11 minute read

Just a Kid From Norman 2.0

Kelbie Washington is living her childhood dream. The Norman High School legend is a key cog for an OU Women’s Basketball program that is putting up historic numbers. With an incredible list of accomplishments, the Norman native is setting a solid foundation to the start of her Sooner career.

Long before Kelbie was making plays on the court for the Norman Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners, her father was making an impact in the Oklahoma City area as both an athlete and a coach. Robert Washington has been the Moore High School head wrestling coach since 1994. He was also once a four-sport athlete for the Lions where he played baseball, football, wrestling and ran track. In fact, the Washington family is steeped in Oklahoma sports history. “Crystal Robinson, one of the best women’s players in Oklahoma high school basketball history, is my cousin,” Robert Washington said of the family genetics. “Kansas City Royal U L Washington is my uncle… the athletes in our family it runs pretty deep. C.J. Washington played basketball at OU and his sister LaRonda ran track there. It’s a pretty impressive family tree.” In case it is not obvious, Kelbie comes from an incredibly athletic family. Her grandfather even played basketball for Oklahoma City’s Harlem Thrillers.

“At first I was a basketball player, too,” Robert said. “I could jump, I could shoot, but I hated having the ball taken away from me. I fouled a lot and fouled out really early. So, I began wrestling at Highland East Junior High and I’ve been picking up people ever since!” With her dad a coaching legend in the sport of wrestling and the growth of girls’ wrestling in high schools across the country, could wrestling have been a possibility for Kelbie? “I had a friend that I was wrestling with, just playing around, and he immediately made me get up and stop,” Kelbie said of her wrestling experience. “(My dad) said you just can’t... you’re not wrestling. I always went to the matches, but for me, I couldn’t do it... couldn’t do it all.”

“They were playing around being goofy… they weren’t taking it seriously,” Robert recalled of the incident. “I think Kelbie would have been a good wrestler. At one time they asked if she would do it and I just didn’t think she had the time.” So, with wrestling out of the mix, Kelbie became dedicated to basketball. It was more than just her DNA that helped her embrace the sport. “Since I was a little girl, sports were all I knew,” she said. “I was traveling everywhere at 7 years old, traveling to Florida and West Virginia to play hoops. I kind of knew and they knew this was what I wanted to do.

“Of course, I played other sports... track, soccer, volleyball... that was for me to do other things and have other opportunities, but basketball was all over my heart. My Dad has been around sports. He played sports at the collegiate level, he knew what it took, and he pushed me every day.” In high school, Kelbie became an instant difference-maker for the Tigers. She got immediate playing time as a freshman and become a key contributor as the starting point guard for the Tigers’ state championship teams during her sophomore and senior seasons.

Photos by: Mark Doescher

During her career at Norman, she finished with an 8218 record and won two 6A State Championships including an undefeated 2021 senior season. “She’s a legend,” Then Norman head coach Michael Neal said. Neal coached Kelbie all four years while she was a star for the Norman Tigers. “There’s only been like a handful of people who’ve had the opportunity to do what Kelbie Washington has done,” he said. “Not only with just winning but with the production and then the leadership behind all these teams that have won and had this success, she’s the foundation of it all.”

During her final season at Norman, Washington averaged 14 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 steals. “She’s hands down the best intangible player that’s played in Oklahoma on the girls’ side,” Neal said. “It’s not just about scoring 20 or 30 points, because we got about five girls that can do that. It’s about making sure everybody’s doing what they need to do and shouldering the burden of everybody and making sure that we’re ready to go in those tough adverse moments. That’s what she’s about.” “It was exciting. I was really happy for her,” Robert said reminiscing on his daughter’s high school success. “With me coaching at Moore, she was close to going to Moore, but I appreciate that she was able to be on such a good team and coached by a good coach.” Starring at Norman High School opened the opportunity for Kelbie to commit and sign with the University of Oklahoma. The hometown kid was staying home. “It’s such a blessing. Something I always kind of knew I wanted to do as a little girl,” Kelbie said of being a Sooner. “But I am just happy to play and be in this position and work hard. I’m just happy I’m here with a good support system and my family gets to go to all the games and it is just awesome.” Of her many goals, Kelbie has already checked off a couple of boxes. She won multiple state championships at Norman and has been blessed with the opportunity to play for the University of Oklahoma. “Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to play for my hometown. Now I’m in a position where it almost doesn’t even seem real,” she said. “Am I actually doing this... is this actually happening? I’m just blessed to be in this position with this coaching staff and these amazing girls. “With our record and the things we’re doing this year, it’s amazing. College has been a learning experience with the tempo of basketball and what it means to be a point guard at the collegiate level. It’s a dream come true.”

