We continue our brief profiles of each member of the 2010-11 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us each weekday from now until the women’s season opener against Liberty at the Wolfpack Invitational for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
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I want to watch Alyssa Kamphaus dunk the basketball.
Back in September 2008, after giving an oral commitment to play basketball for Creighton, the junior at Seward High School told Mike Patterson of the Omaha World-Herald that she was working on her vertical jump and wanted someday to dunk.
“I’ve been jumping rope a lot and working on some other things,” she said. “I can touch the rim, so I think it’s possible for me.”
If her past accolades are any indication, a lot is possible for Kamphaus as she starts her collegiate career. The two-time Class B All-State honoree didn’t lose a game as a junior or senior, as she led the Seward Bluejays to back-to-back state championships. She scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in her last game for Seward, the 2010 state title win against Gretna, capping a career that saw her set the school record for rebounds (585) in just three seasons.
Alyssa Kamphaus brings depth to Creighton's low post position
During the summers, Kamphaus competed for the Pinnacle Nebraska All-Stars girls basketball team, one of the most successful squads in the country. She actually scrimmaged against some of her future CU teammates while playing for Pinnacle; the same players she said were critical to her decision to play at Creighton.
“I decided to come to Creighton because of the family atmosphere. I loved the coaches and the girls,” Kamphaus said, adding that the smaller university was a nice fit because she grew up in a smaller town and she is used to knowing everybody in a small-town environment.
Jim Flanery and the Bluejays hope everyone gets to know Kamphaus, too, especially the other post players in the Missouri Valley Conference. At 6’3, she is a true inside post player, someone not afraid of contact who likes to rely on the drop step. She is experiencing the same adjustments and challenges all freshmen encounter, such getting used to the speed of the game and the amount of communication needed on the court. But she said practices have been going pretty well.
That may be due to whom she is going up against in the paint. “In practice I’m always matched up with Kellie Nelson,” Kamphaus said. “The practices are definitely challenging me to become a better player.” Specifically, Kamphaus said she needs to improve on the 15-foot jump shot and her post moves, in addition to her defensive skills and her quickness.
She has the luxury of being able to learn to help her make these adjustments. With Nelson the likely starting center for Flanery’s Jays, Kamphaus will be able to ease into her role of replacing Kellie when she graduates. But as Creighton’s tallest player and the only Bluejay other than Nelson taller than 6’0, fans should expect to see a healthy dose of the true freshman.