The Case for Lauren Aldridge

Law school and college basketball isn't the most common combination, but commonality isn't on the radar for this KU transfer and standout point guard.

Lauren Aldridge has already heard all of your KU jokes. She knows that people say the only good thing to come out of Lawrence is I-70, and that they have plenty of ideas about what KU really stands for. She’s heard every joke and every line since she stepped onto Mizzou’s campus in the spring of 2016.

But for the Kansas transfer, it’s time to get serious. After sitting out last season per NCAA transfer rules, Aldridge, a 5-foot-7 point guard, is at long last eligible to play for the black and gold. “One of the most incredible things is being able to compete with people you love, and love playing for and with,” Aldridge says. “After not being on the court last year, I’ve been able to focus on creating those deeper relationships with my teammates. I’m excited to get back on the court with them.”

As a sophomore at Kansas in 2015-16, Aldridge started all 31 games and led the Jayhawks in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game. She also led the team in field goals, three-pointers, assists and minutes. And although she won’t go into detail about why she transferred, she calls it a “prayerful” decision.

What she does say is that she was drawn by the opportunity to learn from Coach Robin Pingeton, who recruited her at Marshfield (Mo.) High School. In the time since Aldridge arrived on campus, Pingeton has risen from basketball coach to life coach. The relationship is made even more significant because the basketball court isn’t the only court in Aldridge’s life. She’s a first-year law school student, and, early in the semester she was struggling. She sought out Pingeton.

“I went into her all teary-eyed and said, ‘I don’t know what to do, this is so stressful,’” Aldridge says. “She took a minute to calm me down, create a game plan and ask me about how life is outside of law school. I walked away thinking this is such an opportunity. What coach would let one of her players go to law school and play basketball at the same time?”

Aldridge began thinking about law school when she learned she was on track to graduate from Mizzou in three years. And because she wasn’t allowed to travel she had more time to devote to her academic work. Aldridge majored in political science and graduated summa cum laude in May. She’s no stranger to studying, but law school is a different beast altogether. If there’s a player who can handle it, Pingeton knows it’s Aldridge.

“You know you have someone special when they can balance all that,” Pingeton says. “That first year of law school, that’s probably the toughest year out of any of them, and she’s done a great job balancing it. On the court, I think she’s going to be a great addition for us. She gives us an anchor at that point guard position; she’s a quarterback, a great facilitator and has a great basketball IQ.”

 

When Aldridge met with Pingeton that first week, she left feeling as though the struggle was not only hers, but the team’s. She spends her early mornings reading dozens of pages for her torts class and late nights writing papers, but her teammates make sure she’s not in it alone. They’ve offered to bring her lunch, help quiz her and provide moral support when she feels like she’s losing her focus. “They embrace the challenge,” Aldridge says. “It makes it so fun to be a part of and rewarding at the end of the day. You’re not just getting a W in the win column or just the accolades at the end of the year. It’s your family.”

She’s also found family in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes — she helped start a chapter at Kansas and was pleased to find such a large community involved in the organization at Mizzou, even leading a small group with some of her teammates. And when the stress starts to build, Aldridge has another outlet: turkey hunting. She comes from a hunting family and learned the art from her brother, Tyler. He’s the one who initiates the wild turkey call, who places the gun in his sister’s hands and who tells her when to shoot.

“We get to have life conversations,” Aldridge says. “During the season, I don’t get much time to connect with him. It’s always in the spring, so that’s my time to go home and hang out with him. It’s a great adrenaline rush.” In the meantime, Aldridge will continue to endure jokes from her teammates about how coming to Mizzou means she finally “saw the light.” It’s all been worth it. When she arrived at Mizzou, a feeling consumed her. She knows that feeling will only intensify as she settles into the season. It’s the feeling that she’s right where she’s supposed to be. The feeling of being home.