things like just go throw some elbows," she says. "They don't really understand that's something you can't do in basketball."
The work Krysten has put in during the summer has impressed coach Bonnie Henrickson. Henrickson, who has been stressing defense this offseason, is excited about the prospect of having Boogaard be a stronger presence on both ends of the court.
"I'm really proud of her progress physically," Henrickson says. "She's gotten a lot stronger and is willing to play more physically."
Big and strong or not, Henrickson described her center as quiet and soft spoken, but with a hard-headed side.
"She's very stubborn," Henrickson jokes. "And we like giving her a hard time about that."
Henrickson also says Boogaard had come out of her shell a bit during workouts this summer, and that staying in Kansas this summer perhaps had helped her with that. Coupled with Boogaard's improved strength, implications are she'll gain some more confidence on the court, too.
That self-assurance is already showing, as all of Boogaard's work in the offseason has her ready and optimistic about this season.
"She's not going to get pushed around down low this year," Henrickson says.
"Obviously I want to go as far as possible, make it to the tournament and win a national championship," Boogaard said. "Which Division I team doesn't want that?"
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore center Krysten Boogard puts up a shot in the Women's NIT Final game against Illinois State on April 1, 2009. Boogard hopes to improve her presence on the court this season.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE OCTOBER 2, 2009