Sports
PAGE 6C - THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012
DAILY NEWS, BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY
From Page 1C
Nancy Mulkey averaging 7.3 points, 5.1 rebounds on hardwood, but also following interest in volleyball
and Kentucky, helping coach the
Kentucky Blast since the family
moved to Bowling Green in
August 2009.
This year is her second assisting coach Todd Tolbert at Greenwood.
“It was very attractive for me
to have Dolores as a potential
coach,” Tolbert said. “Seeing as
how she’s about 6-7 herself, I’ve
obviously got a post coach right
off the bat.”
Tall potential
Nancy Mulkey was 6-1 a year
ago, averaging two points for
Greenwood’s freshman team and
one point for the junior varsity
squad.
She’s grown five inches since
then and has become a key contributor for the varsity Lady
Gators (18-5).
“The old cliché is that there’s
two things you can’t coach –
speed and height,” Tolbert said.
“Nancy definitely has the
height.”
In Greenwood’s first game this
season, Mulkey totaled 10 points
and 10 blocks in an overtime loss
to Todd County Central.
“My sister has a great career
path ahead of her,” Bootz said.
“She’s shaping up to a be star.
I’m thinking they will really
build her into a fantastic player in
her four years of high school.”
Mulkey averages 7.3 points
and 5.1 rebounds per game, and
after a setback with a foot injury,
she had blocked 50 shots in her
first eight games played.
“Nancy is special,” BootzMulkey said. “She’s always been
coordinated. When people watch
her play, they’re amazed at her
natural talent. I can say she got it
from me, but you never know.”
It seems likely that the genes
on Bootz-Mulkey’s side won.
Her mother and father are 6-3 and
6-5, respectively.
Bootz-Mulkey’s older sister,
Barbara, played basketball at
Georgia. The sisters had their fair
share of college options coming
out of Marlboro High School in
upstate New York, and BootzMulkey chose Georgia Tech over
Florida so that she could be close
to Barbara.
She hopes Nancy will have the
same opportunities in four years.
The eighth-grader has also
shown interest in exploring volleyball more this spring by playing for a travel team. She was a
crucial reserve for the Greenwood volleyball team in 2011 as
the Lady Gators advanced to the
state title match, and she said she
enjoys volleyball a little more
than basketball at this point.
“I think she has it in her to be
able to go anywhere she wants
to,” Bootz-Mulkey said. “I think
there’s a lot more opportunity for
her as a basketball player. Now,
there’s so many more chances for
them. She’s in a great situation
with a great attitude.”
Fresh start
John Bootz has had the height
for some time, but this season
with WEHS is his first playing
varsity basketball.
He played freshman and JV
ball at Greenwood – even dressing varsity as a sophomore – but
grade issues kept him off the
court and brought his playing
career to a stalemate.
But after Bootz-Mulkey spoke
with Warren East coach Casey
Simpson and his staff, she
thought the Raiders (11-7) could
provide another chance.
“I was welcomed here,” Bootz
said. “Everyone’s been friendly
and great. I love it here. It’s great
to be here as the team’s making a
big turnaround and having a great
year.”
The move might have come
sooner, but because of the opening of South Warren, Bootz wasn’t granted an out-of-district
transfer until this school year. He
became eligible to play right
away since he never logged varsity minutes at Greenwood.
“He hasn’t played in so long,
and our schedule doesn’t leave
any rest for the weary,” Simpson
said. “He’s getting better
because the competition is very
good. Hopefully, the kids continue to embrace him and he can be
one of the major pieces of the
puzzle for us toward the end of
the year.”
As of Jan. 13, Bootz was averaging 7.3 points and six rebounds
per game. He led the Raiders with
13 points, 11 rebounds and eight
blocks Tuesday at Edmonson
County.
“His motor needs to improve –
his competitive drive to go at
someone else and challenge
them,” Simpson said. “He’s got
to do that for four quarters and
have focus for the whole game.
Those things have gotten better
for him with time. We’ve seen
him grow.”
Bootz will likely attend a
junior college next season, he
said, which will help him gain
weight and strength while bolstering his grades. After that, he’s
open to anything.
“I can build from that,” he
said. “They can put some weight
on me and help me move on to a
bigger college. It all means I have
a chance to go to college on basketball, which is the main goal.”
Leaning on each other
When the Greenwood girls and
Warren East boys aren’t in action
at the same time, you’ll find the
family supporting each other.
Nights like Friday night, when
Greenwood will host Warren East
for a boy/girl doubleheader starting at 6 p.m., allow everything to
come together on the court.
The siblings’ younger brother,
Allan Mulkey, will also be there.
He’s a seventh-grader at Drakes
Creek Middle School and already
“When you’re younger and first start taking
those jumps ahead of people in height, you
hear about it. Eventually, you’re just
another person.”
John Bootz
Warren East senior center
6-1.
“They’re very fortunate that
basketball has done some unique
things for their family,” Simpson
said. “That’s one thing that’s tied
them together. John’s expressed
to me that basketball is that great
bond that they have together.”
The entire family has learned
to deal with the extra attention
their height brings. John recalls
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one trip to Louisville to watch
Nancy play, and during a stop at
McDonald’s, a group of cheerleaders used one another as
shields as they tried to discreetly
snap a photo of the family on a
cellphone.
Tolbert joked that the Lady
Gators are going to prepare a Tshirt that reads “Frequently
Asked Questions” on the front.
~True !!~~!Y~!!!.~'
On the back, Tolbert said, that
shirt should read “She’s 6-6, and
she’s only in eighth grade.”
“Sometimes, if you just pay
attention while you’re walking,
you will laugh when you see people’s faces,” Bootz said. “You can
tell they’re thinking, ‘those guys
are huge.’ When you’re younger
and first start taking those jumps
ahead of people in height, you
hear about it. Eventually, you’re
just another person.”
In their own world, the height
isn’t such a spectacle. During the
last Greenwood-Warren East
showdown at WEHS, John and
Nancy stood outside the Raiders’
locker room between games,
standing tall above the crowd and
talking to each other.
They don’t take moments like
that for granted.
“Before I go to a game, he
always tells me to just dominate
out there,” Nancy said. “He
always tells me to just be who I
am and nothing else.”
The relationship between the
standouts makes Bootz-Mulkey
proud, she said. It’s similar to her
experiences growing up, and she
expects the success level to be the
same.
“I grew up without my dad,
and they’re in the same situation,” she said. “They’re there for
each other a lot. I can’t wait to see
what’s in store for them in the
future.”
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