Ford Returns Home to Play for Huskers

Most students who go away to college do so to grow as an individual away from home, but there is something to be said about the comfort of being close to family. Just ask Ashley Ford.

The Lincoln, Neb., native moved to Concordia, Kan., to attend Cloud County Junior College in hopes of regaining some of the Division I recruiting attention she lost after tearing her ACL the summer before her senior year of high school at Lincoln Northeast. Although she had always dreamed of suiting up for the Huskers, she thought she had lost their attention when her numbers slipped as she played through the pain of her final high school season.

"Once I went to Cloud I never thought I would come back," Ford said. "I always thought they would recruit me out of high school if I had a chance to play for them. Once I went to a junior college I never thought they would look at me."

She was wrong. Then-assistant coach Angela Timmons saw her play in a conference game and became interested in her, making a call to her a few weeks later. Ford left Cloud County after the 2004-05 season averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a sophomore.

The transition has made it much easier for Ford because she is very close to her family. While at Cloud County, Ford's family couldn't always make the long trips to see her play. Ford is especially grateful for the chance her grandparents now have to see her making her dreams a reality. Living at home, something most college students avoid, has been one of the greatest parts of coming back to her hometown.

"They enjoy it because they get to see me all the time now," Ford said. "I'm living at home and my mom and I have an awesome relationship. A lot of people when they go to college don't want to live at home, but I wanted to be in my own house. I just feel comfortable there. And my grandparents get to see me and they are always happy no matter what. Even if I only get to play a minute, they just like to see me happy. Also, my brother just had a baby, so I got to be home for that. It really turned out to be a good thing."

Although Ford is the lone Nebraska native on the 2005-06 roster, Coach Connie Yori said that doesn't mean in-state players aren't looked at hard. In fact, the Huskers have already signed Nebraska natives Nikki Bober of Murdock, Neb., and Yvonne Turner from Omaha, Neb., to play in the 2006-07 season.

"We watch the Nebraska kids play and there is no doubt that we do that as a coaching staff," Yori said. "Between all the things that we do in the summer in watching summer basketball, we make sure that we watch those Nebraska kids play. We're at the State Tournament. We're scouring our state first and if there are kids that we think can play for us then we're going to go after them."

While it's important to Yori to have Nebraskans on her roster, it's also important to have players who can play at the Division I level and are compatible to the program. In Ford's case, Yori knew she wanted more depth at the point guard position and despite interest from schools such as Kentucky, Temple and Akron, returning to her hometown was the easy decision.

Her decision proved to not only benefit her and her family, the Huskers have benefitted as well. Ford is shooting 75 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the arc. In addition, her assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.8-to-1.

"Ashley is a tremendous representative of our program," Yori said. "She's doing a nice job on the court if you look statistically what she's done. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is very good. She's doing a good job defensively. She doesn't make a lot of mistakes on the defensive end. She is someone that has been really solid in the minutes that she's played. She has given us a good back-up point guard."