Moments after the SMU men’s basketball team defeated Memphis at Moody Coliseum earlier this month, the women’s team got an intense pregame speech from head coach Rhonda Rompola.
Rompola was trying to pump up the Lady Mustangs for an important conference game against Temple that afternoon. After the talk, every player on the team, including sophomore guard Kamy Cole, was physically and emotionally fired up to play in front of their home crowd.
“I was so ready to compete and play basketball,” Cole said. “Once I realized I couldn’t, I started tearing up and got a little emotional. That’s when my teammates really comforted me. That’s how I know I’m where I’m supposed to be. I have the greatest support system here and at home.”
It took a few stops before Cole found that perfect support system on the Hilltop.
After committing to play at the University of Oklahoma her freshman year of high school, Cole had a last minute change of heart that sent her to TCU in Forth Worth. She says it’s because she wanted to move closer to her family in her hometown of Brock, Texas.
“I was a kid. I was 15. I didn’t really know what I wanted when I committed to OU,” she explained. “I just knew I wanted to play Division I basketball. I think that I had made a decision too early and didn’t know what my options were. I grew up a little and realized what was important to me. Life is not just about basketball.”
Brock is known as one of the smallest communities in Texas. Cole jokes about how the opening of the first Subway Restaurant recently was a big deal to the residents there.
Cole is also the youngest of four sisters: Kaycie, Kenzie, and Krystal. All three of the older sisters won state championship titles at Brock High School.
The oldest won one. The second won two and the third won three. When Kamy was in eighth grade, she was asked about her chances of winning a state title. “I’m the fourth sister, so I guess I should win four,” her response was jokingly at the time.
Four years later, Cole had done just that. She was a four-time state champion, where she averaged 25.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and three-time championship game MVP.
She says it was “insane and surreal” while also calling it the greatest moment of her
basketball career.
“In Brock, everybody knows everybody. It’s quiet, but I like it out there,” Cole said. “I also like living in a big city like Dallas. It’s nice to be able to get away and go to Brock, but it’s nice to be able to get away and go to Dallas, too. Everything is just right here.”
Although she started 22 of 30 games and was third on the team in scoring as a freshman, Cole transferred to SMU after just one season with the Horned Frogs.
The 5-foot-9-inch shooting guard wasn’t enjoying her time at TCU, so she talked to Kenzie, who is a former SMU basketball player, about the possibility of becoming a Mustang.
“I get asked why I left Forth Worth a lot,” Cole said. “For the most part, I just wasn’t myself at TCU. I was being influenced to be a different person and everyone at home could tell. I didn’t fit in very well there and I didn’t feel like it was right for me. I have great memories there. I will probably never forget having my name called out, at the Division I level, especially as a freshman. It felt good to know all the hard work I put in and the sacrifices that my parents made had paid off.”
This season, Cole has had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules. She says it has been one of the hardest years of her life, but she relies on her grandmother, who passed away in 2007, for inspiration.
Cole has tattooed on her hip, “To Thine Own Self Be True.” Although the phrase was originally from Shakespeare, Cole remembers it as her grandmother’s quote and says it’s the way she has tried to live her life.
When she is finally eligible next season, Cole is most excited to play with SMU guard Kiara Perry because of the job she has done as a first year starter this year.
Cole also called teammate Keena Mays the best player she has ever played with and WNBA superstar Britney Griner the best player she has played against.
Cole doesn’t know what she will do after graduating.
She could get a master’s in education, she could play basketball overseas and travel the world, or she could become a kid’s basketball coach. Either way, she knows she will be happy with her family and friends beside her.
“God has a plan for me, so he will lead me in the right direction,” she said. “I’m comfortable at SMU and I love Dallas. I have so much fun with my teammates here. They let me be who I am and they embrace it. I just can’t wait to play with them next year.”
