SDHoopsfromSDSUFan
10-31-2007, 06:27 AM
The headline should say "From", so you guys should take a few minutes to read this story, pretty interesting about a PLAYER from NORTH DAKOTA who had to get noticed five states away to PLAY basketball.
UNM Freshman Takes It Slow After Wreck
By Ken Sickenger
Journal Staff Writer
Jessica Kielpinski's welcome to New Mexico was a knockout? and not in a good way. Before the UNM women's basketball team's freshman post even started her first fall class, she and her mother, Nancy Kielpinski, were knocked unconscious in an auto accident in Albuquerque.
"My mom was driving and we basically got t-boned," Jessica said. "The other car was going like 35 or 40 (mph), so it hit us really hard. We both blacked out, so we can't remember anything after that."
Jessica suffered a concussion; Nancy's injuries were worse. They included a skull fracture, broken pelvis, collapsed lung and two broken ribs. Nancy was hospitalized for several days before her husband, Mark, was able to drive her back to the family's Mandan, N.D., home.
"The doctors didn't want her to fly because of the lung injury," Jessica said.
If there's good news for the Kielpinski family, it's that neither Nancy nor Jessica are easily derailed. Nancy still is on crutches from the August accident but is getting close to discarding them.
Jessica gets occasional headaches after particularly strenuous workouts, but she's now able to manage the six hours of strength work and two hours of team workouts the Lobos are allowed every week. Even the headaches are starting to fade, she said.
"I think (the accident) set her back, mentally and physically," UNM coach Don Flanagan said. "But Jessica comes from a family of hard workers and she's a very competitive person. In the last week I've seen a big improvement from her. I expect that'll continue now that she feels better."
The 6-foot-1 Kielpinski also expects to succeed, with some justification.
Kielpinski, who was North Dakota's Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year last season, averaged 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in leading Mandan High to its fifth consecutive state title.
A favorable gene pool hasn't hurt Kielpinski. Mark and younger brother Bryan stand 6-8, sister Rebecca is a two-time Division II All-American at Alaska-Anchorage, and Nancy taught physical education and water aerobics before the accident.
Flanagan, however, said he thinks Kielpinski's biggest strengths are her work ethic and understanding of the game.
"She's not afraid to battle," Flanagan said, "and she's used to winning. Jessica already posts up as well as anyone we have, and she does little things like chasing down rebounds and setting screens."
Flanagan likes Kielpinski's strength and has been pleasantly surprised by her perimeter shooting touch? even if he doesn't want her to focus on offense yet.
"He keeps telling me to box out and play defense," Kielpinski said with a smile. "Any scoring I do is a bonus."
Kielpinski said she's adjusting to college basketball. Relocating from North Dakota to New Mexico is another matter, though her impression of Albuquerque has improved since August.
"I like the weather a lot better here," she said. "North Dakota goes from 107 (degrees) with high humidity to below zero with wind. It's a land of extremes. But I'm still getting used to it being so dry? and just living in a bigger city."
Kielpinski doesn't expect Division I basketball or the high-desert lifestyle to hold her back for long. After all, she's her mother's daughter.
"My mom was trying to get my brother to go on a bicycle ride with her the other day," Jessica said. "He was like, 'Mom, what will you do when you stop? You're on crutches.'
"She's just one of those people who can't sit still and needs to be busy. To some extent, I think I take after her."
UNM Freshman Takes It Slow After Wreck
By Ken Sickenger
Journal Staff Writer
Jessica Kielpinski's welcome to New Mexico was a knockout? and not in a good way. Before the UNM women's basketball team's freshman post even started her first fall class, she and her mother, Nancy Kielpinski, were knocked unconscious in an auto accident in Albuquerque.
"My mom was driving and we basically got t-boned," Jessica said. "The other car was going like 35 or 40 (mph), so it hit us really hard. We both blacked out, so we can't remember anything after that."
Jessica suffered a concussion; Nancy's injuries were worse. They included a skull fracture, broken pelvis, collapsed lung and two broken ribs. Nancy was hospitalized for several days before her husband, Mark, was able to drive her back to the family's Mandan, N.D., home.
"The doctors didn't want her to fly because of the lung injury," Jessica said.
If there's good news for the Kielpinski family, it's that neither Nancy nor Jessica are easily derailed. Nancy still is on crutches from the August accident but is getting close to discarding them.
Jessica gets occasional headaches after particularly strenuous workouts, but she's now able to manage the six hours of strength work and two hours of team workouts the Lobos are allowed every week. Even the headaches are starting to fade, she said.
"I think (the accident) set her back, mentally and physically," UNM coach Don Flanagan said. "But Jessica comes from a family of hard workers and she's a very competitive person. In the last week I've seen a big improvement from her. I expect that'll continue now that she feels better."
The 6-foot-1 Kielpinski also expects to succeed, with some justification.
Kielpinski, who was North Dakota's Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year last season, averaged 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in leading Mandan High to its fifth consecutive state title.
A favorable gene pool hasn't hurt Kielpinski. Mark and younger brother Bryan stand 6-8, sister Rebecca is a two-time Division II All-American at Alaska-Anchorage, and Nancy taught physical education and water aerobics before the accident.
Flanagan, however, said he thinks Kielpinski's biggest strengths are her work ethic and understanding of the game.
"She's not afraid to battle," Flanagan said, "and she's used to winning. Jessica already posts up as well as anyone we have, and she does little things like chasing down rebounds and setting screens."
Flanagan likes Kielpinski's strength and has been pleasantly surprised by her perimeter shooting touch? even if he doesn't want her to focus on offense yet.
"He keeps telling me to box out and play defense," Kielpinski said with a smile. "Any scoring I do is a bonus."
Kielpinski said she's adjusting to college basketball. Relocating from North Dakota to New Mexico is another matter, though her impression of Albuquerque has improved since August.
"I like the weather a lot better here," she said. "North Dakota goes from 107 (degrees) with high humidity to below zero with wind. It's a land of extremes. But I'm still getting used to it being so dry? and just living in a bigger city."
Kielpinski doesn't expect Division I basketball or the high-desert lifestyle to hold her back for long. After all, she's her mother's daughter.
"My mom was trying to get my brother to go on a bicycle ride with her the other day," Jessica said. "He was like, 'Mom, what will you do when you stop? You're on crutches.'
"She's just one of those people who can't sit still and needs to be busy. To some extent, I think I take after her."