Enjoying the Process

By: D. Scott Fritchen

The sound of echoing basketballs and high-energy music fills the air as Gabby Gregory takes a seat with a purple jacket draped across her lap. It's rather cold outside this morning in Manhattan, but it'll become sweaty over the next two hours of practice on the court inside the Ice Family Basketball Center. That's just how Gregory likes it.

She enjoys the burn. She enjoys the competition. She enjoys lifting weights and watching video and installing game plans and shooting and seeing the basketball splash through the net. There are few shooting guards in the country who have equaled Gregory's success this season, but the senior transfer is hardly content as she heads down the stretch of her first season at Kansas State.

There's always that next step, that next practice, and that next game, which provides the next opportunity for her to shine on the basketball court, which she has known virtually all her life, back home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then during her time at the University of Oklahoma, and now with the Wildcats, who continue to grind through the Big 12 Conference season behind their leader, their playmaker, their consummate light whenever things might appear tough. Gregory is always in the mix, fighting, clawing, driving to the rack, kissing incredible shots off the glass again and again, a sweet symphony followed by a cascade of cheers from fans who appreciate her every performance.

"Each game is the same," she says. "I try not to look at the opponent or anything like that, but I just think about the game plan, and going into the game, and trying to execute it to the best of my ability, and just having fun. I look at basketball as an outlet to just have a lot of fun. That's the only way I look at it."

Her fun is translating into some serious numbers on the court.

Gregory is one of three Division I players with 400 points, 50 made 3-pointers and 100 made free throws this season. She ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring (19.5), seventh with 41.2% shooting (115-of-293), fifth with 32.0% (58-of-181) on 3-pointers, and third with 85.7% (114-of-133) on free throws. She leads the Big 12 with 14 20-point performances and has a league high-tying two 30-point games. She had a career-high 35 points and 10 rebounds against Northern Arizona and 31 points against South Dakota State.

On January 31, she was named as one of 10 candidates for the 2022-23 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given annually by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to the top female shooting guard in the nation.

"To be mentioned is honestly really cool," she says. "I was surprised when I saw it. I'm nominated with a lot of incredible basketball players. Soaking it all in, it's an honor just to be nominated for it."

Gregory officially joined K-State on April 12, as the three-time Oklahoma letterwinner bade farewell to the Sooners and said hello to the Little Apple. She had two years of eligibility remaining. She gave K-State an instant-impact player. She was named the No. 4 Impact Transfer player for 2022-23 by ESPN.

Her summer encompassed a lot of weight training. Lifting weights is her favorite. At night, she hit the basketball court, cranking up her music, and getting up shots, just her and the basketball.

She faced a seemingly mountainous obstacle just to get here. She discovered she had asthma the summer before her freshman season. Even after going on medication, she always had a stuffy nose. X-rays revealed she needed sinus surgery. Afterward, she suffered asthma attacks and panic attacks. The diagnosis? Vocal cord dysfunction. Even when she returned to the basketball court to mount a comeback, it proved to be an uphill battle. After averaging 11.6 points as a freshman and 16.6 points as a sophomore, she managed just 2.6 points while appearing in 18 games during her junior season.

She decided she needed a reset, leaving behind the school that she had adored throughout her youth.

"This season, I've just been able to play to the best of my ability and relax and have fun playing basketball again," she says. "My teammates have been incredibly welcoming and my transition to K-State has been so seamless and it's really allowed me to flourish. Obviously, we have a lot more games left to play, and we have a big February ahead of us, but just being able to have fun and play free has been amazing."

On Sunday, Gregory had 16 points in a 78-68 loss at Texas Tech after putting up 27 points against No. 12 Iowa State (a 78-77 win) and 25 points at Kansas (an 85-72 loss) in the previous two games. The Wildcats, 14-10 overall and 3-8 in the Big 12, prepare to meet Oklahoma, 19-4 and 9-3, on Sunday in Bramlage Coliseum. After that, they'll have six regular-season games remaining before they try to make a run in the Big 12 Tournament.

"The Big 12 is as stacked as its ever been," Gregory says. "Top to bottom, the league is just insane. People look at it like, 'You guys aren't doing well in the conference this year,' but if you really look at it, you have no gimme games this year. Men or women, it's the best conference in basketball for sure."

Gregory is stepping it up. She's averaged 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over the last five games and her 27 points in the upset over the Cyclones marked her most against a Big 12 opponent this season.

She's on pace to become the first K-State player since Kendra Wecker (2004-05) to average 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and shoot 85% from the foul line in a season. She's on pace to become just the sixth player in Big 12 history to average 19 points, five rebounds and two 3-pointers per game.

And she continues to get back into the gym every day.

"I like going back and watching the games and seeing what I did well and what I didn't do well, so I really enjoy being a student of the game, and I like to study the way I play and the way people are playing against me," she says. "When it comes to practice, I just focus on what Coach (Jeff) Mittie wants for that next game.

"There's a game plan and we can always do better at executing what he wants us to do. It's about practicing hard and getting my shots up and getting treatment and keeping my body right, just things like that. There are so many ways we can do better to be better."

She's learned plenty about herself along the way.

"I've learned that even if things get hard, you can work hard and find a way to get past it," she says. "I have a lot of quotes on my mirror at home, and one of the quotes reads, 'Nothing changes if nothing changes.' I just try to live by that. If you want better for yourself, you have to change and do something different.

"I wasn't so much happy with the previous position I was in, so I had to make a change. If I wanted to be a better player and succeed in the way that I knew I could, I had to make a change and work harder and do different things. That's the biggest thing I've learned — if you want to change you have to do something about it, and change what you're doing."

It's the same old basketball. Same Gregory. Different team. Once humbled by injury, she's mounted a remarkable comeback and has proven herself to be one of the top shooting guards in the nation. It's a riveting story. And it isn't finished.

Over the next two hours, she'll sweat during practice in the gym. Then she'll look to make more beautiful music on the court. Whether it's hitting 3-pointers, mid-range jump shots, or hyping up the crowd with a dazzling layup while drawing a foul, Gregory has a gift, and she's utilizing that gift at every opportunity.

This season, she's taken the Big 12 by storm. But it's about so much more. It's about the burn. It's about the drive. It's about competition. And it's about what she feels inside every time she steps onto the court.

"Just seeing the pure joy on my face and how much fun I'm actually having playing basketball," she says, "that's what I'm most proud of."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Gabby Gregory

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