Name a sport, and there will be players whose names are synonymous with their teams.
When one mentions Ashland University women's basketball, one name comes to mind first –
Kari Daugherty Pickens. Pickens will be inducted into the 2024 class of the Ashland University Athletics Hall of Fame at the Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center.
"Really thankful for Ashland," Pickens said about her initial reaction to going into the Hall. "This place has shaped me in so many different ways, and has given me so many life experiences. When I heard who I was going in alongside, I was really honored to be going in with such a great class."
Pickens fashioned possibly the best back-to-back NCAA Division II women's basketball seasons in history after she came to campus from NCAA Division I Dayton. In helping Ashland to a national runner-up finish in 2011-12, then the program's first national title in 2012-13, Pickens collected 1,414 points and 903 rebounds (in just 65 games) – still 12th and fourth on the program's all-time list, respectively. She still has D-II records for most consecutive games with a double-double (34), and most rebounds in a D-II women's basketball tournament (95).
At the top of the lengthy list of Pickens' playing honors are two Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national Player of the Year awards, 2012-13 Daktronics National Player of the Year, 2012-13 Capital One Female Student-Athlete Academic All-American of the Year, 2011-12 and 2012-13 Honda Sports Award NCAA Division II Female Athlete of the Year, 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year (women's basketball), and 2012-13 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"It was so fun. I loved my college experience," Pickens said. "The community, how wonderful it was to play with my team, my coaching staff, all of those things. It was really, really fun. All of those things contributed to the career I was able to have.
"Was I a good basketball player? Yes, I was. But I think I became a great basketball player because of the people who surrounded me."
Prior to Pickens' arrival at Ashland, the Eagles had put together eight consecutive seasons of .500 records or better. But before Ashland took off to start what has become a 13-season streak of national championships, NCAA records, conference titles, etc., fate intervened. Forward
Daiva Gerbec was lost for the season prior to the start of 2011-12 – meaning Pickens had to make the move from a guard spot to a forward spot.
"I've thought about that all of time. I've thought about what would happened if I had been playing a guard," Pickens admitted. "I don't think I would have been as productive. So much of my game was rebounding, scoring down around the rim. And I think I would have been a less-dynamic player playing the guard spot."
Pickens' first season at AU resulted in a 33-game winning streak, a 33-2 record and a loss in the D-II national championship game to Shaw, 88-82 in overtime.
"It was a such a motivating experience," Pickens said of the title-game loss, "to the point that I was shooting so many shots to start that summer, I got tendonitis in my wrist. That wasn't just me, it was the entire team. We were so motivated to make sure that it didn't happen again."
And it didn't. In 2012-13, the Eagles finished 37-1, and capped the season with a 71-56 victory over Dowling for the program's first national championship.
"Honestly, I felt just a little relieved," Pickens noted. "There was such expectation. People were coming up to us in the fall saying, 'We've already bought our tickets to San Antonio.' When we were able to do it, I just felt relieved."
After her playing days, she stayed with the AU women's basketball program – first as an assistant coach, then as head coach. She helped the Eagles win the 2016-17 national title after an undefeated season as an assistant, and, in her first six seasons as a head coach, has gone 173-11 (.911) with an undefeated season and national championship in 2022-23. Pickens is the only woman in D-II women's hoops history to win national titles as a player (2013), assistant coach (2017) and head coach (2023).
"I do prayer walks almost every morning when I get to work, and as I'm walking around the gym, I can see that mural that's up there," Pickens said. "That makes it really real. I see the faces of my teammates, of my players. It's been about the people, and the fact that I've been able to be here and experience all these championships with these people makes it really special."
Pickens will go into the 2024 AU Hall class with
Robyn Fralick, who was an assistant coach when Pickens was playing, and a head coach when Pickens was an assistant herself.
"One of my biggest mentors. She's one of my dearest friends," said Pickens of Fralick. "She has been one of the biggest impacts on my entire life, so the fact that I get to go in alongside her is really special."
Pickens' Christian faith informs all aspects of her life, and she knows it was Him who brought her to Ashland – and has kept her here.
"I came to Ashland for my faith," she recalls. "I became a Christian when I was at Dayton, and I wanted to be at a place where I could grow more in my relationship with God. I didn't actually want to come to Ashland when I visited, but I felt like this is where He wanted me to be.
"And He was right. He was right in how I've been able to grow in my faith here, how it's shaped who I am, and I know I wouldn't where I am today if it wasn't for being here, and the people that surrounded me and helped me grow in my faith during my time here."
And speaking of her former head coach, another AU Hall of Famer,
Sue Ramsey, Pickens said, "I felt like God wanted me here so that coach Ramsey could mentor me in that way, because she is such a huge part of who I am and who I've become."
Pickens and her husband, Brad, have three children – Elijah, Chloe and Julia.
"I couldn't do what I do if it wasn't for Brad, and his support," said Pickens, "and also my parents and my in-laws, how much they help. My husband is awesome. He runs the show, and he makes sure we're all walking the way that we're supposed to be walking.
"And my kids are awesome. They love coming in to the Eagle gym with mommy as a coach."
The Hall of Fame induction is less than three months away. What will that morning be like for Pickens?
"I think it will be really emotional," she admitted. "The older I've gotten, the more I've realized how I've only gotten to where I am because of the people around me. Just emotional for me to be able to thank my parents, thank my coaches. And I think everyone else will feel the same."
