[00:00:15] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We thank you for listening. Our guest today is Ella Ansio. Ella is a senior on Wichita State women's basketball team. She's recently moved into the starting lineup and is having a nice senior season. She's on pace for career high in most of her statistical categories. She had a career high eight points against Memphis, nine rebounds and four blocks against the University of Kansas, all earlier this season. Ella is a regular on the athletic director's honor roll. She is a past member of the American Athletic Conference's all academic team, the Shockers. They return to action on Saturday with the Play for K Pink game against UAB. That's 2pm Saturday. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and get in on the fight versus Cancer by donating to the K. Yao Cancer Fund. Ella, let's start at the start. How did you choose Wichita State after playing and studying at Cape and Mount Carmel?
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, first of all, Paul, thank you for having me. I would say a big thing for me with choosing Wichita State was I wanted to find a community that felt like family. You know, moving into college from playing high school sports is a really big step. And at the time, the closest relationships that I had during my recruiting were with the coaches at Wichita State.
So that was a huge part for me as well as being able to have my family so close by.
To be about 10 minutes away from me and to be able to live out my dreams of being a college basketball player while having them so close and being able to be at every game has been something that looking back, I would not change for the world. It has been so special to me to be able to, like I said, live out my dream and pursue my basketball career without having to sacrifice being around my family dream.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: When did you say I want to be a college basketball player?
[00:02:09] Speaker B: I'd say that the reality really set in for me in high school.
But I grew up playing a bunch of different sports. I played soccer when I was little. Through high school I did softball, volleyball and basketball and played club volleyball as well. But basketball just ended up being my favorite.
It's what I loved the most, I had the most fun with. And so I'd say really in high school is when it set in that playing in college was something that was a possibility for me. So that's when I really set in on that, on that goal and that dream.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: So you would have been recruited here by Keith Adams, former coach, played two seasons for her before Terry Nooner took Over.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Yes, I did.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: And, yes, you have a big family. We'll talk about that later. Take us through the adjustment to college basketball. What's been the biggest, biggest change?
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say coming in my freshman year, one of the biggest differences that I noticed in the game was just the pace and the speed of the game, as well as I had to learn. I've always been the tallest on every team that I've played in. Being 6 foot 4, there wasn't very many times in high school that I played against somebody who was taller or stronger than me. But coming up to the Division 1 level, not like so much of an anomaly anymore. There's more people who have my height and my strength, and so I really have had to learn how to score more creatively and figure out other ways to use my body and use my talents to my advantage, because there's. There's other people who have the same level of skills. So that was a huge adjustment, was just learning the pace and then how to continue to use my height and my strength, but to use it more creatively to help me score.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: So, as we mentioned, your playing time is really up this season. You've been very productive. How did you stay motivated? Maybe earlier in your career when you weren't playing as much, how did you. What kept you going and improving?
[00:04:11] Speaker B: Right. I would say that a big thing for me is that I just like to focus on what my job is in that moment, whether it is cheering on the sideline, it's helping my teammates and my coaches in practice. Whatever my role is at that time, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability, even if it's not the exact position that I want to be in in the future. Because I know that if I would have given up on myself my sophomore year when I wasn't playing very much, or even my junior year, then I wouldn't be where I am today.
I know that as I continue to grow as a player, one thing that has been really, really important for me, and something that Coach Nooner has expressed to me as well, is that he's grateful that I show up consistently and I bring consistent energy. And that was really great for me to hear from him at the end of last season, because that's something I really pride myself on trying to do, is, regardless of the circumstances, to show up and bring the best version of myself on a consistent basis.
And so I don't know if I would call it as much motivation as I would call it just, like, discipline and the decision to show up and be the best version of who I am and what I'm doing, regardless of what it is.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: So, yeah, a lot of times that's difficult for a high school athlete. Most of the high school athletes at Wichita State, they were the best on their team. They were all state. They were bigger, stronger, like you mentioned. How did you maintain that good attitude? Was there a book, Was there someone on the team or someone in your family you leaned on when things were not going well?
[00:05:50] Speaker B: Right. I would say obviously, having my family here was huge because when you're not playing and things aren't going the way that you want them to, that can be very difficult. But I'd say more than anything, what I was able to lean on was my faith and just helping me to stay grounded and know that my identity doesn't have anything to do with how many minutes I have or how many points I've scored, but just really making sure that I was rooted in and prioritizing my relationship with Jesus got me through college. Sports helped me, like I said, not necessarily motivation, but just knowing who I am and how I want to show up to something.
