Kelsi- Competing at Next Level

Kelsi Legge was a two-year starter at GHS. She played point guard as a junior, and then an off-guard as a senior. The reality is that she had the size and quickness to be able to play any position for us. She could guard the point guard, and turn around to guard a post player.

Anyone watched Kelsi play realized that she competed. She only knows one way to play- she plays hard. She always had the ability and the willingness to do all the little things- that in reality are the big things.

In the summers, she has worked as a coach/instructor in our camps and in our leagues. Kelsi knows the game, she has been a great coach in the summers for us. She brings energy and gets after it.

It is not easy to go from high school to college as a player. Some players seem caught by surprise to find out college is different. You have different teammates, different coaches, and a different atmosphere. You are competing for playing time with women who have been in the system for a year already. And most of the people on your team and on the teams you play against were the best players on their high school teams. It is tougher.

In high school, players work to earn their spot in summer camps, in practice, and in games. Then you graduate, and it starts all over again. You have to earn your spot.

We have had many very good high school players who get into a new college program, and when they are faced with challenges- they decide not to continue basketball. You have to have a level of toughness and competitiveness to play college basketball. It is no surprise that Kelsi had a good freshmen year at Carl Sandburg- she has always been tough and always been competitive!

As a student, how are things different at CSC? What do you like most about being a student at CSC? 

The main thing that is different at CSC is just all of the freedom that you get as a student, the thing that I like the most about being a student at CSC is that the class sizes aren't too big, all of the teachers are super nice and easy to communicate with, and its just a really nice campus. 

What was your favorite class at GHS?

My favorite class at GHS would probably have to be PE or CSI. It was definitely not math.

What was your favorite class at CSC?

My favorite class at CSC right now would have to be Anatomy and Physiology!

What was your focus of study at CSC?

Right now I am working on getting Associates in Arts for my two years. Then I plan on staying for a third year and doing the Accelerated Mortuary Science Program, and hopefully getting my Associates in Mortuary Science!

You had a great high school basketball career. What are some of your favorite memories from high school basketball?

I made a lot of amazing memories being on the basketball team at GHS, I think the best memories were just being able to play the sport that I love with some of my best friends. Of course I also loved getting to mess with and boss around Riley Jenkins for a whole year, and having the whole team steal some of Coach Masseys mints out of the locker-room every practice (best sock mints ever). 

Does any game in particular standout for you from high school?

The biggest game that sticks out to me the most at GHS would probably have to be Senior year home conference game against Moline. We ended up winning in double or triple over time.

Your mom played at both GHS, and at CSC. How do you feel this has helped you as a player? 

I believe that having my mom playing at both GHS and CSC really gave me a drive to want to be extremely successful and make her proud of the work that I put in, and of course I wanted to work really hard to be better than her too. 

Playing college is a challenge. You work and establish yourself in high school, then when you go to college you have to start all over. What were the challenges starting out as a freshman in basketball?

Trying to establish myself was pretty hard because the coaches and my teammates don't really have a good knowledge of how I play and my work ethic, so I just went out there and gave it my all to show that I was capable of competing at the college level.

You were able to play regularly for CSC. What do you think allowed you to get onto the floor, and allowed you to have success? In other words, what do you think you were able to bring to the team with your skills?

What I think gave me playing time on the court was that I came out every night I did what I needed to do. I didn't try to be the star player trying to score 20 points, because that not my style of play and that's not my job on the court. My job on the court was to play good defense and get the ball into the post, and for the most part that's what I did every time I stepped out on the court.

How was college basketball different than high school basketball?

The main thing that I found differently was the style of play, college basketball is a lot less of set plays and a little more free play. The coaching style was also a lot different. 

Because of your experiences, how are you a better player now?

I didn't have the best season this year, and I'm pretty disappointed in myself for not playing to my full potential. But with that I believe that it made me a lot better player mentally and physically. I've realized that I definitely need to work harder in the offseason working on my shot and getting into the weightroom. I think it made me a better player mentally because it made me learn to not dwell on bad games or bad plays, and just keep playing for my team and doing what I need to do that game to help make my team successful. 

Based on your high school experiences and your college experiences, what advice would you give to someone who will be playing for the Streaks next year?

Advice that I would give to a Streaks player would be that don't cheat yourself in practice or the weight room, and be respectful to your coaches. I think having the discipline that I had in high school helped me out a lot in college. Also just remember that you’re playing this game because you love it, so you should enjoy every single moment of it. 

Would you ever like to coach basketball?

I've definitely thought about coaching but it hasn't been a main priority for me. It would have to be more of an opportunity that just came to me rather than me searching for a coaching position. I also wouldn't like to be a head coach but I think it would be a lot of fun to be an assistant coach. 

Last question for you- If you could invite three famous or not so famous people (living or dead) for supper- who would you have invite?

if I could invite three people to have dinner with it would be Sabrina Ionescu, Luke Bryan, and Anthony Rizzo