By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE -- Kelsey Moos and Sophie Brunner were walking through a Sun Devil women's basketball study hall late last spring. The seniors had already concluded their basketball careers and undergraduate studies. All practical obligations to the program were behind them, but their voices still commanded respect and their commitment to the team endured.
Brunner told the players to get off their cell phones and focus.
"Everybody better be stepping it up," Moos added.
Academic excellence is more than a buzz phrase for ASU women's basketball. For a program that strives to be the best in all areas, success in the classroom is every bit as important as success on the hardwood.
"It's not just about what we do on the court. It's about what we do off the court," Moos said. "There were a few times this spring where I think it hit us seniors that we were leaving, that our basketball careers were over but we wanted to make sure the underclassmen were prepared; that they were staying on track with what this program is all about."
For the second time in three seasons, Sun Devil Women's Basketball finished among the nation's top 10 schools in combined team GPA when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its annual Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll on July 16. The Sun Devils' team GPA of 3.672 for the 2016-17 academic year was the fifth-best mark in the nation among Division I schools, and the highest ranking in program history.
In May, the program was one of six ASU teams that recorded a perfect Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 1,000 for the 2015-16 academic year. The NCAA APR is used to measure academic achievement for all Division I sports teams.
In March, Moos and Quinn Dornstauder earned Pac-12 First-Team All-Academic honors, Brunner earned second-team honors and Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman earned honorable mention. ASU was the only Pac-12 school with two first-team honorees and led all Pac-12 schools with three combined first- and second-team honorees.
Since coach Charli Turner Thorne's first season at ASU in 1996-97, the Sun Devils lead the conference in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (21) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (43).
"I think it's just our overall philosophy and culture," Turner Thorne said. "We have the infrastructure in place with [academic coach] Shay Jewett, [senior associate athletic director for the Office of Student Athlete Development Jean Boyd] and the whole athletic department. And we try to recruit kids who fit the mold.
"We're about being the best at everything we do. It's not good enough to just be a good basketball player and try to get by in the classroom. That's not who we are."
Jewett meets with the players almost daily to keep abreast of what's going on in their classes, what assignments are due, and in which areas they are succeeding or struggling. She also makes certain the student-athletes are paying attention to the class parameters outlined in syllabi, including how their grades will be structured.
"I started correlating it to basketball," Jewett said. "When the coach calls timeout and you're being outrebounded by five, what's the first shift or change we need to make to be successful?"
The advent of online courses has added to Jewett's challenges because it's no longer simply about going to class and completing the assignments there. Sometimes, students face weekend or late-night assignment deadlines so that all becomes part of the planning process.
To keep Turner Thorne abreast of her players' performances, Jewett emails her an academic calendar weekly.
"It has class schedules and I list out every assignment for every player," Jewett said. "It's helpful because next Thursday everyone may have something going on so Charli might give them Wednesday off to prepare."
Turner Thorne admits that having national rankings has added motivation for her players. Competition is part of sports. It's a natural extension to push it into academics.
"The reality is we know there is no $10 million contract waiting for them at the end of their college career," Turner Thorne said. "It's not like the NBA. Even if they're drafted in the WNBA, there's a $40,000 contract waiting for them and they can make more by going overseas and playing year-round, but this is about options.
"We always say basketball is a vehicle to make a difference in the world; make an impact on the world. We have high standards, not just in terms of our workouts and our performance on the court, but in how we carry ourselves in the community as well, and I think that helps them be successful."
TEMPE -- Kelsey Moos and Sophie Brunner were walking through a Sun Devil women's basketball study hall late last spring. The seniors had already concluded their basketball careers and undergraduate studies. All practical obligations to the program were behind them, but their voices still commanded respect and their commitment to the team endured.
Brunner told the players to get off their cell phones and focus.
"Everybody better be stepping it up," Moos added.
Academic excellence is more than a buzz phrase for ASU women's basketball. For a program that strives to be the best in all areas, success in the classroom is every bit as important as success on the hardwood.
"It's not just about what we do on the court. It's about what we do off the court," Moos said. "There were a few times this spring where I think it hit us seniors that we were leaving, that our basketball careers were over but we wanted to make sure the underclassmen were prepared; that they were staying on track with what this program is all about."
For the second time in three seasons, Sun Devil Women's Basketball finished among the nation's top 10 schools in combined team GPA when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its annual Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll on July 16. The Sun Devils' team GPA of 3.672 for the 2016-17 academic year was the fifth-best mark in the nation among Division I schools, and the highest ranking in program history.
In May, the program was one of six ASU teams that recorded a perfect Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 1,000 for the 2015-16 academic year. The NCAA APR is used to measure academic achievement for all Division I sports teams.
In March, Moos and Quinn Dornstauder earned Pac-12 First-Team All-Academic honors, Brunner earned second-team honors and Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman earned honorable mention. ASU was the only Pac-12 school with two first-team honorees and led all Pac-12 schools with three combined first- and second-team honorees.
Since coach Charli Turner Thorne's first season at ASU in 1996-97, the Sun Devils lead the conference in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (21) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (43).
"I think it's just our overall philosophy and culture," Turner Thorne said. "We have the infrastructure in place with [academic coach] Shay Jewett, [senior associate athletic director for the Office of Student Athlete Development Jean Boyd] and the whole athletic department. And we try to recruit kids who fit the mold.
"We're about being the best at everything we do. It's not good enough to just be a good basketball player and try to get by in the classroom. That's not who we are."
Jewett meets with the players almost daily to keep abreast of what's going on in their classes, what assignments are due, and in which areas they are succeeding or struggling. She also makes certain the student-athletes are paying attention to the class parameters outlined in syllabi, including how their grades will be structured.
"I started correlating it to basketball," Jewett said. "When the coach calls timeout and you're being outrebounded by five, what's the first shift or change we need to make to be successful?"
The advent of online courses has added to Jewett's challenges because it's no longer simply about going to class and completing the assignments there. Sometimes, students face weekend or late-night assignment deadlines so that all becomes part of the planning process.
To keep Turner Thorne abreast of her players' performances, Jewett emails her an academic calendar weekly.
"It has class schedules and I list out every assignment for every player," Jewett said. "It's helpful because next Thursday everyone may have something going on so Charli might give them Wednesday off to prepare."
Turner Thorne admits that having national rankings has added motivation for her players. Competition is part of sports. It's a natural extension to push it into academics.
"The reality is we know there is no $10 million contract waiting for them at the end of their college career," Turner Thorne said. "It's not like the NBA. Even if they're drafted in the WNBA, there's a $40,000 contract waiting for them and they can make more by going overseas and playing year-round, but this is about options.
"We always say basketball is a vehicle to make a difference in the world; make an impact on the world. We have high standards, not just in terms of our workouts and our performance on the court, but in how we carry ourselves in the community as well, and I think that helps them be successful."