10B
SPORTS / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore guard Monica Engelman drives past an Iowa State defender Feb. 25 at Allen Fieldhouse. Engelman served as a mentor for local elementary school children through the Schools for Success program.
Engelman'adopts'school
Sophomore guard bonds with local elementary school students
BY KATHLEEN GIER kgier@kansan.com
Up in the stands at Allen Fieldhouse there is a young but vocal following for sophomore guard Monica Engelman. The group of children comes from Hillcrest Elementary School in Lawrence and their bond to Engelman is the product of the Schools for Success Program.
Each student athlete on the women's basketball team last season adopted a local elementary school. All fifteen Lawrence elementary schools participated and competed against one another in an attendance challenge based on showing up for women's basketball games throughout the season. Hillcrest Elementary won the challenge with nearly 11 percent attendance. For their support they were awarded a $10,000 stipend and an assembly featuring mascots and student athletes along with other prizes.
"The kids that go to the basketball games they have someone they can look at and say, 'I know her, I've seen her' and that was really cool," said Sandra Walker, Hillcrest physical education teacher.
Engelman and the other athletes helped with reading programs, played at recess, attended assemblies and ate lunch with the students at their respective schools.
"She is a good positive role model," Walker said. "She works hard and it shows, she is very nice and easy to get along with and genuinely a good kid. From a leadership standpoint she gets good grades, she is positive and she shows up where she needs to be."
Those qualities have not only made her popular at the elementary school, but around the Kansas Athletics Department.
"When she walks into a room, she just has a bright shining light and all of us that get to work with her and know her really appreciate that about her," said Mike Harity, associate athletics director. "She truly is a leader among her peers and has a positive influence wherever she goes."
The students were not the only ones to benefit from the program. Coach Bonnie Henrickson said that Engelman gained confidence throughout the process.
"That is all about self-esteem and self-confidence and that is where she has grown," Henrickson said.
Engelman started to hone her leadership skills before her freshman year even started after attending a Jayhawk Leadership Program retreat held last summer. Engelman helped out at Hillcrest during the season and then, this summer, she continued her journey by attending the inaugural Big 12 Leadership Summit held in Lawrence. The summit included 47 athletes representing different sports from the 12 conference schools.
The summit was modeled after leadership programs run by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for which Harrity serves as advisor.
"You could tell quickly that this was the cream of the crop from the whole Big 12 Conference," Harrity said. "It was a special group that was ready to learn and to invest in the process and I think they had a wonderful time."
The athletes were intermingled in smaller groups so that they could meet attendees from
"With all these different athletes you are able to get new ideas from other people and share your own ideas," Engelman said. "I saw some people that I have seen before like Texas and Kansas State basketball and it was kind of cool to know them as a person, not just as a competitor."
other schools and discuss different issues which they faced back at their own schools.
For Kansas the representative athletes were chosen by coaches and members of the Athletics Department.
Edited by David Cawthon
Four freshmen look to have immediate effect for Kansas
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY MEGAN RUPP mrupp@kansan.com
overall goal of making it to the NCAA Tournament in the 2010-11 season. While reflecting on last season's disappointing finish, they each smiled and said they were ready to get in the gym and dispel any doubts. The season's exhibition games may not tip-off until Oct. 31, but the
Last season's WNIT loss presents further motivation for this year's eager freshmen. The four new additions to the women's basketball team said they look forward to contributing to the
women say they are ready to start practicing and preparing to start a new chapter of their athletic careers.
Meet the first-year Jayhawks, Colorado native Brooke Jelniker and a trio of Texas guards — Keena Mays, Diana Moore and Charlicia "CeCe" Harper.
11 Brooke Jelniker
A 2010 McDonald's All-American nominee and First Team All-Conference player for two consecutive years, Jelniker averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game her senior season. After signing with the University, Coach Bonnie Henrickson said in a news release that she was confident in Jelniker's strong shooting and rebounding abilities.
Jelniker said she appreciated Henrickson's comments, but thought her ability to contribute might change early on in her career at Kansas.
"As a freshman I need to do the little things like hustle plays and just always be the one who's known to work hard," Jelniker said. "For right now, I need to focus on getting rebounds, shooting when I'm open and getting my teammates the ball, but that could change."
Jelniker said leaving Colorado for summer
school on campus made her much more nervous initially than the upcoming season did.
"It was really hard for me in June, I'd call my mom like three times a day," Jelniker said. "It's still hard knowing that I'm nine hours away from home, but I've gotten a lot closer to my teammates, which has definitely helped."
