By Corbin McGuire
Nerves.
That's what K-State women's basketball's
Ayoka Lee felt when she stepped onto the court on September 14. And she was on edge for a few reasons.
To start, she and three teammates —
Jasauen Beard,
Rachel Ranke and
Christianna Carr — were playing in the 2019 Red Bull USA Basketball 3X Regional, a 3-on-3 tournament in New York City at Queens College.
"We had no idea what we were going to come into," Lee said, "and who we were going to face."
For Lee, her nerves went beyond the unique tournament opportunity that K-State's group won — more on that later — and centered on the fact that it was simply the chance to play a live basketball game again. It had been roughly 18 months since the 6-foot-5 center injured her knee in her last season of high school basketball in Minnesota.
"I was really nervous, but it was so much fun," Lee, who redshirted last season, said as K-State's four-woman team qualified for the Red Bull USA Basketball 3X Nationals in April of 2020. "I was really nervous before every game. My teammates were really good about giving me that support and having confidence in me throughout the whole thing."
That support and confidence was a continuation of what Lee said she felt when she was working her way back to full strength. In the low, difficult moments and days, her teammates picked her up. Lee recalled one particularly hard day when junior center
Ashley Ray did so.
"She had no idea it was probably the worst day of my life, and she left me a note in my locker and it, literally, made my day," Lee said. "Definitely, my teammates (helped me through it) just because they made the extra effort to know what I was going through, even though it was different from what they were doing."
This summer was also different for Lee, in that she could do what her teammates were doing.
That included playing 3-on-3 as part of every practice. The original intention of doing so had nothing to do with going to New York, either. It was just an approach toward improvement.
"It's (3-on-3) so continuous compared to what we're doing for five-on-five. I think the biggest thing we learned from it was to keep playing, and the pace is a lot faster with the practice guys, so being able to keep up and keep the defensive intensity, share the ball on offense, all those things," Lee said. "Then, 3-on-3 is different with the defense, just being able to communicate more because in 3-on-3 there is a lot more space on the floor. So, you do have to communicate a lot. I think that also carries over to 5-on-5."
How Lee and her three teammates found out their summer 3-on-3 work would be more directly tested before their actual season starts brought some nervous energy as well.
All four received a text one day, a few weeks ago, from K-State's coaching staff, asking them to come to the Ice Family Basketball Center as soon as possible. Nobody knew what it was for, however.
"We all thought we were in trouble," Lee said, laughing. "I was, like, 'What could I have possibly done to get in trouble?' So, I was really nervous. We got here and they were, like, 'So, you guys might have an opportunity to go to New York.' It was just out of the blue. We had no idea."
Lee also had no clue what to expect from the trip to New York.
Would the other teams bring three guards and a post? Or all guards to spread the floor? She faced a little bit of both throughout the one-day ordeal, all of which added to her game.
"I think the biggest challenge was just being able to guard anyone. Coach (Jeff) Mittie's really big on that from last year, that in basketball, it's one player guarding another, not to worry about the positions," Lee said. "That was the biggest challenge, being able to guard the three and the drive and guard a lot of space because there is only three people on the floor."
There was also a 12-second shot clock in place at the tournament, which made quick decisions a must on offense. Again, Lee said this should carry over to her first season on the floor for K-State, which starts with an exhibition against Washburn on October 29.
"It definitely helped a lot. I was actually worried about that when we were practicing, but once we got there, we did so well with it," she said. "Decisiveness is definitely something I've been working on in practice. That 12-second shot clock can be a challenge, but it definitely helped me think about what I need to be doing before the ball is even in the right spot to pass it to me."
In her current position, healthy above anything else, Lee is soaking in every day in the gym. A year ago, she was forced to watch her teammates get ready for the season from the sidelines. Now, she's part of it and eager to continue moving forward.
"It's just really exciting," she said. "Being able to relate to my teammates on a whole different level because I am doing this stuff with them, I'm just so thankful for it."
