Following his appointment as University of Scranton women’s basketball coach four years ago — it may have even been the next day, he’s not sure — Ben O’Brien made a decision that would greatly impact the fortunes of an already-successful program.
He called Kaci Kranson.
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As coach at Dunmore High School, O’Brien was very familiar with Kranson, who played for intraborough rival Holy Cross. O’Brien knew Kranson was going to attend Scranton, but not play basketball. What he didn’t know was that she was planning to play softball.
“I called her to just say, ‘Hey, I heard you were coming to Scranton. I would be a shame if you did not continue to play basketball. I just want you to know you have an opportunity to play here if you want,’ ” O’Brien said. “One thing led to another and she showed up.”
Boy, has she shown up.
Kranson is one of the greatest players to ever wear Scranton purple and white. She’s played in 118 of the Lady Royals 120 games in her four seasons, including 115 starts. Her 1,955 career points are the most in Landmark Conference history and second on the program’s all-time scoring list behind Jen Nish’s 2,178. Her 16.6-points-per-game average ranks fifth. She is third in field goals (724), field-goal attempts (1546), tied for second in free throws made (364), seventh in free throw percentage (.825) and 14th in rebounds (711).
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She tried to add to those numbers Friday when the Lady Royals hosted Bates College in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 at the John Long Center. A victory would advance them to the Elite Eight on Saturday at 7 p.m. against either Johns Hopkins or Concordia-Moorhead at the Long Center.
When Kranson got O’Brien’s call, she said it was an easy yes.
“Playing against him in high school, Holy Cross and Dunmore are big rivals, I was able to watch and observe how he treated his players with the utmost respect and how he coached the game,” Kranson said. “He honestly is one of the best coaches ever. It was a no-brainer to come here and play under him.”
It didn’t take long for Kranson to fit in. After the first week of practice, she was the 12th player in the team’s rotation. After the second week, she was the seventh player. By the end of her freshman campaign, she averaged 14.6 points and 6.3 rebounds and was chosen Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year and first-team all-star.
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After totaling 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the Landmark final against Elizabethtown, she was named tournament MVP. She also was all-region Rookie of the Year and first-team selection as well as WBCA All-American honorable mention.
As she kept improving, the honors kept rolling in and the Lady Royals kept winning.
As a sophomore, she averaged 15.8 points and 6.9 rebounds. She again was first-team all-Landmark, first-team all-region, WBCA All-American honorable mention and d3hoops.com fifth-team All-American.
Her junior year, she averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 rebounds. She was Landmark Player of the Year and first-team all-star; region Player of the Year; and a d3hoops.com second-team All-American.
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This season, she is averaging 18.5 points and 5.3 points. She repeated as Landmark Player of the Year and first-team all-star. She earned her second Landmark tournament MVP award after a 26-point, 10-rebound performance helped Scranton defeat Elizabethtown and capture its 11th straight conference title. She also was a d3hoops.com preseason first-team All-American.
On Thursday, Kranson was named as one of 11 finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy, given to the most outstanding men’s and women’s players in Division III basketball.
“It’s been an incredible journey for all of us watching what Kaci has done,” O’Brien said. “She’s only continued to get better and better. So it was just one of those things we got very, very lucky.”
A remarkable note about Kranson’s career statistics is that she averages only 25.3 minutes per game for her career because Scranton often wins by lopsided margins.
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“She’s been sacrificing for a long time. On other teams, she could be someone since her freshman year averaging 30 points a game probably,” O’Brien said. “But she understands what it takes to win. That’s play team basketball at both ends of the court, sacrificing and doing whatever you can to try to make the game easier for everybody else.”
Kranson said she doesn’t think about her place in Lady Royals history. Her thoughts are on the one thing missing from her impressive resume: a trip to the Final Four and a national championship.
Scranton was eliminated in the second round her freshman season. It reached the Elite Eight during her sophomore and junior years.
“This program has so many great players before me. It’s an honor to be recognized with those names,” Kranson said. “But right now, I’m focused on getting the wins, taking it game by game, practice by practice. We want to make it past the Elite Eight this year, get that Final Four banner and hopefully that national championship banner.”
