LSE standout Houser to play for Purdue
KK Houser promised to wait until after her summer season with the Cornhusker Shooting Stars’ Nebraska Bison/Judds select team to make her college decision.
The Lincoln Southeast girls basketball Super-State point guard needed just a matter of days after her final game with the Shooting Stars to nail down her commitment to Purdue, which the senior-to-be made public Monday night. Houser, one of the most highly recruited girls basketball players ever to come out of Lincoln, chose the Boilermakers over Michigan State, Iowa State, Iowa and Minnesota.
“All the pressure about picking a college is gone,” Houser said. “The last couple days have been really stressful. I had to work up the courage to call the other coaches to tell them ‘Thanks for recruiting me, but I’m going to Purdue.’’’
Houser said Nebraska entered the recruiting picture late, but was never in her list of top schools. “I want to get away from home and experience something different in college,’’ Houser said.
Houser was leaning toward Purdue before the summer started. She solidified the choice with one final visit to the West Lafayette, Ind., campus last Friday after finishing a tournament in Cincinnati a day earlier.
“I just felt this was the right place for me,” said Houser, who wants to major in communications and eventually pursue a career in television. “It’s a great program. I’m impressed with Coach (Sharon) Versyp and we have a good relationship off the court. They’re (the Boilermakers) also not scared of shorter point guards.”
The lightning-quick 5-foot-5 Houser knows her up-tempo style fits with how the Boilermakers play. Their current starting point guard, junior-to-be FahKara Malone, is 5-3.
Purdue, 19-15 last season, won its second straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Tennessee.
Houser joins Southeast and Shooting Stars teammate Marissa Kastanek as an NCAA Division I recruit. Kastanek, also a senior, committed to North Carolina State last fall.
Houser, a three-time all-stater, earned first-team Super-State honors last winter as she helped lead the Knights to the Class A state championship by averaging 13.4 points and almost five assists per game. Houser also played a major role in the Shooting Stars going 44-6 this summer and winning two tournaments.
She’s also a potential college recruit in three sports. Houser was an honorable mention all-state shortstop in softball last fall after hitting .325 with 32 stolen bases and scoring 36 runs.
Houser is also a three-time state gold medalist in track as a hurdler and a member of Southeast’s 1,600-meter relay team that’s broken the state record the past two years. Her 14.50-second time in the 100 low hurdles is tied for sixth on the state’s all-time chart.
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
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