Thanks, mom: Kansas starters KJ Adams, Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson learned a lot about the game from their talented, basketball

photo by: Matt Tait/Journal-World photo

KU moms, from left to right, Lisa Wilson, Yvonne Adams and Carmen Dick, all played big time basketball during their playing days and their experiences helped shape the careers of their sons along the way.

Long before KJ Adams, Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson became stars at Kansas, their moms played some mean basketball of their own at the college level.

That experience, and the lessons they learned, came in handy when their sons were young and has played a huge role in shaping the boys into the players they are today.

Whether it was Yvonne Adams’ silky scoring, Carmen Dick’s punishing post moves or Lisa Wilson’s versatile all-around game, these moms did enough with a basketball in their hands for their sons to pay attention.

While the lessons from mom covered everything from crossover dribbles and post moves to attitude and effort, Jalen recently said the biggest thing his mom taught him was something he knows his teammates learned from their mothers, as well.

“All of us had strong mothers, who taught us we had to work hard and weren’t going to have things handed to us,” Jalen recently told the Journal-World. “It’s great. I learned a lot from my mom, not just about basketball but also about life. And I know those other guys did, too.”

The three current Jayhawks picked up a few things from their fathers, as well. All three have fond memories of battling with their dads in the family driveway or at the rec center. Kevin Adams Sr., Bart Dick and Derale Wilson, who played at TCU and professionally overseas, continue to play big roles in the development of their sons’ careers, as well.

But when it comes to their childhood, and the subtle tips that took them from aspiring basketball players to certified hoopers, their moms played as big a role as anyone.

Gradey remembers the first time he realized his mom, who starred at Iowa State in the late-1980s, had game.

“I was about 5 or 6 and we were in the backyard playing HORSE and I just remember thinking, ‘Dang, she doesn’t miss,'” Gradey recently told the Journal-World. “She’s more of a post player, so, inside of the 3-point line, she can hit any shot.”

Gradey lit up when thinking back to how those HORSE games occasionally turned into one-on-one battles.

“She was obviously bigger than me at the time, so she would get her wins,” he said. “But then it got to the point where I was getting mine. I was taking her out to the 3-point line.”

photo by: Contributed photo

Gradey Dick’s mom, formerly Carmen Jaspers (50), is shown here during her playing days at Iowa State in the late 1980s.

KJ and Yvonne played countless games of HORSE, as well. He remembered learning that his mom, a two-year star at Texas A&M, was known for her 3-point shot. That always inspired him to try to take her down.

“I never beat her, though,” KJ recently said.

And he never will, according to Yvonne.

“I’ve always told him, ‘I can’t play you defensively anymore, but I’m still going to be able to out-shoot you — always,'” she told the Journal-World.

For Jalen, the HORSE games were often about mechanics. Lisa, who committed to Oklahoma State out of high school and to TCU after one season of junior college, said she and Derale had a deal — she taught Jalen the post moves and Derale handled the guard skills.

“I definitely take credit for his up-and-under move,” she said with a laugh. “I taught him that.”

Added Jalen: “Me and my dad had some battles, but with my mom it was always just shooting. Free throws, form, that kind of stuff.”

photo by: Contributed photo

Jalen Wilson’s mom, formerly Lisa Johnson, is shown in this newspaper clipping from her playing days in the 1990s.

Carmen also had a signature move that Gradey occasionally used in middle school and at Sunrise Christian before coming to Kansas. It was a misdirection move in the paint to get to the basket.

“He hasn’t done that in college yet,” she told the Journal-World.

But he might.

“She sees things that I don’t always see,” Gradey said. “So, little things that I need help with, I go straight to her. Whatever help I need, I know I’m going to get it.”

Carmen Jaspers, as she was known during her playing days at Iowa State from 1985-89, was a scoring machine for the Cyclones.

She finished her career with 1,097 career points and her 61.9% shooting clip still ranks second on the Cyclones’ all-time list.

“She’s not one to come out and brag about her stuff, so I really learned about it from my dad,” Gradey said. “He’s really proud and he definitely told me all about her stats and the records she had in high school and at Iowa State. They were amazing. It’s kind of unbelievable to think, ‘That’s my mom.’ It’s great.”

Yvonne, who played at A&M as Yvonne Hill during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, led the Aggies in minutes played, games played, blocks, steals, free throws attempted, free throw percentage, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

She did it all while wearing jersey No. 24, the same number her son now wears at Kansas and her daughter, Brittany, wore as an all-conference volleyball player at SMU.

“It’s our family number,” Yvonne said. “And this is just him carrying on the legacy of things I dreamt about, playing in arenas like this and playing for Hall of Fame coaches. I’m still in awe. I mean, Bill Self is coaching my son.”

Despite being good enough to earn scholarships to two Big 12 schools, the former Lisa Johnson’s career played out at lower-level college basketball programs.

It’s what came before that, though, that remains her fondest basketball memory.

“She won state in high school,” Jalen said. “And that was always the thing she held over me until I won a national championship.”

“He heard about that day in and day out,” Lisa said of her state title at Ada High in Oklahoma, where she averaged nearly 22 points per game as a senior.

“I know she played in the paint and was tough,” Jalen said. “She told me a story about cutting her lip open one day and getting stitches and coming back into the game. Even when she tore her knee, she was playing with it and came back even better. I definitely feel like some of her toughness and grit rubbed off on me.”

