Nicole Ohlde, Kendra Wecker part of K-State’s sports Hall of Fame induction class

Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker are two of the best players in Kansas State women’s basketball history, and they have hundreds of stories to tell about their time as teammates.

Together, they guided the Wildcats to unforeseen heights. Their accomplishments included four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, a Sweet 16 appearance and a Big 12 championship. But when you ask to single out a single memory from their playing days as a favorite, they focus elsewhere.

What do they remember most about their time on campus? That’s an easy one — the crowds.

Both were inducted into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame on Friday as part of the 2016 class.

“I will never forget the Nebraska game my freshman year, the first sellout for our group,” Wecker said. “We drove up from our house and the line went all the way down past the football stadium. We were like, ‘What? This is crazy.’ We go to warm up, and, two hours before the game, they open the doors and all these fans come rushing into their seats.”

“Unbelievable,” Ohlde said. “That is truly the only way I can describe it. Even playing professionally here and overseas, I look back at what we had those four years. It was incredible driving up two hours before a game and fans were all lined up. Just seeing that was mind blowing.”

Ohlde and Wecker played basketball at a unique time for K-State. The men’s team struggled to find its footing under then-coach Jim Wooldridge, never advancing to the NCAA Tournament, and the women passed it as the No. 2 squad on campus behind football.

The women’s basketball team averaged at least 7,606 fans for home games between 2001 and 2005, climbing as high as 9,365 for the 2003-04 season. A record 13,466 fans crammed into Bramlage Coliseum for that fateful game against Nebraska in 2002, and the arena’s listed capacity is 12,528.

K-State enjoyed the best fan support in the Big 12 when Ohlde and Wecker played, turning every home game into must-see material.

The crowds were so memorable that current women’s coach Jeff Mittie referenced them when he came to K-State from TCU, explaining that he dreamed of coaching at a university that cared so much about women’s hoops.

“We were the pioneers, if you will, of getting crowds here and getting people to follow the program and getting them to follow it religiously,” Wecker said. “It is exciting to me that we were able to build that.”

Ohlde and Wecker were part of special teams built around Kansas talent.

Ohlde grew up in Clay Center. Wecker is from Marysville. They were multi-sport rivals in middle school and high school, drawing in fans from both towns when they became college teammates.

They still talk about their history together. Ohlde remembers Wecker as a dynamic softball pitcher. Wecker says they used to play middle school basketball games against each other in front of packed gyms.

“We weren’t the best of friends,” Ohlde said. “I think it was just, we were both so competitive and wanted to win. Then it brewed into a great relationship at K-State.”

wecker concurred. “Once I played summer basketball with her it was like, ‘OK, she is OK to be around,’” Wecker said. “She turned out to be a great person and a great friend.”

Ohlde arrived in 2000 and had her number hoisted into the rafters in 2004. A 6-foot-5 power forward, she topped 2,200 points during her career.

Wecker arrived in 2001 and also saw her number go to the ceiling in 2005, topping 2,300 points in her career.

Both former players went on to play in the WNBA, and both keep up with K-State women’s basketball today. Wecker watched them play earlier this season at Oklahoma and liked what she saw. Ohlde approves of the program’s current trajectory.

“They are moving in the right direction,” Ohlde said. “I like Coach Mittie. He is doing the right things. The team is playing hard and playing together. It’s a work in progress and the Big 12 is extremely tough, but they are on a little roll right now. Hopefully they can keep that up.”

Women’s basketball attendance has dipped to around an average of 4,000 for home games in recent years, roughly half what Ohlde and Wecker grew accustomed to.

The crowds may never again fill to overflow levels, but Ohlde urges K-State’s current players to push for that kind of support with hard work.

“I didn’t expect that when I came here,” Ohlde said. “I had no clue. When I was 18 trying to just go to practice and survive I never envisioned anything like that. It was mind blowing the amount of support we had when I was here.”

▪ Also included in the 2016 K-State Hall of Fame class: Steve Anson (baseball), Michael Bishop (football), Dawn Cady (volleyball), Martin Gramatica (football), Max Moss (basketball), Sean Snyder (football), Connie Teaberry (track and field) and former broadcaster Mitch Holthus.

The ten-member class will be honored at halftime of the K-State men’s game Saturday against Mississippi.

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Nicole Ohlde, Kendra Wecker part of K-State’s sports Hall of Fame induction class."