Leaving their mark

Very rarely does one graduating class accomplish so many things in its four years. Two 1,000 point scorers, aiding in getting their coach career victory number 300, more than 75 wins in four years, including one against a nationally ranked team and an NCAA tournament birth. Records and notable achievements, such will be the story of the 2010 Lady Owls basketball graduating class… at least to those not on the team.

Celeste Veilleux, Kristin Degou, Jen Cleaveland, Nicole Simmler and Alyssa Sapp will leave a remarkable legacy once they step off the court that final time. Five players who symbolize success over their careers at Keene State College. While impressive, the “Fab Five” hope success isn’t the only thing they’re remembered for.

“The one thing that I hope people remember about our class is our passion,” senior co-captain Kristin Degou said. “It’s hard today to find people who honestly and truly have respect for the game and everything it stands for. I think the senior class has proven we truly have a passion for playing and gave everything we had to the program.”
“I think we set a standard and showed the underclassmen what is expected of them as far as work ethic and heart,” Veilleux said.

While these five may have stuck together all four years at KSC, the same can’t be said of their entire freshmen class.

“The five of us seniors stuck together from day one. We started off my freshmen year with 11 or 12 and now we’re down to five,” Cleaveland said. “It wasn’t easy, and we’ve all had to make sacrifices, but we’ve put in all of the hard work and dedication that we possibly could have.”

Cleaveland was also quick to point out all their hard work and dedication wasn’t a wasted effort.

“Choosing to play for Keene State’s basketball team is the best decision I’ve made in my life thus far. It has been an incredible experience.”

What really makes this graduating class interesting and unique is each player’s individuality. Rarely do five players mesh so well together on the court, but this is just another trait that made the class special.

Cleaveland provided the muscle, whether it was scoring on the block or pulling down a rebound. She led the team in rebounds per game, averaging over six. Whenever the team needed a big offensive rebound, more often than not it was her pulling it down and giving the Owls another possession. She also led the team in rebounds in a game 11 times her senior year.

Sapp, a co-captain, acted as the floor general every team needs. Sometimes a silent assassin on the floor, she always seemed to show up when needed, as shown by her 14 point, five rebound, three assist, three steal game against rival Plymouth State University Feb. 16, 2010. Leading the team in assists and field goal percentage her senior year, Sapp was also a ball hawk on defense, leading the team with just under two steals a game and notching a career high six steals against Rhode Island College.
Veilleux’s name won’t jump out at you in the stat book, but as contradictory as it may seem, she may be the most important member of the team. Every team has its crutch; that person on the team teammates go to with questions. Veilleux took that role to heart with her personality and pure love for the team. Always the first off the bench to congratulate a teammate on a good play and always the first person to put someone under her arm and explain the situation, Veilleux was the ultimate teammate.

“For me it was all about killing my teammates in practice every day to make sure they were getting better, and were putting in their best effort,” Veilleux said. “I became sort of a coach on the court. I liked the fact that my teammates would come to me if they had a question about anything on the floor or in practice.”

Simmler was the ideal stretch forward. Tall and strong enough to bang down low with opposing centers, but agile and with enough range to still be a threat from the perimeter. Simmler’s best game of her career came in the same game as Sapp’s statistical onslaught against PSU Feb. 16, 2010 where she tied a career high with 26 points, pulled down nine rebounds and hit five of eight three-point attempts. Simmler also had a knack for hitting the floor, whether it was taking a charge or diving for a loose ball. Simmler was named to the second-team All-LEC and was honored for scoring her one-thousandth career point.

Degou was the definition of versatility all four years she played for the KSC squad. Leading the team in scoring during her senior season, she notched career point number one thousand. Her ability to drive to the basket forced defenders to back off of her, but all that did was leave her open to shoot threes, in which she led the team. On defense, she used her long arms to step into passing lanes and block shots. Degou was recognized for her defense, making the All-Defensive team her senior year, as well as being named to the First-Team All-LEC squad. One fact worth noting about Degou is not once in her career did Degou average less than four rebounds a game, a phenomenal feat as a guard.

Degou being named to the All-Defensive team should come as no surprise to anyone because the staple of the team was their defense all season. Coach Rob Colbert was very adamant about the defense being the team’s forte. He even had a saying he made up about defense. “If you don’t play D, you’ll sit on the B next to C.”
There was no sitting next to C. The team only conceded an average of 52 points per game and was at the top of the LEC in almost every defensive category. One key to great defense turnovers, which Boucher’s hybrid 1-3-1 zone defense caused a lot of. This defense played high pressure and gave multiple looks, which helped the team confuse opposing offenses.

The other key, according to Boucher, is the fire.
“When it comes to playing good defense, you need at least one player who plays like their hair’s on fire,” Boucher said, “and on this team we have a few players who can do that.”

Of course, one of the main ways a class is remembered is by their wins and losses. These Owls had those bases covered. Ask them, though, and the wins and losses weren’t as important as the friendships and memories created.
“I am really going to miss all the laughs our team has had,” Sapp said, “mostly from the stupid comments someone usually makes! As well as our great team chemistry, everyone is so great to hangout with.”

“Being a part of this team meant that I had a family away from home,” Cleaveland said. “I knew that I could go to my teammates or coaches for anything and that made things so much easier. It’s more than being a basketball player; it’s about being a part of something so much bigger than that.”

The careers of these five women will come to an end whenever their Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament ends. When these five women play their final game, it will be a special moment; the end of a legacy on the court.

“I was so excited to play basketball in college because I just wanted to play with girls who loved the game as much as I did,” Degou said. “Alyssa, Jen, Nicole and Celeste made these four years an absolutely incredible experience and I am honestly blessed to have them as my teammates. We didn’t win and LEC championship and I know how bad each and every one of us wanted that. At the end of the day, I know how hard we worked and the values that drive us in basketball will stick with us for the rest of our lives.”

 Don’t feel bad just yet though, they’ll see each other for the rest of the year, and for a long time after. Veilleux summed it up in a simple response.

“Yes absolutely,” she said about staying in touch with everyone. “I think we are all planning on buying a summer house together.”

Fab Five forever.

Mike Steiner  can be contacted at sports@keeneequinox.com

Ryan Glavey can be contacted at rglavey@keeneequinox.com