Beyond the fundamentals, the three moms also emphasized the importance of mindset, approach and discipline.

Yvonne, who later served as an assistant coach at Blinn College, where she played before going to Texas A&M, shared a story of her recruiting days and how that helped KJ learn the finer points of the game.

“There was a sheet that showed the tangibles and intangibles,” Yvonne said. “So, we talked to him a lot about the intangibles – what it’s like to sit on the bench, what it’s like to respond to a referee when he calls a foul, how to cheer for your teammates even though you’re not the man. We talked to him a lot about all of that.”

KJ said one of the biggest lessons he learned from Yvonne was about responding to adversity.

“She just told me there were going to be a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “And she told me to always just take it slowly and to ride the waves.”

Carmen offered similar advice to Gradey, emphasizing falling in love with the grind.

“You have to put in time, and it is hard work,” she said. “I don’t know how many times I told him, ‘When this isn’t fun and you don’t like the work anymore, you’re done.'”

That message, and others like it, is often used by Kansas basketball coach Bill Self when the three KU starters don’t bring their best to practice.

“He knows our moms played,” Gradey told the Journal-World. “So, he’ll kind of joke about it whenever we make mistakes in practice. ‘Your mom wouldn’t have done that, or, ‘Your mom wouldn’t let that fly.’ That kind of thing. He knows our moms are strong women and they’ve done amazing things in this game.”

photo by: Contributed photo

Gradey Dick’s mom, formerly Carmen Jaspers, is shown here in a photo from the Iowa State media guide in the late 1980s.

All three moms said it was important to let their boys find their passion for the game on their own time.

“I put a ball in his hands when he was 4 years old,” Lisa told the Journal-World. “But it wasn’t like we were saying, ‘You have to do basketball.'”

Like his KU teammates, Jalen also played other sports growing up. But, somewhere between seventh and ninth grade, Gradey, Jalen and KJ each realized that basketball offered the best path forward, much to the delight of their mothers.

“In junior high I could see he might be a little bit better basketball player,” Carmen said. “In my mind, I was always like, ‘I wish this kid would just play basketball.'”

Yvonne and Lisa felt the same way, but both said playing other sports was an important part of their sons’ journeys.

“We are big multi-sport people in our house,” Yvonne told the Journal-World. “So, KJ played lacrosse and football and volleyball. We have an older daughter who played volleyball instead of basketball and we always thought that was really, really funny, like, ‘Come on now, God. Really?'”

Eventually, the summer after his ninth-grade year, KJ decided he was done with football.

“He told us, ‘I’m retiring from football,'” Yvonne remembered with a laugh. That’s when she knew she had him.

She said she never talked to KJ much about her playing career at Texas A&M. KJ learned about it mostly through the newspaper clippings Yvonne has saved.

One of his favorite parts of his mom’s basketball story was her nickname — “Thrill Hill” — and KJ said he used to tell anyone who would listen that his mom was a baller back in her day.

“I bragged about her all the time,” he told the Journal-World. “I think I mostly liked how she used all of her strengths to score. I think that helped her a lot and I think that helps me, too. I feel like I know my strengths and weaknesses pretty well.”

Photos of Yvonne soaring through the air in her No. 24 jersey instantly bring to mind the way KJ contorts his body and finishes through contact with the Jayhawks.

photo by: Contributed photo

KJ Adams’ mom, formerly Yvonne Hill, his shown here soaring to the rim during her playing days at Texas A&M, where she led the Aggies in scoring for two seasons from 1989-91.

Although she always enjoyed watching her son play, Yvonne said they had rules for what they could talk about on the drive home from high school games or AAU tournaments.

“There were times where we’d tell him, ‘You’ve got to rebound better,’ like any parent would tell their kid,” she said. “But most of the rest of it was off limits.”

Like most mothers, Carmen, Lisa and Yvonne did their share of disciplining their children when they were younger. And while a lot of that covered household chores and schoolwork, it also spilled over to basketball.

All three current Jayhawks said the hardest their moms ever got on them about basketball had one thing in common.

“Attitude,” KJ said. “She always tells me how important it is to have a good attitude on and off the court.”

Added Gradey: “It’s usually just about my body language in games. She’s real big on me not letting the other team see me get down or letting them know they’re getting to me.”

These days, Carmen, Lisa and Yvonne let Self and his coaching staff handle that. They’re much happier to sit back and watch and cheer, often marveling at what their sons have become.

Every once in a while, though, they’ll stand up and yell something toward the court. Those who sit near them in the bleachers often learn the most about what Gradey, Jalen or KJ just did wrong or need to do better.

“I’m coaching Bill, too,” Yvonne joked. “I’m telling Bill what he needs to be doing during the game. He can’t hear me, of course, but I do more of that than I do momming during the game.”

For the most part, all three moms are just happy watching their boys excel at the game they all love.

Every once in a while, though, the energy will resurface and the adrenaline of game night will come creeping back into their minds.

When that happens, rather than running out onto the court and trying to get a bucket, these moms tend to look at each other, perhaps with a little wink or air high-fives from a few rows away, knowing that the show they’re about to watch is already partly their doing.

photo by: Contributed photo

KJ Adams’ mom, formerly Yvonne Hill, his shown here during her playing days at Texas A&M, where she led the Aggies in scoring for two seasons from 1989-91.