Hempe healthy and ready to help

Alexi Hempe’s love of basketball has been tested the last few years. That happens when you move to South Dakota from Virginia to play the sport and then don’t get that opportunity nearly as often as you would like. 

The redshirt sophomore’s career at USD has had setbacks that have kept her from delivering on the expectations that came with her after arriving as a prize recruit from TPLS Christian Academy in Henrico, Virginia.

As a freshman on the 2019-20 USD team that would go undefeated in Summit League play and finish 30-2, she was limited to 11 games because of a knee injury. Another ACL tear to the same knee ended her sophomore year after 17 games and kept her out the following season.

This brings us to the present. It’s a present that comes gift-wrapped to somebody who has for far too long had to find ways of helping the team that do not show up in the boxscore.

“I’ve been deprived of playing basketball,” said Hempe, a 6-foot forward who scored 8 points in a loss to Creighton this week and 18 in a win over Midland in her first game back in the Coyotes’ opener. “I’ve missed playing it so much. I’m looking forward to getting back on the court in front of the home crowd. When you’re out so long you realize how much you love it.”

She is healthy just in time to help replace a collection of core Coyote greats whose memorable era finally came to an end with the departures of Hannah Sjerven, Chloe Lamb and Liv Korngable after last season’s unprecedented ride to the Sweet 16.

First-year Coyote coach Kayla Karius was an assistant for Dawn Plitzuweit when Hempe decided this was where she wanted to play. Though the pair were never part of the same team prior to this season, Karius was definitely aware of the kind of contributions a healthy Hempe could make.

“My first week after I came back to USD, I had one-on-one meetings with all the players,” Karius said. “I wanted to get caught up with all of them and hear about where they were at. For Alexi, I wanted her to talk me through her timeline for the last few years.”

Hempe proceeded to tell her coach about all the injuries. In doing so she was sharing much more than just her hectic medical history. 

“I’m sitting there taking notes and I’m thinking ‘Holy cow, you’ve been through a lot,’” Karius said. “From that first conversation I could tell she had an appreciation for the game that she probably hadn’t had before. She’d spent so much time out. She was fired up about getting back out on the floor and having a chance to compete and play in games.”

Hempe, whose sister Merritt Hempe was a three-year starter at Georgia and now plays professionally in Europe, is a player with enough size to play inside and the range to shoot from the outside. That can make her a challenging matchup for most defenses. She is also making strides at the other end of the court. 

“Alexi has a great skill set,” Karius said. “She has an ability to get to the rim and also to post-up smaller guards. It’s been great to see that and also see her growth defensively since I’ve been here. She’s a very smart player and she understands the game. If she takes it to another level defensively it’s only going to help her more.”

Hempe wears a brace on the knee that has had a pair of surgeries but it’s the only real sign of all those struggles. Perspective helped her get through it all, coupled with a love of the game that fueled her rehab efforts.

“Knee injuries were not in my plans,” she said. “Not the first time and definitely not the second time. You just learn to accept it and take on whatever role you can for the team. You have to take on every day and try to find ways to improve and find little things to be happy about. I kept trying to focus on next season and telling myself I was going to do anything I can to be what the team needs me to be.”

Hempe’s injuries have given her a chance to meet people she would not meet otherwise. There are probably easier ways to get to know a Sanford Health surgeon than by tearing your ACL a second time, but once injured you might as well make the best of the experience.

“Dr. (Nathan) Skelley did my second surgery,” she said. “I know him very well. He’s a great guy – definitely the best.”

Those injuries have also steered her toward a future career. As a biomedical engineering major she is going to have the chance to play it forward, then pay it forward.

“After going through the rehab process like I have I’d really like to make it easier for anyone else who has to go through it,” she said. “If I can make rehab devices or braces that will help people I’d consider that a great career. My knee injuries were what got me into that so I’d call it kind of a blessing in disguise.”

It’s now time for those blessings to arrive more easily recognizable.

“Alexi is a great basketball player who has overcome a ton of adversity,” Karius said. “It’s going to be fun to see her put it all together after working so hard the past few years with rehabbing and recovering from those injuries. We’re very excited about the year she’s going to have.”