But the commitment to Oklahoma did not come without a massive bump in the road. During the summer before Kelbie enrolled at Oklahoma, legendary Oklahoma Coach Sherri Coale retired. After 25 years, Sherri Coale stepped away from the game. “She told me and everything happens for a reason, but in my mind, I was never going to leave,” Kelbie said of Coale’s sudden retirement. “I always thought Sherri Coale would be my coach, but I always wanted to play for my hometown. “ “I wanted it to be her decision… it’s (her) four years, not mine,” Robert said. “I want her to enjoy the process. You only do it once. She thought I wanted her to go to OU because I love OU. I just wanted to take care of her if she needed anything.” Enter Jenni Baranczyk, the very successful head coach at Drake. As expected, it did not take much to solidify the belief that Kelbie Washington wanted to be a Sooner. Baranczyk immediately connected with Washington and any concern that losing a legend would lead to losing Kelbie was quickly diminished. “She’s a very motivating person,” Kelbie said of Baranczyk. “At the end of the day, she’s going to push us, but she wants us to have fun and I think that really helps us to be a more confident person. “She helped us on and off the court as young women in the college landscape. Her personality, her motivation, the way she cares, it is helpful and it shows, and it shows in the things that we are doing.”

The surprises were not finished for Kelbie. After playing four years for Michael Neal at Norman, Neal accepted a job as an assistant coach on Jenny B’s new staff. The familiarity of playing at home was bolstered even more by adding her high school coach to the coaching staff at the University of Oklahoma. “I was excited with a familiar face. I knew him when I was a little girl, so it is crazy. I wake up and I’m at practice and it’s still crazy he’s still my coach,” Kelbie said. “Kelbie has a great relationship with Coach Neal... he played point guard and I trust him,” Robert said of Neal’s hiring. “I knew one person there always had Kelbie’s best interest beyond athletics.” Once Kelbie hit the court, it was business as usual. Washington started her first 16 games in a Sooner uniform, scoring in double figures five times. Washington has also garnered Big 12 Player of the Week and USBWA National Freshman of the Week honors following her performance vs. Wichita State where she stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 14 assists, six rebounds and five steals, becoming the first freshman with those numbers in the last decade.

The fast-paced, up-and-down offense, fits Washington’s personality and strengths perfectly. “It’s so much fun. Coach trusts us and wants us to make the right read... she gives us freedom and I think that’s why we are so confident,” Kelbie said. “We mesh so well, and we know each other’s personality and traits… Jennie gives us freedom and we’re having fun with it and that’s all that matters. It gets us having fun and doing what we can, playing basketball and competing.” “I love her,” Baranczyk said of Kelbie. “There are some things where she’s going to continue to learn (but) I don’t want to rein it in. I want her to play. I love her emotion. I love her competitiveness. I think we feed off that. She’ll learn to channel some of it. I love her fearlessness. I love her belief that she has in her teammates.

“She just wants to win every single possession. When you have players that do that and you have players that believe in each other, it’s pretty darn special.” It has been a freshman season, despite all the success, littered with adversity. The Sooners have had to overcome the loss of one of its leading scorers in Ana Llanusa, and Kelbie herself was out of the lineup for two games in mid-January. Despite being away from the team, the freshman was able to stay connected and engaged. “It was a challenge. I’m just very happy to be back,” Kelbie said. “Everyone was checking up on me to make sure that I was good when I was out. It is extremely helpful when you have that kind of support. It was upsetting to be away, but I was also just down the street too... with my family.” “Kelbie’s a freshman, and sometimes we kind of forget that,” Baranczyk said. “We want to just make sure she’s managing everything and she’s setting people up and she’s supposed to score when she’s supposed to.

“She’s so fast and because she’s a great basketball player she can really read that game. But then there are times you can tell she’s pressing. She has her moments where she’s really good and then she has moments where she can be better. You’ve got to be willing to fall, get back up, make mistakes and keep going forward... She’s one that stays after practice every single day. Her best basketball is coming.”

As the season hits the home stretch, the career of Kelbie Washington is just getting started, but the freshman with an incredible legacy of winning championships knows one thing for certain, this team is special.

“The confidence in us is knowing that we still have to work hard,” Kelbie said. “This is the time when teams separate. We’re grateful for what we’re doing but we are going to keep working hard every day and we’re a close team... We love each other and support each other, and it just makes us what we are on the basketball court.”

And for her family, it’s extra special. They have a frontrow seat for every moment and every big play.

“Any time you see your kid out there doing those things, I don’t even have the words,” Robert said. “We always want better for our kids than ourselves. I love watching her play. It’s a dream come true for her and us.”-BSM

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