Your support drives basketball hopes — on the court and off
At a recent gathering of top donors to Husky Women’s Basketball, three student-athletes shared their dreams for post-UW life as confidently as they talked about their quest for a national championship.
Chantel Osahor wants to coach, or maybe practice law. Kelsey Plum has her sights set on sports broadcasting. Katie Collier aspires to work with young children. All three attest to how special it is to play a sport they love at Washington.
“We play for people who really care about us, not just as athletes but as humans,” Kelsey said.
Their head coach, Mike Neighbors, sees the potential in each of his “14 daughters” every day.
“They love being Huskies. They love being together and helping each other,” he told donors at the event. “And they have something so many other schools don’t. They have you. You make UW and our team special.”
Husky Basketball is also a special place for Men’s Assistant Coach Will Conroy and one of the team’s most promising new recruits, #5 Dejounte Murray — the Howard and Frances Keller Endowed Men’s Basketball Scholarship recipient. Both grew up in Seattle and feel a deep connection to their city and their hometown university.
Will had a stellar collegiate career as a Husky in the early 2000s, but left to play pro ball before finishing his degree.
“Every time I’d come back here to play and work out with the kids, Coach Romar would walk me down to the academic center to show me how many credits I needed to get my degree. I promised him I’d do it and now I am,” said Will, who graduated this fall with a degree in theatre. He was helped along by a scholarship from our donor-funded Finish Line program, which helps former student-athletes return to the UW to complete their degrees.
The first in his family to attend a Division 1 school, Dejounte called his scholarship to UW “a blessing”.
“There’s no way I could have come to school here without my scholarship,” said Dejounte, who played for Rainier Beach High School. “I won’t take it for granted. The people who support scholarships changed my life.”
The freshman’s role models are the Seattle-bred pros and former pros — like Will, Brandon Roy and Jamal Crawford — who come back home to support their neighborhoods and families.
“I’ve thought a lot about what happens following college and after basketball,” Dejounte said. “I see myself giving back to the community I’m from. I’m a Seattle kid. I love this place. I see kids going through what I went through and I want to give them the guidance and support that others gave me.”
“These basketball players are incredible students and hard-working student-athletes. They embody what we are as a University and as a community. And all of it comes because of you, our donors. You are responsible for 25 percent of our revenue. It’s what gives our student-athletes the incredible experience we promise them when they come here — the opportunity to get the best education on planet Earth and to compete in their sport at the highest level. Thank you.”
Lorenzo Romar, Husky Basketball Head Coach
