Krysten Boogaard’s legs are blotched with black and blue, her arms covered with a smattering of grape-sized bruises. Such is the body of a college basketball player.
Boogaard spends her days hustling from class to workouts to practice to tutoring sessions and finally to sleep before repeating the cycle. Such is the life of a college basketball player.
When speaking of her role models, she bypasses the common heroes. Hoopsters such as Michael Jordan and Lisa Leslie don’t mean nearly as much to the 19-year-old as four hockey players do. Such is the source of inspiration for a college basketball player raised in a hockey-centric family in the heart of Canada.
“I look at the way my brothers focus on what they do and how hard they work,” Boogaard said of her four older brothers. “I’m driven by what they’ve done and I follow them. I try to work had all the time so I can be as successful as them.”
Boogaard’s brothers have put in plenty of hard work and enjoyed plenty of success. Derek, 24, and Aaron, 21, play professional hockey in America while former hockey players Curtis, 34, and 23-year-old Ryan have permanently stepped off of the ice. Curtis recently followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Boogaard and her four brothers grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, a moderately-sized city about 100 miles north of the United States border. Len Boogaard raised his four sons as hockey players through-and-through, leaving Krysten free to choose between sports such as swimming, volleyball, figure skating and basketball. Len said by the time Krysten finished high school, it was clear which sport she was cut out for. After all, she stood 6-foot-5.
Krysten owes her height to nature– Len is 6-2 and her mother, Joanne, is 6 feet tall – but her toughness to some nurturing at the hands of her brothers. Derek, Ryan and Aaron all went through their teens around the same time as Krysten, meaning the four could barely make it through the day without playing out their sibling rivalries.
“It was challenging because they’d always beat up on me – but I guess that’s what older brothers do,” Krysten said. “I think it’s definitely made me tougher in all different aspects, both physically and mentally.”
Boogaard had to deal with another challenge in her early years: Being a basketball player in a family and a country full of hockey players. Krysten’s mother played basketball in high school and served as an early mentor. Joanne coached Krysten’s first youth team and assisted her during her years in junior and senior high. But Len was far from a basketball enthusiast. He said he did not understand the American game when Krysten first started playing and is still wrapping his mind around the game’s concepts.
“Having the boys playing hockey so much, I was never really able to get into the basketball, per se,” Len said. “I can’t remember watching basketball until her high school years. To me, it’s still a bit of a novelty.”
Since basketball was treated as an afterthought by most Canadians, Boogaard experienced difficulty finding strong competition to play with and against. Saskatchewan did not offer AAU basketball or the opportunity to travel to high-level tournaments, so Krysten decided to take a year off from studies immediately after high school to hone her skills at the Canada Basketball’s Elite National Development Academy in Hamilton, Ontario. Boogaard said she reinforced her fundamental basketball skills and gained physical strength at the Academy. Her team traveled around Canada and the northern United States competing against junior colleges and national teams. As a member of the Academy, she traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete against America in the World Qualifiers Tournament. Canada lost the game, but Derek cheered Krysten up with a visit during the event.
“It meant a lot to have Derek there watching me and giving me so much support,” Krysten said. “It proved how close we all are to each other.”
Boogaard has only logged one official game as a Jayhawk, but she has showcased a skill set that could make her a dominant post player in the Big 12 Conference. Her arms are rail-thin but unbelievably long – custom-made for shot-blocking – and her legs and base are formidable enough to hold steady against physical opponents. Boogaard scored five points using a nice shooting touch and hustled up and down the court with all the quickness of a guard.
“She’s a 6-5 kid who really benefited from an extra year of work at the academy,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She’s long and she’s lanky, but she’s in the middle of the pack when we run sprints – she’s certainly not finishing last. She’s a physical kid.”
Boogaard no longer has to jockey for position at the dinner table or deal with a rambunctious bevy of brothers. She spends evenings taking in movies with fellow freshman basketball player Nicollette Smith and nights sleeping off the day’s work: Work that she struggles through with help from her brothers. For now, the inspiration comes via text message. But if she carries the Jayhawks deep into the postseason, she said she is sure her favorite hockey players will make it to every game.
Such is the dream of a college basketball player.