Prep Hoops: For The Love Of The Game

Opportunity knocked and Kelsey Hobbs answered.

Actually opportunity knocked a couple of times, Hobbs, a senior at Harrisburg High School was just waiting before she opened the door.

After fielding what the dual-sport star said were some five serious basketball offers, Hobbs finally settled on Millikin University.

Millikin, located in Decatur, is little over 180 miles north of Harrisburg and recently Hobbs signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Big Blue.

"I went to a lot of different colleges for visits and had a full full ride offers to some community colleges," Hobbs said. "I decided to go to Millikin because academically they have a really good nursing program, which will be my major and coach (Lori) Kerans is amazing."

Hobbs, who finished her career at Harrisburg with 1,336 points, was named to All-Tournament Teams at Harrisburg, Eldorado and Herrin, where she also took home Most Valuable Player honors.

Hobbs has also excelled on the soccer field, but she said her love for basketball far outweighed her desire for any other sport.

"My love for basketball is way stronger than just about anything else. I'm really upset when basketball is over and I don't have those same feelings for a lot of other sports I've played."

For Harrisburg head coach Jake Stewart, this is his first basketball player in his five years to sign with a four year college. His only other player to date, Ashley Ferrell, signed with Southeastern Illinois College.

"Kelsey is the one player I have watched from her freshman year to her senior year and improve in each and every way. To see her rewarded by being able to play for a four-year college is something that she deserve and I'm very happy for her."

As for the other offers, Hobbs said she was patient in her process.

"Even though this offer came after my basketball season, I was just waiting to see what all came along before I made my decision, I was never in a hurry."

Millikin graduated just two seniors this year and will have five seniors on the upcoming roster, along with eight juniors

As an incoming freshman, Hobbs said she won't be wasting much time trying to put her stamp on the program.

"They have a really good senior that is leaving, so coach Kerans said I could step up and play a big role next season. I'd love nothing more than to break the scoring record there and win a national championship."

Hobbs does realize that a lot of work has to be done to fine-tune her skills. Again, she doesn't plan on sitting idle.

"I'm just going to get stronger, work on my ball handling skills and down low in the post a little more than I normally would. I think I'll benefit from being able to drive to the basket and post up down low if I need to."

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.