A dose of Canada sparks Spartan success  

- March 21 2011

We are just days removed from the Michigan State Spartans winning the Big 10 championship and the humble power forward Kalisha Keane picks up the phone to speak with me about her team.

The first question I asked was about her offensive and defensive abilities having allowed her to excel in her game and become the player of the year voted by the coaches. A shy Keane tries to deflect the attention from herself after acknowledging how much the award means to her.

"It means a lot to be respected by the coaches and the league having to design strategies to stop me on the offensive end. It really shows that they respect my game and it means a lot to me."

Kalisha Keane is the first Spartan to be named Big 10 player of the month, first team all-star and finalist for the John R. Wooden Award ballot, which will take place on April 11. She has earned all-conference honors for the fourth straight season scoring 15.9 points per game, also ranked second in assists (2.1) and steals (2.4) let's not forget third in rebounds with (5.0). There is no surprise that she can light it up from beyond the arc too leading the her team from three point country with 2.1 a game.

"It been a long four years but just to know that good things come to those who wait. Playing the right way and working hard for what you get it means so much to me to accomplish that."

As the Spartans prepare for their fourth berth in the NCAA tournament I couldn't help but wonder if she will be part of the Canadian national junior team this summer.

"Being able to play internationally really helped me a lot because you are learning many different styles of play that you will have to play against many different types of players. The living circumstances make you appreciate what we get as division one players. I've learned never to complain about anything because we have it so good."

How does that not put a smile on your face? She wants to help Canada qualify for an Olympic birth next season and see them build on their success. Her passion for this great game runs in the family as her sister is currently playing the game at the college level and her brother plans to do the same after he graduates high school.

The native of Ajax, Ont. speaks on the growth of women's game by discussing how her success could not have been achieved if women and WNBA superstars in their own right Tammy Sutton-Brown, and Stacy Dales didn't pave the way for her.

"Hopefully I can be that role model for the future of basketball and know that it is possible to be successful out here. Promote it as a whole and show that there is talent on the northern side of the border. It is worth investing in and putting time into success being built. The 'Anita' program, CT provincial teams should encourage kids to play against great competition in the States because it would create great opportunity."

Keane can't deny how excited she is to compete in the tournament and how intense the atmosphere will be in Kansas as they take on Northern Iowa.

As her anticipation grows she can't help but be extremely nervous for what lies ahead. Entering the real world is something she isn't hoping to get to anytime soon but it is staring her right in the face as she graduates this spring.

"Kind of scary entering the real world hopefully I can continue to play and make some money playing the game. I am going to keep enjoying what I do and then enter to grad school and get my Masters in Sports Psychology and work on the sports psychology part of it. I don't see myself behind the desk."

Kalisha Keane is one star we will be talking about for years and years to come.

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