I feel like something that my dad always would say is how you do anything is how you do everything.
And so I think that my faith and my family, I really did lean on in difficult times.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: So this is Coach Terry Nooner's second season at Wichita State. Describe playing for Terry Nooner.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: I love playing for Coach Nooner. I think that that was a big shift for me from my first two years to my second two years.
Coach Nooner is very, very caring.
He communicates well, which is something I really, really appreciate about him. And also I feel like he really prioritizes personal development like we were talking about. From my first couple of years to these past two years. I think that developed a lot as a player and learned more about myself and my game. And I accredit that a lot to Coach Nooner and the assistant coaches, both Nick Bradford and Coach Patrick Harrison, that Coach Nooner has brought in to work with the posts. They've all really taught me a lot and invested into my personal growth as a player, which has helped me grow my confidence a lot. I feel like that's something I was really lacking my first two years.
So, yeah, they've really helped me grow and develop as a player and believe in myself a lot more, I think.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: What's your favorite post drill? What's maybe helped you the most? Do you think?
[00:08:10] Speaker B: My favorite post drill? Let's see. I would say I don't know that we necessarily have a favorite drill, but I love when I get to work one on one or in a small group setting on just scoring and reads, whether that's with Coach Noona or with a post coach.
We like to do a little session before shoot around on game days. So that's typically been me and Aisha and Coach P. We get some extra shots up, we work on our finishes, we tailor in on our game plan for that game as post and how we're going to score and kind of go over that. And so that's one of my favorite things for sure. Just to really help focus in for each specific game and get some fun finishes in and stuff like that.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: So you mentioned Terry Nooner communicating. Give us an example. This just seems so important and we hear this a lot. I think in these days when athletes can transfer, that it really needs to be more, I guess, collaborative. They need to be on the same page with them. They need to feel bought in in a way that maybe they didn't 10 years ago. What's an example of how Terry Nooner communicates that you have found helpful?
[00:09:25] Speaker B: Right. I would say that with coaches that I've had in the past when I went through periods of time that I wasn't playing or that I was struggling with something and wasn't picking something up, well, I wasn't getting feedback. And that's something that's really important for me to be able to grow. I need to be able to have something specific to focus on that really helps me.
And I feel like Coach Nooner and my other post coaches right now, Coach P.
Have done a really great job of trying to learn me and how I work as a player. Because each player is individual and needs something different.
They've done a really good job of listening to me and understanding that how I might process something is going to be completely different than how Aisha or Mai or Brie or Jayla, it's going to be different. And so Coach Nooner and Coach P do a very good job of listening to me and then taking what I've told them and who I am as a player and applying that in how they coach me. And I've been really grateful for that.
[00:10:34] Speaker A: So you have three brothers and two sisters. You're the oldest. Correct. What's the best thing about growing up in a big family?
[00:10:40] Speaker B: I would say just the constant love and support that I'm surrounded with.
It's so cool growing up in a family that has this many people. Like, you'll say I'll Tell people that I'm the oldest of six and they'll be like, oh, wow, that's a lot of siblings. And it is. But to me, it's just normal.
And to me, it's so much fun to be able to like. We're not only a big family, but we're an athletic family and all of us are involved in sports. And so not only to have the support of my siblings, but to be able to watch them as they grow.
Watch my brother Will, who's playing at K State. Watch my brother Nick, who's playing on the O line at Capen and working his way to be playing in college. And then my little sisters and my little brother who want their number to be 13. Like, that is huge to me and means the world.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: You are number 13.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: I do, yes.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: For context, are there any good stories about family vacation? What's the best family vacation? The Anos got into the family truckster and went home.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Yes. So we do have a large van.
Some of our family friends jokingly call it the Vancio.
We will take road trips. I think most recently we went to Florida a few years ago. We've gone on some little trips since then, but we will drive 16 ish hours to get to Destin, Florida, one of our favorite locations. And it's always a good time. We'll just get a house, go to the beach and have a good time together.
Having that many people and that many kids, it can be chaotic at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And we're excited. We're gonna go to Arizona for spring break this year because all of our spring breaks line up. So that'll be another long road trip. But we always have fun making those memories.
