Kelley Doogan: A Player's Account of Her Senior Season
Jim Charles & Kelley Doogan
February 15, 2009
I have had the privilege and honor of knowing Kelley Doogan since early 2003 when she was a 6th grader at Holy Rosary in Claymont. That year and the next, I coached her on Dennis Leizear's Delaware PAL Wildcats AAU team. As with all the players on that roster, I have followed Kelley's subsequent basketball career quite closely since then. For her part, Kelley has been an avid supporter of this website since the very beginning back in 2006. Always friendly, helpful, and full of information, having Kelley as an important in-the-ranks resource has been invaluable to our efforts and has contributed measurably to the quality of DGB.com.
Before she graduates out in just a few short months to begin an NCAA Division I career at St. Francis, I wanted to capture for posterity Kelley's thoughts on her final high school season, her teammates, and her views on other elements of the local girls hoops scene. What follows is the extraordinary interview that emerged.
JC: Kelley, to anyone tracking UA's progress this year, they certainly look like the most improved team over the season. As proof, through January 6th, you guys were 3 - 5. Since then, 7 - 2, including 4 straight wins in your current streak. Just in February, you have wins against St. Mark's and Caravel. The Caravel win makes up for a loss to them earlier in the season -- again, proof that the Raiders are on a major upswing. What do you attribute this "in-season" turnaround to?
Kelley: There are a few things that I would say attribute to our current “in-season” turn around. First, our team chemistry is in great rhythm and the pieces have finally fallen into place. I think we may have had some trouble in the beginning of the season being such a young team with the majority of our players not having any experience at the varsity level. I feel like after mid-January the jitters went away and the confidence in ourselves and each other took a major boost. Secondly, we’re finally healthy. Mid-January also marked the first point in the season when all of our returning varsity players were in good health. Having everyone back has made a huge impact on the team’s morale and chemistry.
JC: Do you think the fact that a lot of folks (including DGB.com) wrote off Ursuline before the season began helped the team work itself out -- that the lack of media attention gave you guys space to really develop into a seriously competitive team?
Kelley: To be honest, I don’t really think that, as a whole -- the media or lack of media -- has affected us in anyway. As much as this may sound like a cliché, we try not to let media play a role in our program and try to focus on things with a “one day at a time” mindset. Ursuline has a history of being a good program, and with that in mind, everyone comes into practice every day ready to work and to continue the tradition.
JC: In talking to coaches around the circuit, the big bogeyman in everyone's mind is St. Mark's. They're winning low-scoring games with crazy good defense, but with just enough offense to prevail. How did UA approach your game with them?
Kelley: We went into the St. Mark’s game just as if it were any other game. I think confidence is a big key when it comes to teams like St. Mark’s. They’re definitely a fundamentally sound team and play good defense but we went out trying to match that and I feel like we did a good job with it. Our defense has come a long way since the beginning of the season and creating pressure as well as communicating with one another was vital in beating St. Mark’s.
JC: To any high school player, her senior season will always be memorable. Can you talk about the year you're having so far and what it's meant to you? Can you contrast it to past years at UA?
Kelley: This season has been awesome! I’ve loved watching our team grow through our wins, losses, and injuries. This has been the best basketball I’ve played in a long time in terms of fun and team ball. I really can’t even explain how great the feeling has been over the past four games. Everyone has been so fired up and it’s been a constant adrenaline rush.
This season is unlike the others. In the past I was always the youngest on the court. I was a role player. Each game, my goal was to rebound, play good defense, have some assists, and put-backs. This year, my role has changed dramatically. Rather than doing the little things I have had to transition into being a leader on the court with more responsibilities. I’ve become more of a perimeter player as well rather than just being in the post. I’ve really enjoyed the changes and feel that the role player that I was in past seasons and the experience that I have has helped me to be a better leader on the court.
I won’t lie, in the beginning it was stressful. Coming into the season with a whole new team and a whole new outlook was hard. The past three seasons I have been lucky enough to be on a team that has finished in the USA Today Top 25 each year, has been invited to big time tournaments, traveled all over from Arizona, to Tennessee, to Connecticut, and Massachusetts, has had its fair share of Division I athletes, and even played in the State Championships each year. All of these things have been great and have really helped me to grow as a person and player, but, to be completely honest, this year has been the best. Although we haven’t been ranked nationally or been the dominant in-state team, we’ve improved so much -- beyond many people’s expectations -- and have been having a great time doing it. The best part of all is there’s no stress. We show up each day ready to play, and win or lose, we walk out of the gym with our heads high ready for the next task.
JC: Tell me about your teammates.
Kelley: My teammates are great! Our team this year has 3 seniors, 3 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 4 freshmen. Briana Collins and Laura McHugh are our two other seniors. Briana is our point guard. Bri is a strong ball handler who is great at creating things on the court. She can also pull up and shoot when she has to. Laura is our sixth man. She knows every position and can play wherever we need her too. She’s got a nice outside shot but can also post up inside. Kelsey Miller, Gab Perrotti, and Kasey Cox are our juniors. Kelsey Miller is our go-to post player but she also can play the guard position and probably has the best shot on our team. Kels is awesome and she’s worked so hard to get back this season after tearing her ACL in the summer. Gab plays the two and occasionally the one position. She can shoot, too, and also handle the ball. Kasey Cox is a rebounding machine and plays great defense in the post. She’s really strong and will be key next season. Most of our team is made up of underclassmen. Each of these players contributes significantly to the team. Marykate Williams, Audra Cranston, Caly Wendell, and Austin Noonan are our sophomore guards and Alex Witt plays the post. For the freshmen, there are Lauren Baker and Jill Lyons who play the post, and Lindsay Henzes and Meghan Carter who can handle and shoot the ball well.
JC: After you graduate out, and regardless of how Ursuline finishes the season, how would you like people (outside of the UA community) to remember this team?
Kelley: After this season is over and after I graduate, I hope people remember our team as being the team that wasn’t done yet. Although we’ve lost a lot of great players over the years and aren’t the team we used to be, we still made a run and didn’t give up. Coach Noonan has always told us to never let up and go out and play each game as hard as we can and hopefully people can see that and remember us as that type of team.
JC: Tell me what bringing in John Noonan as head coach has meant to this program.
Kelley: Bringing in John Noonan as head coach has impacted our program so much. John is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had and I feel that he is definitely one of the best coaches in the state. I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s has so much knowledge of the game and is always trying to learn more to pass on to us. He’ll come in some days with 50 index cards all of things he watched on TV the night before. He’s got us in great condition and really focuses on the fundamentals of the game as well as improving everyone’s basketball knowledge. John’s not the kind of guy that draws something up and expects it to run exactly as planned. He’d rather see us make plays by reading the defense or running transition. John, as well as Coach Gladnick, Coach D, and Coach Dave are all about building the team and creating a great program. We’ve had success in the past and they plan to keep this same success in the future.
We thank Kelley for being so generous with her time by participating in this interview. And I, personally, thank Kelley for all her many kindnesses over the years, and for the real treat that it has been both coaching her on the court and rooting for her in the stands.
Jim Charles