SPORTS
Basketball Star Reflects on Reaching 1,000 Points and 1,000 Rebounds
F
OR COURTNEY WARLEY ’21, ’22 (MBA), THE PATH TO STARDOM AT MANHATTAN COLLEGE was never in doubt. The move to the Bronx from her home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, and her belief in the Jaspers’ basketball program were major components of her plan for success when she first arrived at the College. Warley’s choice to return for a fifth year was a gift that kept on giving for Manhattan fans. Having reached 1,000 points during a November game against Stetson, Warley’s next triumph was reaching the 1,000th rebound mark against Marist on Jan. 8 at home in Draddy Gymnasium. Entering the game eight boards shy of the magic number, Warley accomplished the feat with 3:24 left in the Jaspers’ convincing 7245 win over the Red Foxes. After Warley pulled down the clinching board, Head Coach Heather Vulin (affectionately known as Coach V) called a timeout to let the fifth-year center and her teammates soak in all the emotions of the unforgettable moment. The entire team gathered around Warley to celebrate her becoming the second player in program history to attain membership in both the 1,000 point and 1,000 rebound clubs. “We’ve had 22 people in our program history get 1,000 points, but only two people get 1,000 rebounds,” Vulin says about the rare achievement. “I just wanted to make sure she could have that moment to celebrate with her teammates.” Warley has reflected on the magnitude of that moment, as well. She notes that rewriting the record books with the support of her family, teammates and coaches makes her success all the more rewarding. “I take it as a blessing to get the extra year, and my family, as well, just to see me play basketball for another year is a treat for them,” she says. “To hug my teammates and Coach V means the world to me. They’re the reason why I play so hard, and why I try to do as much as I can.” Warley’s basketball story is rooted in her family’s tradition of playing the sport. The Warley family name is well-established in the Philadelphia hoops scene. Her father, Carlin, and uncle, Jason, were members of the St. Joseph University men’s basketball teams of the early ’90s. From 1991 to 1995, Carlin Warley amassed 1,480 points and 1,138 rebounds in 114 games played for the Hawks. The two brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Ben Warley, who starred at Tennessee State in the late ’50s and was a teammate of Wilt Chamberlain’s on the Philadelphia 76ers. Her mother, Cherie, also enjoyed a successful basketball career, playing at the Division III level for Philadelphia University, now known as Jefferson University. Fittingly, she too reached the 1,000-rebound milestone, foreshadowing the type of player Warley would one day become.
24 N spring 2022
BY PETE JANNY ’22
With just minutes left in the home game against Marist in January, fifth-year center Courtney Warley ’21, ’22 (MBA) reaches 1,000 rebounds, after having reached 1,000 points in November. The entire team gathers around Warley (in the middle) in celebration during a called timeout, as she becomes just the second player in program history to join both illustrious point and rebound clubs. The Jaspers also defeated the Red Foxes, 72-45.
“My dad was a great scorer, and my mom was a little more of an IQ player,” she says. “I think I’m a mix of both of them out on the court.” Warley is not alone in her quest to perpetuate the family legacy. Her sister, Morgan, plays at Division II West Chester University in Pennsylvania, close to where the family lives. Meanwhile, Jalen Warley, son of Jason, is a freshman on the Florida State men’s basketball team. “Sports are a way to connect with people, so that’s something that our family takes to heart,” Warley says. Carlin Warley was in Draddy to see his daughter make history. Before the game, he told himself not to get too emotional. But, he says, how things unfolded was almost too good to be true, and he was overwhelmed by the support of her coaches and teammates. “How Coach V and those coaches and those kids cheered for her was the most emotional part for me,” he recalls. According to Warley’s father, there was no doubt about where she would play her final season. After completing four seasons at
