Q and A with EHS senior Karsyn Waldrop

EASLEY — Senior Night is always that one night where the dedicated seniors take centerstage. The proud parents are beaming more than the bright lights in the gym. You might have that one senior on the team – often sitting on the end of the bench who never gets to play – but he or she gets that starting nod on that one special night. The hometown fans always erupt when that bench player is announced for the starting lineups.

And if that player scores a basket in the game, the local fans holler like they just won a state championship.

Last week, Easley High School senior Karsyn Waldrop was honored on Senior Night at EHS. She is far from considered a “bench player” on any team. She’s a good 3-point shooter and is a definite plus for the Green Wave girls basketball team. However, the 5-foot-9 forward for EHS suffered a season-ending ACL tear and meniscus repair earlier in the season.

The unfortunate injury to Waldrop happened at the Christmas Tournament in a game at Rock Hill.

So for this week, Waldrop is The Easley Progress Student Athlete of the Month. I’m sure her grade point average is top-notch, but this is more about gutting it out for the team this season during a tough time.

Waldrop still took some time to reflect on her basketball career at EHS and what it’s been for her to go through a season-ending injury.

Q: Your coach, Ivan Raymond, mentioned everything that all of the EHS senior basketball players have put towards the program. Can you talk about how it’s been for you to be a part of all this?

WALDROP: To be apart of all this for me is an amazing experience, creating bonds with all the girls on the team who you can call your family and go to for anything. They would always be there for me. Being able to play the game with them, It is such an exciting feeling to be apart of all this at a young age. I will always remember what our coach taught us “#setthestandard” (SET THE STANDARD).

Q: What advice would you give to the up-and-coming EHS girls basketball players?

WALDROP: The advice I would give the younger girls is to never give up you what you started. At times I would feel like giving up, but I never wanted to just quit something I had been a part of from a young age. Also, do not take things for granted. Make the best of what you have at that point in time as you never know what might happen. Give your best all the time because in a couple of years you will look back on all the memories and be proud of what you accomplished

Q: It had to be tough not getting to play your entire senior year. What was that like and what would you like to say to your teammates?

WALDROP: When I hurt my knee, I thought it wasn’t anything major. I thought I could be able to play again very soon. But when I found out it was my ACL I knew that I was not going to be able to play the rest of my senior year. For me, to know that I would not be playing again, it broke me down and put me in a low time of my life. It was very hard to sit on the sideline and watch my teammates play. Thankfully, I could sit on the sidelines with the coaches and cheer them on. One thing I would say to my teammates is: Thank you for supporting me and being there during the hard times and thank you all for the awesome memories.

Q: Can you talk about one game or highlight from your playing days that you’ll always remember?

WALDROP: There are so many different memories from all the games it is hard to recall just one. I will always remember the fun and excitement I had before and during the games. I will always remember the support from my family and coaches that helped me get better. One highlight I will always remember is when we made it to the playoffs for the first time in a long time my sophomore and junior year. Just the excitement we all had and readiness to go and compete.

Q: What does the future look like for you and how do you feel about it?

WALDROP: I am attending College of Charleston in the fall. The feeling about leaving my hometown, family and friends is definitely going to be challenging but I am very excited to start a new chapter in my life and looking forward to the new possibilities in my future.

Q: What did you enjoy about playing at the EHS home games?

WALDROP: I enjoyed playing games in the EHS gym as this was my homecourt and we could always count on the support of our community.