Earlier this January, as White Plains High School’s girls’ basketball team finished up its court-long sprints, stand-out senior guard Kim Hanlon felt the team did not have its best showing during practice.

However, she still felt the team was ready to go for the upcoming game against New Rochelle the following day. By committing to Stony Brook before the season started, she did not have to worry about impressing Division I coaches. She could focus on helping her team win.

“I committed a while ago because I wanted to play through the summer knowing where I was going,” Hanlon said. “It was definitely a huge load off my shoulders.”

Recruited by colleges since her junior year, Hanlon picked Stony Brook, which came in late during the recruiting process, over Lehigh, Marist, Mount Saint Mary and American.

“I thought it was a great choice for her,” White Plains head coach Sue Adams said. “It’s a good fit for her. Everything was positive.”

Hanlon said that she made a visit to Stony Brook a few months ago, seeing the ins and outs of the campus, observing a biology class, watching the team practice and even staying overnight with junior guard Dani Klupenger.

“I really liked the coaching staff and the team,” Hanlon said. “They all seemed really nice. I  liked the chemistry that was going on, and the campus was beautiful.”

One factor in her decision to commit to Stony Brook was the fact that the school offered the major she was most interested in, athletic training.

“I know they have a lot in that area besides sports training,” Hanlon said. “A lot of the other schools didn’t have as broad an area to study in. [Stony Brook] had so much more since they have a hospital next to it.”

Before she came to Stony Brook, head coach Beth O’Boyle knew about Hanlon from her previous job as associate head coach at Canisius College. She began recruiting Hanlon when she came to Stony Brook.

“I saw her play watching her AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) team, New Heights, and then again during the first weekend of the April evaluation period,” O’Boyle said. “She has good athleticism; she can score in a variety of ways; and she’s a tough competitor.”

For O’Boyle, though, it was more than what she saw on the court.

“I really enjoyed my conversations with Kim,” O’Boyle said. “I thought it was a good fit.”

Hanlon, listed at 5’9″, considers herself a combo guard, combining both a point guard’s ability set up teammates and a shooting guard’s ability to drive and shoot.

“I don’t mind passing it out, and I don’t mind taking a jump shot,” Hanlon said. “I think I bring a lot of energy to defense and encourage my team to play hard.”

Those skills were on display during White Plains’ game against New Rochelle.

She scored 15 points in her team’s 49-40 victory and at times even drew a few oohs from the crowd dribbling against her defender one-on-one.

While she is a top player in her league, Adams, who has sent five players to the Division I level in her coaching career, feels that like any other player, Hanlon needs to keep working on her overall game.

“I’m working with her on improving her decision-making and reading defenses,” Adams said. “She needs to get stronger.”

However, Adams feels that Hanlon could help out a resurgent Stony Brook program as soon as she arrives on campus.

“I think she can contribute immediately,” said Adams. “She’s played a high level at the AAU circuit; she’s faced a lot of D-I players.”

It is an assessment that Hanlon herself hopes she can achieve.

“It’s hard to say, but I think I definitely could,” Hanlon said. “I’m just going to play hard and give it everything I have.”