Copyright © 1999 Seattle Times Company
Posted at 06:29 a.m. PDT; Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Girls basketball
Lake Washington's Kraayeveld picks Oregon
by Danny O'Neil
Seattle Times staff reporter
Cathrine Kraayeveld was offered a scholarship to Washington last month.
Yesterday, that option wasn't available. The Huskies had no scholarships left to offer and Kraayeveld had a choice between Kansas and Oregon.
She decided to accept a Duck basketball scholarship.
"I just liked the program," she said. "I liked the girls, I got along with them really well and they've had good experience in the NCAAs."
The Ducks have played in the NCAA Tournament each of Coach Jody Runge's six years with the team. They went 25-6 last season, the best record since Runge took over in 1993.
A 6-foot-3 forward, Kraayeveld averaged 14 points as a junior at Lake Washington. She was named to the Class 4A all-tournament team after leading the Kangs to the state-title game. She averaged 16.3 points in the tournament and 11.3 rebounds, which was second-best among 4A girls in the tournament.
One of the best all-around athletes in the state, last year she earned KingCo 4A second-team all-conference mention as a goalkeeper in soccer and qualified for the state track meet in the discus and shot.
Basketball will be her only college sport, but she didn't rule out the possibility of trying track and field in the future.
"It kind of just depends on my coach," she said. "I wouldn't want to hurt my shoulder."
Kraayeveld will likely play small forward at Oregon, but she also has a low-post game she can use against smaller defenders.
Kraayeveld visited the Ducks in mid-September. She liked the college-town setting of Eugene, and the compact campus. Proximity was also a selling point because her parents won't have to fly halfway across the country to watch her play.
"It's closer to home," she said. "(Committing to Oregon) was the thing that I wanted to do."
Kraayeveld took three official recruiting visits, starting with Washington. She said the Huskies offered a scholarship, but asked her to commit before visiting Oregon or Kansas.
"I decided to visit all three and wait until after I was done," Kraayeveld said.
When she returned from her visit to Oregon, she said Washington Coach June Daugherty called to say the Huskies had received two more verbal commitments and had no more scholarships available. The Huskies received early verbal commitments from Andrea Lalum of Bozeman, Mont., Sarah Keeler of Pendleton, Ore., and Giuli Mendiola of Lake Forest, Calif.
Recruits can not sign a letter of intent and make the scholarship binding until November.
Was Kraayeveld disappointed to learn Washington had no scholarship available?
"Yeah, kind of," she said. "That's the way it goes. It just means I wasn't supposed to go there."
Kraayeveld took her final visit to Kansas the last weekend of September. Colorado State was also one of her finalists, but the Rams wouldn't have been able to arrange an official campus visit for her until later this month.
Kraayeveld didn't need to wait to know Oregon was the best fit.
"I'm glad it's over," she said. "It's something that I wouldn't want to go through again."
Even after Bothell scored four goals against her in a KingCo 4A soccer loss last night, Kraayeveld felt a sense of relief.
"I don't have to wonder where I'm going to go anymore," she said.
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