10B
Monday, March 10, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jennifer Trapp stays close to home
Senior doesn't regret playing in hometown of Lawrence
By Tommy Gallagner
Kansan sportswriter
It was Saturday. March 1. 1997.
The Kansas women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day. Five players, including forward Jennifer Trapp, played in their last regular-season game at Allen Field House.
Tears were shed by the players, coaches and teammates. Tears were also shed by the senior's parents, who flocked from places across the country to walk onto the flower-filled court with their children.
The families of guards Tamecka Dixon and Angie Halbleib flew from New Jersey and Wisconsin, respectively. Forward Shelly Canada's family drove from Oklahoma, and forward Patience Grayer's family drove from Illinois.
As for Trapp's parents, they did not make any extravagant travel plans to attend Senior Day and its festivities because they have always called Lawrence home.
Trapp has started all but one game since she came to Kansas four years ago, and has averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds during her career. This season, Trapp has averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game.
She has been called a fighter by Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington. According to some of her teammates, Trapp is the inspirational leader on a senior-labor team
"I think Jennifer is the glue that
holds our team together," Halbleib said. "When you look at her, she's playing tough 100 percent of the time. I don't think I've ever seen a game where Jen does not give it her all on the court."
There was a time when Jennifer was not a driven leader on the court. It fact, there was a time when she did not play basketball, or any other sport for that matter.
Trapp had never really participated in sports until she was in junior high school. She played basketball, volleyball and track before deciding that perhaps one of the sports could land her a college scholarship.
After several years of learning the odds and ins of basketball, Trapp eventually blossomed into a marquee player during her senior season at Lawrence High School.
"Kansas was first visit, and I canceled all the rest," Trapp said. "Kansas was type of program that I wanted to belong to, and not a program that was in a standstill. There was a winning program here before, but I could tell that they were really looking toward the Final Four."
That year, she was a member of the Converse All-America team, and was the Kansas Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year. She earned all-state and all-Sunflower League honors, and was a Kansas City all-metro honorable mention.
Trapp was recruited heavily coming out of high school, with Kansas and Colorado as the front-runners. She had planned visits to five different schools, although she
made a visit to just one of them.
Although her parents are both Kansas alums, Rick Trapp, her father, said there was no pressure for Jennifer to choose one school or the other.
"We didn't state a preference on what school she should choose because we wanted her to make her own choice," Rick Trapp said. "We tried very hard not to push her."
Rick Trapp said that if his daughter had chosen Colorado, he and her mother wouldn't have been heartbroken because they had a great amount of respect for Colorado coach Cali Barry and the program they have there.
While Colorado might have been great place to play
it have been great place to play basketball, Jennifer said she was excited about playing in front of a hometown crowd.
"It was a pretty easy choice," Trapp said. "I love Lawrence, and I was really comfortable here. I'm sure there are other cities that I'd like also, but I had a good feeling about playing here in my hometown."
While the Buffaloes have slipped from being the perennial conference power they were several years ago, Kansas has replaced them. The Jayhawks won the last Big Eight title last year, and won the first Big 12 title this season.
Kansas is 24-5 overall and has had its best season since Trapp was a freshman. That season, the Jayhawks were 22-6 overall and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Penn State at University Park, Penn.
For Rick Trapp, watching his daughter the last four years has been an experience that he and
his wife, Patty, will never forget.
"The past four years have been a tremendous experience for Jennifer and for us," Rick Trapp said. "We'll remain loyal fans of the women's basketball program, but we won't be as close to them as we have been through Jennifer. I'm glad that it worked out for her so well, and I'm glad that we were able to see Jennifer play her college career back home."
By the time the NCAA Tournament start this week, the Jayhawks will have had a week's rest to prepare for a run at the Final Four. Although Trapp will finish her college basketball career sometime during the next three weeks, she will remain at Kansas for another year.
Trapp is an education major who has one year of classes remaining before graduation. While it is valuable to learn in the classroom, Trapp said there is a lot to be learned from anyone who plays sports.
"In terms of education, there are a lot of lessons sports can teach," Trapp said. "When I see girls that are a young age that are able to play sports, they don't realize that it develops a lot of life skills. There's teamwork and being able to deal with winning and losing."
Pam Dishman / KANSAN
ABOVE: Jennifer Trapp has started all but one game during her four-year career at Kansas. The senior forward has consistently contributed to the Jayhawks since she chose Kansas instead of Colorado and several other schools as a senior at Lawrence High School.
LEFT: Her teammates and coaches call Trapp the inspirational leader on a team with five seniors. "When you look at her, she's playing tough 100 percent of the time," guard Angie Halibble said. "I don't think I've ever seen a game where Jen does not give it her all on the court."
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