Women's Hoopster Ingram: Like Father, Like Daughter
12/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Like Father, Like Daughter
By Becky Olsen, U-M Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
Michigan sophomore guard Alayne Ingram may just be a coach's dream. A true gym rat -- her first home at the University of Michigan might be Crisler Arena -- whenever there is a moment of free time outside practice, classes and games, Ingram can usually be found in the gym shooting the ball.
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"I told Alayne she could come with me, but this was a camp for high school kids," said dad, Michael Ingram. "I looked over and she was crying in the corner, and I told Alayne that she could play -- she has been playing ever since."
Growing up with a father who is a basketball coach might be tough for some people, but not Ingram. Many times she was referred to as "the younger him" or "daddy's girl." Ingram never let it faze her.
"My dad has taught me so many things," Ingram said. "He has showed me different game situations, how to be mentally tough and how things are never easy."
Ingram refined her skills at Waverly High School in Lansing where she was a four-year varsity starter and three times selected the Capitol Area Conference Most Valuable Player. Four times she garnered all-conference first-team honors and was an all-state first-team selection as a senior. She graduated Waverly High School as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,570 points) and holding records for season scoring average (25.2 ppg) and game high points (45).
"Alayne loves to practice. I have never seen anyone who loves to practice as much as she does," her dad commented. "I remember early on until she was 14 or 15, I would get home from my practice and she would be out in the driveway shooting. She just loves the game and wants to put in the extra time."
Basketball became part of Ingram's life year-round, with Waverly's season in the late summer and fall, and the AAU circuit in the spring and summer. Following her final season at Waverly, Ingram was named to the AAU All-America squad at the 18-and-Under National Tournament after leading her team to a seventh-place finish.
Some of the lessons dad taught daughter Alayne are showing up this season in the sophomore guard's play. She begins the Big Ten Conference season second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and leading the Wolverines in assists (32). She carries a highly respectable 46.2 percent (18-of-39) average from the three-point line, a mark that leads U-M and the conference.
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Things haven't always gone well for Ingram. As a freshman one year ago, she started out strong with back-to-back double-figure scoring in her first two collegiate games. She worked through a mid-season slump, before posting double-digit scoring totals in 10 of the team's last 17 games.
"Last year, I started out strong and then started to slump," said Ingram. "I started to question myself. My dad told me I could play and he came down to Ann Arbor on consecutive days and helped me. We just hung out in the gym and practiced shooting."
Like father, like daughter.
"My dad has made me mentally tough," said Ingram. "How he coaches is how you play. He wants to win at any cost and I want to win at any cost. You still have to get the job done."
Ingram picked up valuable experience this summer, joining teammate Raina Goodlow on the Big Ten Summer All-Star team. The foreign tour took the Wolverine duo to Germany and Belgium where the All-Stars posted a 3-1 record. While playing point guard, Ingram averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds over the four games.
It isn't hard to imagine basketball commanding center stage at the Ingram house. In addition to Alayne, younger brother Justin plays on the Lansing Waverly junior varsity team. Her sister Jocelyn (12) plays hoops in junior high; her father is the men's basketball head coach at Lansing Community College; and mom, Phebeit, offers perspective as a former high school basketball player.
"My parents have a lot of faith in me," said Ingram. "They are a team and are always there for me."
Ingram knows that during a game she can look up in the Crisler Arena stands and find her entire family cheering her on. She makes it a point to search out her family, especially her brother and sister, following each game.
"I think I'm more nervous before my kid's games than my own as a coach," says dad.
That is what the Ingram family is -- a team hooked on hoops.
Contact: Becky Olsen (734) 763-4423
