Energetic Kemph completes relentless run
Rolling Meadows girls basketball coach Ryan Kirkorsky has often said he's run out of words to describe the talents of Jackie Kemph.
But one thing he and assistant Nick Nichols know is that Kemph will never run out of energy.
"She's just relentless," said Nichols, who also serves as the school psychologist. "Every second, every minute of every practice and every game."
With that energy, the 5-foot-6 all-state guard has done everything from score points, to assist on points to make steals for points.
No one at Rolling Meadows has ever scored points the way Kemph has.
The point is, Kemph is the most productive player in school history and honorary captain of the 2014 Daily Herald's Northwest all-area girls basketball team.
Heading into Friday's Class 4A state semifinal match with Geneva, Kemph has a school-record 2,129 points.
So many of those points have come through Kemph's blazing speed, which she uses to twist her way through defenders and then launch perfectly placed bank shots.
"I've been fortunate to coach some great players," said Kirkorsky, who has guided the Mustangs to the state's Final Four the past two seasons. "And what sets Jackie apart is her competitiveness coupled with an ability to dominate a game in so many ways."
Coaching in the Mid-Suburban League East, Hersey's Mary Fendley and Prospect's Ashley Graham have seen plenty of Kemph's skills.
Coincidentally, Fendley was a high-scoring guard at Rolling Meadows in the 1980s and finished her career with 999 points.
She has coached against Kemph 12 times the last four seasons.
"She is the toughest point guard I have ever had to try to figure out a way to stop, in the MSL or otherwise," said Fendley, now in her 16th season directing Hersey. "She is seemingly always able to get to the basket if she wants to do so. When she is not scoring, she is making pinpoint passes to her open teammates."
Kemph and the Mustangs are the fourth MSL East team to play in the Class 4A state final four since 2008. The others are Buffalo Grove, Wheeling and Hersey.
"As a Rolling Meadows alum and Hersey coach, I feel that Jackie Kemph has done the school and our conference proud by leading her team to the state's elite," said Fendley, whose Huskies were fourth in 2009.
Graham's Knights finished second to Kemph and Rolling Meadows in the MSL East this season.
"She (Kemph) is right up there with the best players I've seen," said Graham (Sandstead), who was the 2004 MSL East Player of the Year and all-state guard for Buffalo Grove. "I can't think of another point guard as dominating as she has been over her four years."
Kemph is a three-time MSL divisional 'Player of the Year' and two-time all-stater.
In addition to finishing on the fastbreak, Kemph's cat-like quickness also allows her to create relentless pressure at the front of the Mustangs' defense.
"The success that she has had, and also the success that she has created for her team, really sets her apart," Graham added. "Everyone talks about how quick she is with the basketball and her ability to get her teammates involved, but it's also her leadership on the floor and her stoic presence that makes her team so successful."
Graham believes Kemph's personality makes her the dominating player.
"She's just relentless on the offensive end," she said. "There are so many times when she just puts the whole team on her shoulders. And at the same time, defensively, she's asked to guard the other team's best player and does that, too, at such a high level. She is a true talent."
And a true team player.
Her consistent trait over her illustrious four-year career has been to always put her teammates first.
"I never imagined all of this," she said. "Obviously it's been awesome to do all this but a lot of it goes to my teammates. Without them, none of it would have happened. They've been such a big part of it. I've been incredibly lucky to have been with these special players."
Quite a statement coming from one who many consider the most special player in Meadows girls basketball history.