Ksyre Rae Gondrezick is an American basketball player for the Indiana Fever. She was the surprise fourth pick of the 2014 WNBA draft. Rae was expected to be drafted, but few predicted that she would be a first-round pick, let alone fourth overall. A video showing Rae’s reaction shows she was elatedbut just as surprised as everyone else.
After graduating from Benton Harbor High School, he joined the University of Michigan where he enjoyed a stellar freshman season. He left the team for “personal reasons” in the postseason before transferring to West Virginia.
This article will take a look at Kysre Rae’s parents, her spectacular rise in basketball, and her love life.
Rae’s father, Grant Gondrezick, was a troubled NBA player who passed away unexpectedly in January 2021.
Ksyre Rae was born on July 27, 1997 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the daughter of Lisa and Grant Gondrezick. Grant played college basketball at Pepperdine University before joining the NBA with the Phoenix Suns. Lisa won a national title playing for Louisiana Tech but did not advance to the WNBA.
Grant went through a difficult time as an NBA player. He sat out the 1987-88 season after receiving a sentence of probation for his involvement in a drug conspiracy case. His NBA career ended prematurely due to cocaine addiction.
In his two NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, Grant averaged five points, two rebounds and one assist per game. Fortunately, Grant recovered from his cocaine addiction and restarted his career in the minor leagues and in Europe.
Grant passed away unexpectedly in early January 2021. In an extraordinary feat of courage, Rae lined up for West Virginia against Texas two days after her father’s death and scored 24 points. After the game, Texas coach Vic Shaefer praised Rae’s effort under difficult circumstances.
“You have to take your hat off to that boy” vic said. “I admire her for her courage today because it was a brave thing that she did. I’m sure her father is very proud of her.” As Grant’s teammates hugged her after the game, John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads blared through the arena.
By CBS, Rae points to her basketball background as the reason for her intelligence on the field. “Have a high IQ and be smart,” she said. “I’m not the most athletic, but I’m very skilled and fundamentally sound. Using my basketball heritage to have a knack for the ball, whether it’s on the offensive or defensive end.”
Kysre Gondrezick once scored 72 of her team 80 points as a high school basketball player.
Katie Maccrory/Times West Virginian
Kysre’s 2016 season for Benton Harbor went down in the history books when she became the first girl in state history to average 40+ points in a season. The highlight of her season came when she scored 72 points in a double-overtime win in the district playoffs. In typical Kysre fashion, she tried to downplay her accomplishment. She said MLive:
“I can’t remember half the shots I took. I was happier for the win than anything else. I don’t want the highlight to be just my performance. My teammates really played well last night. Everybody wants to talk about the 72 points, but nobody wants to talk about how I got it.”
The Indiana Fever expects such performances from their draft pick. It’s nearly impossible for one to score 72 points in a WNBA game, but Kysre’s success with the Fever will depend largely on her scoring ability. The Fever have two strong shooters in the back zone in Kelsey Mitchell and Juliie Allemand, but the team’s overreliance on the pair proved a weakness last season.
Rae should ease the load on Kelsey and Juliie, making Fever a threat from multiple sources. Playmaking is another aspect of Rae’s game that she should shine as a Fever player. She doesn’t possess outrageous passing skills, but the ability to read the game that she inherited from her parents should make her a crucial cog in Fever’s offensive game.
Fever GM Tamika Catching mentioned ‘champion mentality’ as another reason the team chose Rae. “We came in tonight really focused on the fact that we need championship-caliber players in our organization,” Tamika said. CBS. One of the qualities we really focused on was the championship mentality. That’s what she has.
Kysre has been linked to Detroit Pistons star Josh Jackson
Detroit Pistons star Josh Jackson and Rae are rumored to have dated.
There is little evidence that the relationship ever existed, but some reports claim that the couple dated.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn