'Prince' senior writer Chandra Russell recently sat down with Ashley Rook, a sophomore and former forward on the women's basketball team.
Rook, from Naperville, Ill., played a total of 26 games as a freshman. In six of those games she finished as Princeton's top rebounder. Rook finished the season with 77 rebounds and 70 points, along with 13 steals and 13 assists. She averaged 16.9 minutes per game. Rook's best game came against Harvard on Jan. 11, a game in which she scored a season-high nine points. The Tigers upset Harvard in that contest, 59-55.
Rook decided last Sunday to walk away from varsity basketball and seek out other opportunities Princeton has to offer.
'Prince': When did you decide to quit the team? What were the main factors that triggered your decision?
Ashley Rook: The beginning of this school year was rough for me. When I got to school I found out that I had mono and was going to have to sit out for a while. When I tried to return to basketball in October I relapsed with mono yet again and did not start fully playing until November. Being sick, I was not participating in basketball, which got me thinking about what life would be like if I was no longer a basketball player.
It has been a struggle to get back into shape and into the mentality where basketball is one of my top priorities. I finally made the decision that it was time to move on to something else in my life. I just felt like this was something that I needed to do for the basketball team and for myself.
P: In high school, you also played track, and you were a state qualifier and sectional champion in the shot put. How did you decide to continue with basketball in college? Do you have any regrets about not having continued with track?
AR: Basketball has always been my first love and it was my dream to play college basketball since I was very little. I did track my freshman year as something extra, but quit after the season in order to focus on basketball. Some of my friends talked me into to doing track again my senior year and I did it for fun. I had never really thought of continuing on with track in college. I loved basketball too much.
P: Coming into college you had amassed an impressive number of awards, including first-team all-conference and Naperville Sun Area Team honorable mention. Did you find the high school-to-college transition difficult, going from an environment where you were the best to an environment where you were a freshman who did not get to play as many minutes?
AR: Personally, I didn't find it to be that difficult. I have played for so long and have put so much time and effort into improving my skills that I was prepared for the type of work I was going to have to give in order to be successful. I also had the privilege of playing on an AAU team with many talented players, many who are playing Division I basketball. I was not a standout on that team, and coming to Princeton I was prepared to make the team better as best I could and that made the transition much easier.
P: Do you consider the balance between the academic workload and the commitment athletes must contribute to their sport to be too overbearing at Princeton? Do you think the Seven Week Rule is a step in the right direction?
AR: As an athlete you have to manage your time extremely well. When you decide that you want to be a varsity athlete you know the sacrifices that you are going to have to make going into it. There are times that it is not going to be easy and the work is going to pile up so that it feels overbearing. For this reason I think that the Seven Week Rule is a good idea in theory. It gives athletes the opportunity to get a grip on life for a part of the year. It also allows them the chance to get involved in other aspects of campus. The rule is just meant to give athletes an opportunity to have a more balanced life, and I do not think that is such a terrible idea.
P: How would your experience playing a varsity sport have had to be different in order for you to have remained on the team?
AR: I really do not know what to say. There are many things that if they changed I might still be on the team. I just feel as if the situation is like this for a reason. That if I was supposed to still be playing basketball I would still be playing. Right now I am onto something new in my life.
P: What is your most cherished memory of college basketball?
AR: All of the time that I spent with my teammates. I have never met a finer group of people in my life. Over the last year in a half I felt like I have gained many sisters in my life. Other than that, the most specific memory I have is when we beat Harvard last year at home. We were the underdogs and no one expected us to do it. No other team in the Ivy League beat them last year and we were the ones who accomplished it. It was a very sweet experience.
P: What will you do now? Do you see the shot put anywhere in your future?
AR: I plan on trying out a lot of different things. I want to learn more about my other interests besides basketball and how I can contribute in other ways to the Princeton campus. Track is definitely a possibility, but I am not sure if I want to jump back into varsity athletics so soon. I really would just like to meet some more of the amazing people here on campus and try as many things as possible. I am open to any suggestions.
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