Kansas’ Harper finding her place at the point

After playing the majority of three seasons on the wing with future WNBA talent Angel Goodrich at the point, Kansas senior CeCe Harper is adjusting back to point guard, her natural position.

Harper was a three-year team captain at James Madison High School in San Antonio and set program record with 2,353 points and 524 assists in her time there. However, once she got to Kansas, she struggled to find her place on the team.

She appeared in nearly every game her sophomore and junior seasons with 21 starts, but it was not until this year that she really hit her stride.

“It was a struggle at first, but I think I’m getting back into the flow,” Harper said. “It’s just getting back and comfortable at that position.”

Harper, the Jayhawks’ lone four-year senior, is leading the team with 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while adding 10 points. She also recently broke into the top 10 for single season assists at Kansas with 109 so far this season.

“I don’t know that she would have thought or I would have that she would play 40 minutes at the point for us,” Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She didn’t start early in the year for us, but has certainly taken over that position and has done a good job her senior year of playing a position she has played sparingly.”

She’s had to serve as an emotional leader as well for the Jayhawks who are 12-14 overall and 5-9 in conference play with five freshmen and a sophomore.

“This year, I’ve just been trying to keep them confident and let them know that everything they do helps us,” Harper said. “I have to get them to understand that we need everyone and each contribution that they make is very valuable to the team.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2014 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Kansas’ Harper finding her place at the point."