27 June 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame will get bigger Wednesday with the induction of four new members: Kevin Bordewick, Rick Peterson, Chris Barnes and Crystal Kemp.
Kemp was a standout basketball player at Topeka High before a career with the KU women’s basketball team from 2002-06. She is still ninth all-time for the Jayhawks in career points.
Getting the Hall of Fame call was unexpected.
“I was a little bit shell-shocked,” Kemp said. “It had been so long since I had played…not that you think people forget about you, but it’s just like, I hadn’t been there.”
Kemp says she’s kept up with the Jayhawks, as she has a special connection with women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider, who coached at Emporia State when Kemp was at Topeka High.
“I remember coach Brandon when he was back at Emporia State, he recruited me out of high school,” Kemp said. “I’ve kept in contact with him, seeing a lot of the big wins they had year, just texting him, ‘Hey, great job coach, good win.'”
She says she doesn’t need attention for the work she does, but it was a cool feeling knowing people remember her name.
“It hadn’t really hit me all the way,” Kemp said. “You hear about some of the greats that have come out of Topeka, just to have that recognition, I’m definitely so honored to be recognized.”