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Audi Crooks
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State coaches and athletes were at the Algona stop on the Cyclone Club statewide meet-and-greet tour this summer when Audi Crooks’ popularity truly registered with women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly. Her autograph line dwarfed that of football coach Matt Campbell.
“That never happens,” Fennelly said.
Crooks has been beloved by the Algona community for years, not only for her prodigious scoring production at Bishop Garrigan High School but also for her enthusiastic participation in just about every youth activity while she was growing up in the town of 5,000 two hours north of Iowa State’s campus in Ames.
Her celebrity as an athlete grew as she defied modest expectations entering her freshman season to become a unanimous All-Big 12 first-team center, and she introduced herself to the nation when she erupted for 40 points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.
Crooks earned honorable mention for the preseason Associated Press All-America team and, along with three other returning starters, leads No. 8 Iowa State into a season of high expectations that begins against Chicago State.
She also is ready to take over as one of the faces of women’s college basketball, a role that suits the 19-year-old known for her quick smile and effervescent personality.
“I never anticipated all the attention and the spotlight,” she said. “I’ve tried to handle it with grace. Any attention I can bring to Iowa State women’s basketball and to the women’s basketball movement I will happily do.”
Crooks scored 2,734 points in high school, third-most all-time among Iowa girls, and set an all-class, state-tournament record with 49 points in the 2023 Class 1A championship game. But 1A is the state’s smallest class, and there were questions about whether she could make a rapid and successful transition to power-conference college basketball.
“Most people thought she couldn’t do it,” Fennelly said.
It wasn’t just a question of Crooks’ skill….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/audi-crooks-journey-small-town-170123510.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-04 17:01:00
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