Kansas' Kersgieter, Franklin, Jackson plan to put team first this season
After the magical run to a WNIT title for the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse last season, the Kansas trio of Holly Kersgieter, Taiyanna Jackson and Zakiyah Franklin had a tough decision to make. All three had a single year of eligibility remaining at Kansas, but there were still plenty of options. With multiple teammates leaving to go where they could have a greater impact, no one could have blamed them if they felt like they could develop their opportunities in another location.
This group had already done something that many people openly wondered if it was even possible in the men's basketball hungry town of Lawrence: get fans excited about women's basketball again. The run through the WNIT saw Kansas host each game in the tournament, with crowds increasing for each game. But all three decided that they wanted to use their final year to find ways to push that legacy even further.
Head Coach Brandon Schneider was extremely clear on what their return means to him.
"I think it says a lot about how much they love KU and how much they love the community of Lawrence. Just a great sense of loyalty to their teammates. They truly want to leave this program better than they found it, which they've already done. Now it's just [to] build on that legacy."
And it is quite a legacy. Taiyanna Jackson set a Kansas record for blocked shots in each of the last two seasons, and was the first player in 40 years to average a double-double. Zakiyah Franklin set records in single-season free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage, and is positioned to finish her career in the top 10 in all-time scoring and top 5 in career assists. Kergieter was able to place 6th on the single-season three-pointers list, despite her injury, and is also poised to finish in the top 10 in scoring. She already is third in school history for made three-pointers.
But none of those players mentioned anything about what they had the opportunity to achieve individually this season. While they all talked about improving themselves, there wasn't a single mention of milestones or spots in the record books.
Franklin mentioned how much she enjoyed working with the younger players on the roster, saying working with them "is kind of cool because they are just raw talent." She enjoys "taking them in and showing them the way." But it isn't a one-way street. "It's really cool to see them catching on quickly, and they're teaching us things too."
Asked about her goals for the season, Jackson talked about being "better than what I was last year." But that goal was just part of the larger goal, which was to help the team "become the best version of ourselves and build that sisterhood."
Given the way her season ended last year, Kersgieter might have been the one that you thought was most disappointed in her performance last year and wanting to really step it up this year. She suffered an injury in the Oklahoma game in Lawrence and wasn't quite herself the rest of the year. "That was a hard injury for me. I had never dealt with something like that." But for her, the focus moving forward is just being able to play at full strength.
Asked about what the run to a WNIT title did for them, Kersgieter's "main takeaway is having fun again." And they used that experience to help them decide if they wanted to come back this season. The decision was "not just us three. It's what we can bring that can extend to the rest of the team."
As Kersgieter put it, "this could be the end of my career." But the focus isn't on just what she can work on in her own game. "We have things to work on as a team first."
