Football players aren’t the only athletes getting
athletic scholarships around here. Basketball player Kandace Evans and volleyball player Jaria Atkins were so successful in their respective sports that college recruiters were knocking down their doors with scholarship offers.
Evans particularly has been through ups and downs when deciding on a college. For a long time, Evans had her mind set on Illinois State University. At the time, she rejected all of the other schools that offered her a scholarship. She was all set to attend ISU until the university’s head basketball coach was fired. The new head coach rejected Evans and revoked her scholarship.
After that, Wayne State University courted Evans to continue her basketball career in Detroit. But, WSU was soon out of the picture.
The University of Wisconsin then recruited Evans. That scholarship came about at her AAU (Amateur Athletic Union ) basketball game. Her performance that day was so great that the coach could not turn her down. She signed a letter of intent to play at UW on May 2, in front of an audience of some 70 well-wishers, including her former coaches, her counselor, and her teammates.
“It’s a blessing,” said Evans. “My parents and family feel that I worked very hard and I deserve it.”
Evans is the only female basketball player from Southfield High School ever to attend a Big Ten school on an athletic scholarship, according to Athletic Director Art Carinci.
The guard had other scholarship offers from Northwestern University in Chicago, Kent State University in Ohio, and Southern University in New Orleans.
“This scholarship is important to me because all of my coaches and teammates believe in me,” said Evans. “I want to go to UW and represent.”
As for Atkins, she has two offers on the table. She must choose between North Carolina Central University and Kentucky State University (KSU). KSU is offering the sweeter deal, Atkins says. It includes a full four-year scholarship. North Carolina is offering a three-year full scholarship and a partial freshman year scholarship.
Atkins says, “My older sister also attends NC Central and plays volleyball, so it would be great to play with her. But the most important thing is that I can further my education.”
Atkins, who has already visited NCC, says she still wants to visit KSU before she decides.
When Atkins transferred from Farmington High in her junior year, she had no intentions of playing volleyball in college. She just enjoyed volleyball as an extracurricular activity.
After her senior season, she found herself being All-League, and All-Area. Those achievements gave her an impressive look to colleges such as Wayne State University, Fayetteville State, Henry Ford Community College, and Florida Memorial Community College. They all recruited Atkins.
But of the options, NC Central stood out the most to Atkins because she wanted to attend NC Central even before they recruited her for volleyball.
“This is great for me because I really did want to continue my volleyball experience,” said Atkins.