Feb. 6, 2008

by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org

Northwestern's Beth Combs admits she was pretty matter-of-fact when speaking to Amy Jaeschke when she was a highly touted high school standout last year. While other nationally ranked programs were luring her to come in and make an impact, Combs was recruiting her to make a change. She told the Wilmette, Ill., native who lived less than 10 minutes from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, that she was going to be the new focus of the offense and the new face of the program.

Combs convinced the talented McDonald's All-American to stay close to home and help rebuild the Wildcats, which prompted Jaeschke to turn down offers from Duke, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Stanford.

Yes, she turned down No. 4 Maryland, which captured the 2006 NCAA Championship. And No. 6 Stanford. And No. 12 Duke. And 2005 NCAA finalist Michigan State. And six-time Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue. And, yes, even three-time defending conference champion Ohio State.

"When I went through the recruiting process, there were schools that had already turned their programs around," Jaeschke said. "When I came here I believed in the coaches and players. I wanted to be a part of turning something around."

Jaeschke brought with her an impressive resume to Evanston. She totaled more than 2,000 points and nearly 1,400 rebounds in her career and averaged 18.0 points and 12.9 rebounds her senior year. Of the 34 games she played as a senior, she led her team in both scoring and rebounding an impressive 29 times.

Suffice to say that she was poised to make an immediate impact for the Wildcats.

And she did. For 25 minutes.

Having already scored 19 points during that time in her collegiate debut at Dayton, Jaeschke looked as if she was going to break several records during her time at Northwestern. Instead, she broke her left hand.

"That was definitely disappointing, having gone through all the hard work and then getting hurt the first game," Jaeschke said. "But I learned a whole lot sitting on the bench."

Combs said the injury occurred when Jaeschke was attempting to defend a drive by an opposing player. She went to block her shot and was the victim of a freak accident. What troubled Combs the most was the fact that she already had a substitute set to replace the tiring Jaeschke at the scorer's table. One dead ball and it's possible it never would have happened.

Combs and the rest of the Wildcat squad eventually pulled out a victory in overtime that night, but were forced to wait five weeks for their talented freshman to return to the lineup.

On Dec. 17, in a road contest at Marquette, Jaeschke returned to post a team-high 21 points and she blocked a potential game-winning shot by the Golden Eagles to give Northwestern a 65-63 win.

For the year she is leading the Wildcats with 12.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. While pacing her team in both categories has come as no surprise, she has also had to deal with more losses than she had become accustomed to at the prep level. Currently the Wildcats are 4-18 overall and winless in 10 conference games.

"We are really hungry for a win right now," said Jaeschke. "This has been different from the winning in high school, but it has also been a huge character builder for me and this team."

That is the maturity that Combs expected to see out of Jaeschke. During the recruiting process, Combs made "no bones about it" that Jaeschke was going to face high expectations and a great deal of pressure in her first season. The NU mentor also feels that her talented product has finally worked herself back into "Big Ten playing form" and has been impressed with the way she handled her injury.

"Amy stayed involved and did everything she could do to make a difference," Combs said. "Nobody worked harder than she did before or after her injury."

Last October, having not even stepped foot on the basketball court as a collegiate student-athlete, Jaeschke represented Northwestern at the annual Big Ten media day, something very unusual for an incoming freshman to take part in. She laughs when asked if it has been tough being a poster child for the women's basketball team and if she has felt any added pressure.

"A lot of people ask me that question," she said. "I think I'm really just oblivious to all of it. I just go out and play the game."

What has made it easier for the her is the fact that home is just three miles away and she is able to compete with her former AAU teammates on the Northwestern squad, including her cousin, junior Ellen Jaeschke. She says the two most important things she was looking for in a college was the chemistry of the girls on the team and the school's reputation. When it comes to academic reputation, few schools rival Northwestern and the fact she knew most of the team already certainly met her other criteria.

"Having people you know on the team and who look out for you is really comforting," Jaeschke said. "And I know my parents are right there in case I ever need them."

Throughout the Combs era, Northwestern has often spent the majority of the Big Ten season battling to match up with the opposition's post player. The team struggled against former Ohio State star and Big Ten Player of the Year Jessica Davenport, has been mismatched against Iowa's Megan Skouby, and often has lost the fight against Michigan State's Alyssa DeHaan.

But now with the 6-foot-5 Jaeschke, Northwestern is beginning to develop a weapon of its own that is sure to return the favor by giving the opposition fits. Combs and her staff have reconfigured the Wildcat offense and centered the new attack on Jaeschke. When asked if that caused any additional pressure for her freshman standout, Combs responded by saying she had hoped so.

"She knew coming in she was going to be the focus," Combs said. "You want players that are going to embrace that. What makes her so good is she can play high and low. She can hit the three, she's a great feeder to the post, and she can score on the low block."

But with any post player that reaches the college level, defense is often their Achilles heel.

"Often times they are not used to using their bodies to score. You rely on your natural ability and not fundamental play," said Combs, adding there was only one player taller than 5-foot-11 in Jaeschke's high school conference. "For Amy, now she is playing against people the same size, so her defense has been a challenge so far."

Of course being 18 years old and having missed the first five weeks of your freshman year will often set you back a little.

Jaeschke believes that both she and the team are making progress with every game played, even though the effort may not show up in the box score. She is hoping that the team will be able to close out the season with a strong run and that she will not be forced to miss another game.

She has things she needs to get done in Evanston and the clock is ticking. She knows the turnaround will not be an overnight success, and she says her teammates are also willing to share some of the pressure.

But a notable Chicago basketball player once said, "You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."

Perhaps Jaeschke took a page out of the legendary Michael Jordan's book when she declined offers from all the other established programs recruiting her and signed on with Northwestern.

She simply wants to be a part of turning a program around.

And she knows it starts with her.