This story is sponsored by: The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Taylor Varsho had a dream of playing Division I college basketball. After suffering a knee injury during a practice in 2011, those dreams seemed like a long shot, but she battled back to have a superb senior season at Marshfield High School and earned the D-I scholarship she desired from Colorado State.
However, Varsho’s Division I career may be coming to an end sooner than she wanted. Varsho, a 2012 Marshfield graduate and two-time Wisconsin Valley Conference player of the year, was released from her scholarship at Colorado State University on Tuesday.
The school announced that Varsho and three other players – starting point guard LaDeyah Forte, Amber Makeever and Morgan Hunt – were leaving the program.
CSU coach Ryun Williams said in a story in The Coloradoan newspaper on Tuesday, “The main reason is that they’re trying to be fair to their careers. They want an opportunity to go somewhere and thrive, and we support them in that process.”
Varsho said, at least in her case, it wasn’t her choice.
“It wasn’t my decision to leave,” Varsho said. “I really didn’t want to leave. I love Colorado, I love my team, I love going to school here. It was a surprise to me. He (Williams) has an idea of the people coming in…it’s too bad, but I’ll go somewhere else.”
Varsho, a 5-foot-6 guard who left Marshfield as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,370 points, said she is leaning toward transferring to a Division II school. She said the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.), a school that heavily recruited her in high school, and Northern Michigan University have emerged as possibilities, but she has not committed to anything as of yet. She plans on finishing the school year at CSU and seeing what happens after that.
“Education is big for me…I want to get my degree in Elementary Education,” Varsho said. “People have been calling. I am probably going to go Division II so I can play right away, and hopefully this time around I will make the right decision.”
Varsho was recruited by former Rams’ coach Kristen Holt, who resigned the day before Varsho signed her letter of intent with Colorado State in late April 2012. Williams was named the new head coach in late May, coming from South Dakota.
Varsho said she was frustrated throughout the season by what she said was a lack of communication with Williams over her role and playing time.
Varsho started five of the first six games for the Rams, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Rams’ season-opening win over Montana State. However, as the season went along, she saw her role diminished, not playing in eight games for Colorado State, which finished 11-19 and lost in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament to Wyoming.
“I came into practice and gave 110 percent,” Varsho said. “I always tried making everyone else around me better. I was put in some games where we needed a spark and I felt like I created that most of the time…then I wouldn’t play the next game.
“It was frustrating not being communicated to, told why you’re not playing or what was going on. I performed to what I could, but in the end I just want to go somewhere that I am wanted. Communication is really big for me right now.”