Kendall Hackney is a three-year starter for the Wildcats and an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection over the past two seasons. She has increased her scoring average in each of her three seasons, and last season she led the team with 15.2 points per game. While she looks to increase those numbers once again, she tells NBN that the most important stat is a win.
I read an article recently on ESPN saying that Geno Auriemma [the UConn women’s basketball coach] wants to lower the rims for women’s basketball. What do you think of that?
I guess if you want to make it about entertainment, then fine, lower the rims, but I don’t see that as the purpose of the game. I think the game is great the way it is, and girls are getting better and better. I’m pretty surprised; I can’t imagine him saying that. I don’t think we should. I mean, I’d be like, “I’m not playing anymore. That’s an insult.” But that’s just my opinion.
As a four-year starter, scoring leader, leader in minutes, what do you expect out of yourself, and what do your coaches and teammates expect out of you as a leader?
I really just want to be more of a solid leader on the team, physically, mentally and emotionally, on the floor and off the floor. I really just want to be dependable. I want to be consistent. I want to motivate my teammates. I want to be able to make my teammates better. If I can do that, then I think I’ve been really successful. I expect to put points on the board for my team, but if we win and I don’t score a point, I will be perfectly happy with that. If we win, that’s all that matters.
Do you have any specific goals as far as how many wins you’re looking for or where you want to get to in terms of the tournament?
Obviously, I want to win every game; that’s the goal. We want to win the Big Ten. And if not, then we want to get in the NCAA Tournament. That is the ultimate goal. That’s why I came here; I came here to help rebuild a program that Coach McKeown was trying to set up, and I thought it was a really good place to be. We’re just excited to play this season and go out to win. It’s my last year, so I want it to be special and do the best that I can and leave no regrets, leave it all on the floor.
How do want people here to remember you when you’re gone?
Honestly, I don’t care if my name’s not on a plaque. If I can be remembered as being part of a great team, part of a year that was special here at Northwestern, that will not be forgotten. If we can go into the NCAA Tournament and that’s what I can be remembered for, I would be so happy for that. I would be extremely blessed to have that memory.
How do you think the trip to Italy served to strengthen team chemistry?
It was a great trip. You can’t ask for a better opportunity. I think going somewhere completely foreign and playing basketball and experiencing a whole different country and culture is a special thing. You just bond; I mean, you’re with these people for 10 days straight, and you have no one else to hang out with except them, and it just helps build our team chemistry and get to know each other better.
Were you someone who got really into the Olympics this summer?
Yes, I got pretty into the Olympics. I tried to watch as much as I could.
Were there any specific events that really interested you?
It was something acrobatic. They had six girls, and it was dancing combined with gymnastics combined with props. Oh my gosh, what was it called?
Was it just called rhythmic gymnastics?
Yeah, something like that, but I watched that and I was like, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” It was awesome. These girls were throwing these balls all over the place and had hula hoops and were throwing them at each other and doing flips all over. That was the most unique thing I’d ever seen. But I love the swimming; I got a ton of comments from people saying that I remind them of Missy Franklin, and she’s awesome, so that’s a compliment. She was killing it. It was great to see Michael Phelps and [former Northwestern swimmer] Matt Grevers. And watching Usain Bolt was unbelievable. I can’t imagine seeing him live let alone on television. He looks like he’s jogging.
He’s so cocky...
But he can be, because he’s the fastest man in the world. If I was the fastest woman in the world, I’d probably be a little cocky, too. A little confident, that’s for sure.
Back to the team. When you guys are on long road trips, what are some things that you do to pass the time?
When we were in Italy, we had a lot of long bus rides, and we’d like to sing a lot. So, we were singing a lot of songs on the bus rides, losing our voices, going on and on. We have a very musical team where we all like to sing. We all can’t sing well, but it’s okay. It doesn’t even matter.
Can anyone sing well?
Well, I can sing. I’ll say that because everyone will say that. And then we’ve got a couple girls who are decent. It’s a fun group of girls. We listen to music, sing, play random games, sometimes we’ll just sleep. That’s about it.