Jelniker said that team unity was a major factor in deciding where she would play college ball. She said she had always wanted to play in college, she just had no idea where basketball would lead her.
20 Diara Moore
"I loved the coaching staff and the team, they just all seemed like a big family and that's what I was looking for." Jelniker said. "When I walked on campus for my official visit, it just felt right."
Upon signing Moore, Henrickson looked forward to the element of toughness Moore would bring to the team. Averaging 17.1 points, 1.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game her senior season, Henrickson said part of the appeal was her ability to be an active rebounder, despite her 5-foot-nine stature.
Moore averaged 3.2 rebounds per game in high school and said being able to maintain that role would be an important part of helping her team and living up to Henrickson's expectations.
"When I saw that she said that about me I was kind of surprised, but now I just want to work to uphold that." Moore said. "In this conference, being an aggressive rebounder is really important, especially on the offensive end where people don't go to the board:"
Moore said she considered herself to be a scrappy player who recognized the impact hustle plays can have on the outcome of a game.
Growing up in Cedar Hill, Texas, Moore said she remembered being a 4-year-old little girl who dreamt of playing in the Big 12 one day.
"I remember having a little basketball goal in the backyard and I just used to play with it all the time, I thought it was just my best toy ever," Moore said. "Ever since then, I've just been in love with it."
5 Keena Mays
Mays was also a 2010 McDonald's All-American nominee after averaging 10.8 points, 4.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game her senior season. As the 18th rated point guard in the country, the Texas standout said she knew her role would change and she was ready to take backseat early.
"I've got to do whatever I can to help my team, which means more of a leadership thing now and distributing the ball to my teammates and not so much being as big of a scorer," Mays said.
Henrickson said that Mays was not only a strong outside scorer, but also had the ability to drive hard and finish. This season, Mays said she might have to adjust her typical game with the more intense physicality she'll face in college.
"It's definitely going to be harder, but I've been working hard already to get in the weight room to get stronger," Mays said. "I've always looked to pass first, but now I'm really going to have to look for whoever gets open even more."
Mays said she trusted her teammates to be able to finish those shots and if they did, she was confident they would perform well enough to make it to the tournament.
She said coming to the University was daunting at first, but as quickly as she adjusted to campus life, will be as quickly as she'll need to adjust to a faster, more physical style of play.
"It was pretty depressing when they lost so early, but it was more motivation for me to come and help improve on last year's season," Mays said.
42 Charlicia "CeCe" Harper
Unlike Mays, Harper didn't know basketball was her passion immediately. Instead, the 29th best point guard, according to HoopGurlz.com, began her athletic experimentation with almost everything but basketball.
"I used to do cheerleading, gymnastics, softball and soccer,"Harper said.
Hard to believe she was able to average 22.2 points,3.5 assists,9.2 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game her senior season with so many other interests.
"My brothers used to play and I cheered for them and one day, when I was like 10, my dad put a basketball in my hand and I just basically never put it down." Harper said.
Over the years she was able to develop a consistent shot and court vision that Henrickson appreciated. Harper said she hoped to improve her shooting power further in the upcoming season.
"We set a lot of screens, so I just got to be ready to come off of those to shoot and score," Harper said.
"I drive left, but I shoot right, which can be kind of tough to guard," Harper said.
Harper said she is prepared for the more physical game the college world had to offer, considering the aggressive nature of Texas basketball, but she didn't underestimate the strength she'd face inside.
Henrickson said Harper's ability to be effective off the dribble was one her greatest strengths, something Harper said she looked forward to put into practice. Harper said she is more comfortable driving than shooting and for a unique reason.
"I think college is more fast-paced and everybody's stronger, so going up might be a lot harder," Harper said. "On the other end, I think there's going to be a lot more people who can handle the ball, so we might need to learn to move our feet better."
The four freshman Jayhawks will join the return ing players in their season opener against Fort Hays State on Oct. 31 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Edited by Tim Dwyer
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Hoosier leaving team after tragedy
Indiana freshman tight end Paul Phillips has left the team in the wake of his father's death and younger brother's injuries from the Alaskan plane crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens and three others.
Bill Phillips, a former University of Evansville football player, died when the single-engine plane crashed on a remote mountain-side Aug. 9. His youngest son, 13-year-old Willy, survived with undisclosed injuries and was taken to an Anchorage hospital.
McClatchy-Tribune