http://www.yankton.net/stories/05110...50511022.shtml
Cornemann Commits To SDSU
Yankton Standout To Play Basketball For Jackrabbits
By: BY JAMES D. CIMBUREK
james.cimburek@yankton.net
Yankton forward Ketty Cornemann has verbally committed to attend South Dakota State and play basketball for the Jackrabbits.
Ketty Cornemann may not know what her senior year will hold, but she knows where she will go in the fall of 2006.
Cornemann, the team Most Valuable Player for the Yankton Gazelles in 2004-05, has announced her intentions to attend South Dakota State University in the fall of 2006 and play women's basketball for the NCAA Division I women's basketball program, the junior announced Tuesday.
The coaching staff and family were major factors in the decision, she noted.
"South Dakota State was one of the first to contact me to play basketball," Cornemann said. "Both of my parents went to South Dakota State. It's also close to home, which is good because I have a lot of little siblings."
Cornemann got to know SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston and the Jackrabbit coaching staff through attending basketball camps in Brookings.
"I went to their camps, and I like all their coaches," she said. "I fell I'll fit in with them, with how they play."
Yankton head girls' basketball coach Doug Pesicka thinks that getting this big decision out of the way will help Cornemann focus on her senior year.
"The stress of making a college decision is behind her," he noted. "The only thing she has to play for this season is the Yankton Gazelles. Sometimes it's beneficial to make that decision early."
Cornemann agreed.
"I've received a lot of mail from colleges, and that will stop now," she said. "It will take a lot of pressure off."
Pesicka feels the Jackrabbits will be a good fit for Cornemann, who will become the first Gazelle since Jenni Larsen in the mid-1990s to play at the NCAA Division I level.
"If you look at Ketty's skills and the type of players they recruit, I think it will be a great fit for Ketty," Pesicka noted. "We are very proud of what Ketty has accomplished in the past three years."
As a junior, Cornemann was a first-team All-State selection in leading Yankton to a fourth place finish in the S.D. State Class AA Girls' Basketball Tournament. She averaged a 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 11.2 points per game.
The junior also proved she had an outside shot, hitting seven of 11 three-point attempts to rank third on the team in made three-pointers.
While the Yankton girls' basketball program has produced a number of players that have gone on to excel at the collegiate level, that is not the goal of the program, noted Pesicka.
"In our program, we try to make them the best high school players they can be," he said. "If they adhere to what we're trying to teach them, those skills will also give them the opportunity to go on to play in college."
Cornemann will join a South Dakota State program that will have two years of Division I experience under their belts by the time Cornemann hits campus. This past year, the Jackrabbits had a solid showing in their first season in NCAA Division I, beating several more established programs and pushing teams like eastern power Rutgers to their limits.
"The SDSU women have one of the better programs in the region," Pesicka noted. "Are they Connecticut or Tennessee? No, but they will be competitive at the Division I level and, with signees like Ketty, they'll be even better."
Cornemann will enter her senior season ranked among the top Gazelles players of all-time in both scoring and rebounding. Her 481 points rank her 21st all-time, while her 277 rebounds place her 19th all-time.
Cornemann Commits To SDSU
Yankton Standout To Play Basketball For Jackrabbits
By: BY JAMES D. CIMBUREK
james.cimburek@yankton.net
Yankton forward Ketty Cornemann has verbally committed to attend South Dakota State and play basketball for the Jackrabbits.
Ketty Cornemann may not know what her senior year will hold, but she knows where she will go in the fall of 2006.
Cornemann, the team Most Valuable Player for the Yankton Gazelles in 2004-05, has announced her intentions to attend South Dakota State University in the fall of 2006 and play women's basketball for the NCAA Division I women's basketball program, the junior announced Tuesday.
The coaching staff and family were major factors in the decision, she noted.
"South Dakota State was one of the first to contact me to play basketball," Cornemann said. "Both of my parents went to South Dakota State. It's also close to home, which is good because I have a lot of little siblings."
Cornemann got to know SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston and the Jackrabbit coaching staff through attending basketball camps in Brookings.
"I went to their camps, and I like all their coaches," she said. "I fell I'll fit in with them, with how they play."
Yankton head girls' basketball coach Doug Pesicka thinks that getting this big decision out of the way will help Cornemann focus on her senior year.
"The stress of making a college decision is behind her," he noted. "The only thing she has to play for this season is the Yankton Gazelles. Sometimes it's beneficial to make that decision early."
Cornemann agreed.
"I've received a lot of mail from colleges, and that will stop now," she said. "It will take a lot of pressure off."
Pesicka feels the Jackrabbits will be a good fit for Cornemann, who will become the first Gazelle since Jenni Larsen in the mid-1990s to play at the NCAA Division I level.
"If you look at Ketty's skills and the type of players they recruit, I think it will be a great fit for Ketty," Pesicka noted. "We are very proud of what Ketty has accomplished in the past three years."
As a junior, Cornemann was a first-team All-State selection in leading Yankton to a fourth place finish in the S.D. State Class AA Girls' Basketball Tournament. She averaged a 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 11.2 points per game.
The junior also proved she had an outside shot, hitting seven of 11 three-point attempts to rank third on the team in made three-pointers.
While the Yankton girls' basketball program has produced a number of players that have gone on to excel at the collegiate level, that is not the goal of the program, noted Pesicka.
"In our program, we try to make them the best high school players they can be," he said. "If they adhere to what we're trying to teach them, those skills will also give them the opportunity to go on to play in college."
Cornemann will join a South Dakota State program that will have two years of Division I experience under their belts by the time Cornemann hits campus. This past year, the Jackrabbits had a solid showing in their first season in NCAA Division I, beating several more established programs and pushing teams like eastern power Rutgers to their limits.
"The SDSU women have one of the better programs in the region," Pesicka noted. "Are they Connecticut or Tennessee? No, but they will be competitive at the Division I level and, with signees like Ketty, they'll be even better."
Cornemann will enter her senior season ranked among the top Gazelles players of all-time in both scoring and rebounding. Her 481 points rank her 21st all-time, while her 277 rebounds place her 19th all-time.
Comment