Kevi Luper making the grade at ORU
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| Oral Roberts
University freshman guard Kevi Luper earned the Summit League Women’s Basketball
Player of the Week honor after the Golden Eagles first two games this season.
She averaged 24.5 points, 3.5 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game. (Photo courtesy
of Oral Roberts University Athletics Department) |
By Wesley Mahan
Sports Writer
TULSA, Okla. – Despite the young season, Cherokee Nation citizen and freshman basketball player Kevi Luper has already impacted the Oral Roberts University women’s team.
The freshman from Adair High School scored 25 points in her college debut against Texas-Pan American and 24 more in her second game at Kansas University. The performances were good enough to earn the Summit League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor.
Luper credits the production because she loves playing at ORU, where she fits naturally.
“I love the coaches and I fit in perfect with the girls. I liked what ORU was about and they have a good basketball program. I just kind of felt like God was pushing me towards ORU, so that’s where I went,” she said.
Like many student athletes, she heard from recruiters. But Luper said she didn’t enjoy the recruiting process, describing it as a stressful time because of all the injuries she endured in high school. She suffered her first injury during the summer between her sophomore and junior years and it snowballed from there.
“Playing in the Oklahoma’s Best of the Best Tournament, I broke my arm against Sapulpa. Then I blew my ACL in the (Class 3A) area finals,” she said.
In her senior year Luper broke her left hand and missed several games. She said she overcame the injuries because she had faith God was going to get her where she needed to go.
One place she wanted to go was to a state championship, and this past season she finally got there as Adair beat defending champion Oklahoma City Millwood, 63-47.
“It felt like we had finally gotten what we had worked for. I remember back in middle school that was our goal,” she said.
Despite garnering so much attention, Luper manages to stay grounded.
“I don’t really try to keep up with it. I just do what I can do and be nice and appreciate all of it,” she said.
That could be a hard thing to do for most people who have collected the awards and honors she earned in high school. Luper won the Gatorade Oklahoma and Jim Thorpe Player of the Year Awards as a senior. She was also named the Oklahoma high school girl Athlete of the Year and was an all-state athlete in track, cross-country and basketball.
But even for a high school standout, transitioning to college can be a challenge. So Luper went to work immediately to ease the process.
“I came to ORU a few days after I graduated. I came up here and started doing my summer workout. I lifted weights and I never did that in high school. I think I’ve gotten a lot stronger. Everyone is going to be so much faster, stronger, and taller. I’m definitely going to have to get use to that.”
However, the toughest switch may be academically. In high school she had a 3.98 grade point average and was her senior class salutatorian.
“The hardest transition will be keeping up with my grades, especially being a pre-med major because you have to have above a 3.6 to get into any dental school,” she said.
Although excited about the season, Luper doesn’t want to put pressure on herself or teammates.
“We are really young this year. Right now we’re starting two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior. For a Division I program that’s young and inexperienced. Of course, I’m a little bit scared going out on the court, because I don’t know what I’m up against just yet,” she said.
Reach Sports Writer Wesley Mahan at (479) 427-9101 or wesley-mahan@yahoo.com