Katie Poppe has been hearing the name Boston University for quite some time. The Holy Trinity star rising senior went on a visit to the America East school back in November and Terriers coaches saw her play against Mary Louis a month later.
The significant interest from both parties was mutual. And when BU finally offered her Saturday, very little thought went into the decision.
“It was a definite,” said Poppe, who is originally from Bayside, Queens. “I knew I was gonna say yes to them.”
The dynamic 5-foot-9 guard waited a day, but told the staff Sunday that she intends to play women’s basketball at Boston University starting in 2012-13. Poppe was looking for a college that was going to give her the right balance of basketball and academics. The 95 student also had offers from Rider and Fairleigh Dickinson and interest from elite academic schools like UPenn, Princeton, Cornell, Lafayette and Colgate.
“I never looked into any school that I didn’t think would be challenging academically,” Poppe said. “BU was like the perfect fit for me.”
Earlier in her career, Poppe was known strictly as a shooter, but that changed as she has gotten older. Boston University will be getting a complete player, according to her NYC Heat travel coach Kevin White, who describes her as an “old-school” type of player.
“She’s not a one-dimensional type of kid,” he said. “Her game has expanded a lot. She passes the ball well. She has a good basketball IQ. She’s tougher than she looks.”
Poppe is also a willing defender with the length to give opposing guards a hard time. It’s an attribute that also helps her swooping into the lane, which she does much more now.
“Katie Poppe is a very good basketball player and that is the best compliment I can give her,” one college coach said. “She can shoot – I mean shoot, not just put the ball in the basket from outside layup distance. She sees the floor well, defers when appropriate and scores when necessary. She is not the quickest kid laterally, but can be an effective shell defender. She was excellent against Riverdale Baptist at Boo Williams in the spring and continued to boost her stock in the first part of July. A kid I would love to coach.”
Poppe made her college decision with still two weeks left in the July live recruiting period, but that doesn’t bother her. The Heat heads to the prestigious USJN/Nike National Championship in Washington, D.C., this weekend. Part of her wanted to wait and see it through, she said, but BU just made sense.
“I’ll have more fun playing in D.C. with the weight off my shoulders,” Poppe said.
Especially considering she knows she has found the right fit.