Junior scholar returns to court

KGF Junior Scholars: Kenzi Knobbe

When Sharon Springs’ Kenzi Knobbe left for Kansas State University last summer she had unfinished

business on the basketball court.
   The Kansas Golf Foundation scholar says she eventually came to the realization that she had to try college basketball and the talented high school player didn’t want to live the rest of her life thinking “what if?”
   “This summer I made the decision I would be okay without basketball,” says Knobbe, 19. “But, turns out, during the first semester this year I decided that I needed to go back and play a little bit before I got too old and couldn’t play anymore. I didn’t want to live it hanging and regret it the rest of my life.”
   So Knobbe spent just one semester at K-State and has transferred to Garden City Community College. She was a redshirt on the basketball team to begin the spring semester and had to watch from the bench as the Lady Busters’ season ended with a playoff loss at Coffeyville.
   “It’s kind of tough for me because I don’t really care to sit on the bench and not do too much,” says the 5-5 1/2 guard/wing. “I’d like to be out there in the action.”
   But even without the ability to get out on the court during the game, Knobbe says she knows now making the move to the southwest Kansas school was the right one.
   “It’s great…I’m a redshirt now so I practice and go to all of the games,” she says. “I feel better now that I’m here and have this opportunity.”

Courting success in three sports
   Knobbe says her grandmother was a big golfer in Leoti, Kan., about an hour away from home in Sharon Springs. And that’s how she and her brothers got their introduction to the game.
   “Probably in grade school…I just kind of picked it up from there,” she says. “Every time we went and visited that’s just the thing we did. We would always go to the golf course and play a round or two…”
   Knobbe says she ran track her first year at Wallace County High School, but joined the golf team the following season.
   “We played with the boys because our school did not have a girls’ team so we played in the spring,” Knobbe says. “Other than that I just played recreationally. My brother, he loves golf, so

we’d always go out together.”
   Knobbe tied for first place in a junior varsity tourney during her sophomore campaign and played varsity golf as a junior for the Wildcats. Knobbe says she learned about being tough mentally while out on the course.
   “It taught me how to focus on things while I’m playing the game and the little things that make the whole game come together,” she says. “It also taught me about respect and playing it respectfully. A lot of people look highly upon (golf), those that play the game.”
   The athletic Knobbe was a also a member of the Wildcat volleyball team and began to develop as quite a basketball player, making the Goodland Tip-off all-tournament teams her sophomore and junior seasons. She was an all-league hoops player three seasons, overcoming a broken hand that forced her out for a dozen games her senior year. An all-league volleyball player as a senior, Knobbe says she was involved in National Honor Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, student council and 4H among other activities during high school.

People person
   With her family’s background in agriculture and several members having gone to Kansas State, the Manhattan Big 12 school seemed like the perfect fit for Knobbe coming out of high school.
   “I figured that’s probably where I’d end up going…it’s a beautiful campus,” she says.
   But while at KSU she began to think about getting back out on the hardwood.
   “I started second-guessing my decision of going to K-State,” she admits. “This past summer, when I was trying to decide to go to K-State or maybe a juco and play basketball, I decided I would be okay without basketball. But I guess I just hadn’t had my fill of it.”
   The chance to go to Garden City and play was too tempting and now she’s become a part of the team and has begun to pursue a career as a dental hygienist.
   “I was thinking of a major that I could be around people…I really like older people and I like being around them, but I like kids too,” she says. “This seems like the perfect job, a happy medium. I can be around all sorts of people. My grandma was a dental hygienist and she kind of put the bug in my ear. It seems like a good fit for me and my personality.”
   Through her travels from Manhattan to Garden City, and her return to the basketball court, Knobbe remains appreciative of the support she’s received through her KGF scholarship.
   “I’m thrilled and very grateful…it’s helped me a lot,” she says. “It helped me at K-State and now that I’m here I’m so busy I don’t have time to get a job. It’s nice that we have people like the (KGF) that support kids who are so busy like I am.”