| | |
 |
|
| 03-10-2004 | Previous edition: 03-09-2004 |
        
     |
Printer-friendly version Freshman inherits role of leader
Assistant Sports Editor Purdue isn’t Katie Gearlds’ team — yet. But it will be hers eventually, coach Kristy Curry says. "She’s matured so much," she said. "She’s become a better defender. She’s become a better thinker of the game. "I’m excited about this team becoming hers and Erin (Lawless)’s." If Gearlds’ performances this past weekend are any indication, Curry’s team will be just fine when it loses its four departing seniors. Gearlds averaged 14 points per game in the Boilermakers’ three Big Ten tournament games, as the freshman guard played her way onto the all-tournament team. Gearlds even garnered votes for Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. But success in Conseco Fieldhouse, which hosted the tournament, was nothing new to Gearlds. A year earlier, she scored 33 points while leading Beech Grove High School to the Indiana 3A state title in the same building. In her senior year for the Hornets, she was also named Indiana Miss Basketball. When she came to Purdue, she became the fifth Boilermaker who had earned the honor, following players like Stephanie White and Kelly Komara. Despite her successes and the resulting hoopla she received, the decision to come to West Lafayette was an easy one for Gearlds. "Coach Curry — she’s the reason why I’m here," Gearlds said. Even though the decision was a simple one, playing for the Boilermakers isn’t all easy. Staying at an instate school is ripe with pressure and expectations, Gearlds said — not that either of those has changed her much. "I try not to let it go to my head," Gearlds said. "My parents did a good job of knocking me down to reality. "Because it’s so much fun, it kind of takes away from all the pressure." However, Gearlds’ father, Tony, said that she didn’t need much help from her parents. The pressure, he said, never seemed to affect her. Occasionally, though, Tony and Sharon, Gearlds’ mother, had a little work to do. "If she was like, ‘Look, I’m in the paper,’ (we’d say) ‘Don’t worry about it, there’s other people in the paper, too,’" Tony said. As Gearlds’ parents raised a growing basketball player, another family member had something to do with the person who arrived in West Lafayette last fall. The Gearlds family splits time between two basketball players — Gearlds and her sister, Amy, who is a senior on the IPFW basketball team. Gearlds says that Amy was partly responsible for her desire to play basketball. "I think following her to the gyms and picking up a basketball … I think I just fell in love with it," Gearlds said. "It was just something I really wanted to do." Their passions aside, Tony says that the relationship between the two siblings was more than just basketball. "Just like anyone else, you always look up to your big siblings," Tony said. "Katie just followed her along anywhere she went. "They grew up together." Though the Gearlds parents have two sets of games to attend, they were able to attend one of Gearlds’ best games of the year — a 32-point performance against Iowa in Iowa City. Coming off a few games where Gearlds had struggled, it was nice to see such a performance, Tony said. "When she makes mistakes, she gets so down on herself," he said. "It was nice seeing her smiling on the floor." Despite all the basketball she plays, there is life outside of basketball for Gearlds. And a lot of that life involves sophomore teammate Carol Duncan. The two are often inseparable, teammates say. They even get teased about it. "You know that movie, ‘Stuck on You’?" senior point guard Erika Valek asked. "That’s them." The two are around each other often, but that doesn’t mean their Friday nights are full of action. Gearlds says that West Lafayette doesn’t offer a plethora of entertainment opportunities. But that’s no drastic change for her, coming from a similar Beech Grove area that’s on the southeast side of Indianapolis. "A Friday night probably consisted of going to the movies, maybe to the mall," Gearlds said. "Steak ‘n Shake was probably the hangout there in the Grove. "There’s not a whole lot to do." An absence of things to do didn’t stop Gearlds from taking one thing away from growing up in the Grove — euchre, a card game that’s especially popular in the area. When traveling from place to place for high school AAU basketball tournaments, Gearlds would often play euchre between games. "I love to play euchre," Gearlds said. "I’m just thankful we have a few people on this team that know how to play." This year, her partner on team road trips is Grant Fausset, one of the team’s managers. "Lately, he’s been carrying me," Gearlds says. Which is ironic because, with the way she’s been playing, one wouldn’t expect her needing anyone to carry her, whatever the competition may be. Printer-friendly version |
|
Front Page | Campus | City | Features | Opinions | Sports | Classifieds Advertising | Archive | Links | About us | Letter Submission Form To report any errors with or to give ideas on how we can improve the online edition of The Exponent contact Online Production |
