Four years ago, not many Division I coaches had faith that Richmond (Ind.) High School guard Kim Demmings would turn her life around. Demmings was talented on the floor, but had her issues of the court.
While some coaches bailed on Demmings, Wright State women’s basketball head coach Mike Bradbury showed faith in her.
The rest is history.
“He had the utmost faith in me and so this was the best choice for me,” Demmings said.
Demmings goes into her senior season on track to break the Horizon League’s scoring record and WSU’s assist record. Not only is she on track to accomplish incredible feats on the court, she is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership in May. Given where she was four years ago, graduating from Wright State is a feat for Demmings.
Because of some off the court issues Demmings had in high school, she did not get many offers from Division I coaches.
“Previous high school behavior and situations, grades weren’t A-one, GPA wasn’t where it needed to be,” Demmings said, “a couple Division I schools were interested but as soon as a little trouble happens, they’ll leave you alone.”
But Bradbury saw Demmings’ potential and continued recruiting her despite the off the court issues.
“She wasn’t real polished, wasn’t really skilled, but her athleticism was there and you keep tracking them as they get older,” Bradbury said.
When it came time for Demmings to come to college, she knew she had to become a more mature person.
“(Bradbury) sat down and told me that, ‘You need all B’s.’ From that point, it got a lot more serious for me. I was ready to grow up and mature the last few months of (high) school. That is when I knew I wanted to play college ball and I had a great opportunity here at Wright State,” Demmings said.
Even as Demmings matured, Bradbury never imagined that she would become arguably one of the best women’s basketball players in Horizon League history.
“I don’t think you are ever able to predict you’re going to have the best player in league history,” Bradbury said. “We thought she could be a really good player and a great player at Wright State. She has even been more than that.”
Not only is Demmings a great scorer who will likely break the WSU scoring record early in the 2014-15 season, she is a great distributer as she’ll likely break the program’s assist record later in the season.
“She is the most unselfish player on our team and I don’t think people get that sometimes,” Bradbury said. “Her work ethic is off the charts.”
After Demmings completes her senior season, she plans on playing professional basketball.
“Depending on how much success we have as a team and how well she plays, which will go hand and hand, will determine that,” Bradbury said. “There are inquires already and I am sure she’ll get plenty of attention.”
Following playing professional basketball, Demmings said she would like to be involved in either teaching or coaching. Demmings said her mom has been teaching kindergarten for 15 years.
Demmings helped the Raiders to their first ever Horizon League title and NCAA Tournament berth last year.
