CRAWFORD | For Konno, challenges give way to smiles after career game for Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – There are big storylines over the course of basketball seasons, team trends, winning streaks, losing streaks, metrics, quality wins, bad losses, all that stuff.

And then there are the stories within the stories, many of them never told, many that we never know.

We’ll likely never truly know what all Norika Konno has gone through to play basketball at the University of Louisville. A native of Sendai, Japan, Konno traveled 6,000 miles to Louisville knowing little English and a little more basketball.

She joked that the four things she could say when she arrived in Kentucky were, “thank you,” “yes,” “no,” and “sorry.” She got herself up to speed quickly, on and off the court. She’s finishing the last 19 hours of her marketing degree this semester. You read that right.

"And unfortunately none of those classes is being taught in Japanese," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "It's a challenge. But she works hard, and she's a great young lady."

Few basketball players tackle that kind of academic load, even those for whom English is their first language. Maintaining a high-level academic performance while mastering a new language has been daunting. As have cultural changes, and the step up to top level NCAA Division I basketball in the U.S. At times, Konno has struggled to put all of those together.

"I just have the utmost respect for her," Walz said. "Has basketball necessarily been like I had anticipated, or she had anticipated? No, I don’t think so. But I’m proud of her. I ask her before each game, ‘How do you feel tonight? Are you ready?’ And she’ll tell me. There are some games, I know everybody’s yelling and screaming at me to put her in the game, she doesn’t want to go in. And that’s OK. I respect the fact that if she’s not mentally ready to go out there that she’s mature enough to say, ‘Coach, I don’t think I can help the team right now.’ I don’t think that’s selfish. I think it’s admirable that someone is able to say that."

From a coaching standpoint, that can be difficult, when you don't know if a player will or won't be good to go for the next game. Walz has remained supportive.

"I'm not going to throw her out into a game if she's not ready for it," he said. "I love to win, but I'm not going to do it at someone else's expense. . . . Her presence has helped this team.”

It certainly helped the Cardinals on Sunday, when she scored a career-high 12 points behind four first-half three-pointers in an 81-69 victory over Clemson.

It eclipsed an 11-point effort in early January, and ramps up what the Cards hope will be a fantastic finish for Konno, who played in front of her family in a game in the KFC Yum! Center for the first time several weeks ago.

“I don't think people realize how difficult it is for someone to come 6,000 miles," Walz said. "If you're 4 or 5 hours away, you can get home once in a while if you need to. You're not just going to fly back to Japan for the weekend. You can't. And that's been taxing, especially during COVID. But she’s doing great in the classroom. . . . And it was a huge lift for her to see her family, to see her parents and sisters." 

Walz said he knew she was a different kind of player when he asked her early in her career if everything was going all right or if she needed anything and she said, “You’re my coach. It’s not right for me to talk about that with you.”

It was further illustrated when Konno was out with an injury, but sat on the bench with a notebook, taking notes on the game and what she was seeing.

Her efforts in Louisville have been a matter of keen interest at home. She’s been followed by reporters and photographers from Japan, and recently a video crew from Tokyo was in Louisville to follow her.

Konno said as she nears the end of her Louisville run, her emotions have turned to gratitude.

“Recently my mentality is being grateful for everything,” she said after Saturday’s game. “I was struggling recently. But it’s close to the end, and I started to remember everything and feel gratitude for everything. And my mentality was calm and organized, and I think that affected how I played in the game. I feel really good right now. I’m happy. . . . There were a lot of things in my life, but always there were my coaches, teammates, friends. I was struggling, but I felt a family atmosphere in the team. I was struggling but could overcome everything with team and fans.”

Konno’s shooting helped Louisville sprint to a 51-22 halftime lead on Saturday. A 15-2 run late pulled Clemson within 9 with two minutes to play, but the Tigers could get no closer. Konno also had 5 rebounds and an assist.

“I was really excited for her,” Walz said. “She really stepped up and shot the ball well and helped us extend that lead to 30. She’s in the gym and working extra to improve her game, and she’s working in the classroom as well. It’s what college basketball is all about. . . . It’s nice to hear her say that (her coaches and teammates supported her) and realize that it’s what we’re trying to do, not just for her but for all of us. As you go through a season, people just expect it to start here and go straight up. Everything’s great. Everything’s perfect. We win. I play well. That’s just not how life works. We’re talking to them, saying tough times don’t last, but tough people will. And that’s what we’ve got to continue to remember when things aren’t going your way. Today might not be my day, but it was a team win, and Norika played great.”

Louisville got 19 points from Hailey Van Lith and 12 from CC Carr. Olivia Cochran had a dozen rebounds and Mykasa Robinson had 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and a pair of steals.

Next up for the Cards, who have won four straight, is a test at No. 10-ranked Notre Dame.

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