[00:12:44] Speaker A: The Vancio.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: I like that.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Whenever I ask this question, I'm always hopeful I'll get some big board game competition question where somebody threw the cards or pushed over the Monopoly board because they were upset and stormed away. Do you have any of those kind of stories from the NCO family?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Well, I'm sure that if you asked my mom, she would tell you that when I'm playing games like that with my siblings, my competitive side comes out and I act a bit more childish than I'd probably like to admit. So I would say that if anything, there's definitely arguments over rules and whose rules are right that day. I can't think of one off the top of my head, but I know that I've had my fair share of moments where I've been upset with somebody for cheating or just upset that I lost big competitive family. So that's about how it goes.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: That's to be expected. You mentioned your brother Will. He had an excellent football and basketball career at Capon. He's now tight end at Kansas State. Nick is a junior offensive lineman at Capen. Specifically, the athletic part about being in a big family, how did that shape where you are?
[00:13:49] Speaker B: I just would say that growing up, my parents, they put us in a bunch of different sports and they gave us the opportunity to choose what we liked.
And it was never something that was forced upon any of us. It just was that it kind of just became a part of who we are and what we do.
And then as we've all gotten older, obviously I left softball and volleyball in high school and pursued basketball, and Will left behind basketball as well. And that's just kind of how it goes. But I think that having an athletic family, competitive family just shapes me by.
I'll go back to saying that it just has been the biggest support system to have my family always, always there and always supporting me. And then to be able to be here 10 minutes away, to be make it over to my little sister's game or my little brother's game, or I'll be able to see my brother next year and go to his senior night, like, stuff like that is super important. And I would have been very upset to have missed any of it. So I'm grateful that I don't have to.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: Nice part about staying at home for college, I'm sure. So people describe you as the team mom for the Shockers. You give people rides, hand out advice, helping the newcomers. Why does that role fit you?
[00:15:23] Speaker B: I think that that is just a part of my personality and who I am. I think that's something that comes pretty naturally to me, is I love. I love caring for people. I would call myself a problem solver.
And so that's a role that I think also as a big sister, like we've talked about, just comes to me pretty naturally being a caretaker. And so I think it's funny to be described as a teen mom, but I guess that kind of is what it is.
Even though I may view it more as like a big sister role. I'm just doing the same thing that I do with my family, and these girls that I've been with and have been my teammates for all these years become family. So I'd say it's just part of. Part of my character. It happens naturally.
[00:16:15] Speaker A: One of the interesting things about women's basketball at Wichita State over The years is the number of international players on the team. What's that like being on a team with them and helping them? A lot of them come here, and I think this would be true of students and student athletes. They don't have a car.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: No, they don't.
[00:16:32] Speaker A: So it's a very, I think, something we kind of take for granted. I can get in the car and I can go to Dylan's or I can go to Walmart. And a lot of them, you know, need help in those areas. What's that been like, being on this. On this team with so many international students?
[00:16:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say my freshman and sophomore year specifically, I lived with teammates, and all of them throughout those first two years were international students and have, even if they're not here at Wichita State anymore, just developed very deep friendships with them that have continued even as they've gone on to their other schools.
I'd say that, yeah, it is a challenge and another layer for the international students that don't have a means of transportation. But I think that's where my coaches have done a really good job of kind of consolidating where everyone lives.
We have a home base apartment for the majority of the girls that started this year. So I don't live at the same complex because I had already lived somewhere else last year. But moving on and for the future, everyone will live at the same place. And so that's made it a lot easier in terms of helping people get rides because they're all coming from the same place. And then if there ever is anybody that needs someone to pick them up because they have conflicting schedules or whatever it may be, I'm happy to help out. It's usually on my way. And even if it's not, it's no big deal just to get somebody a ride really quickly.
[00:18:05] Speaker A: So, going off the top of my head, Wichita State has had or has women's basketball players from Russia, I think, Mozambique, France, Spain. What's the most interesting thing you've learned from a foreign country by being around these people?
[00:18:23] Speaker B: I don't know.
I think that that is a hard thing to put my finger on. One thing I will say that my freshman year, I stayed in Wichita, but I lived in a dorm with a player from Spain, a player from Russia, and a player from France. And so just getting to see the ins and outs of our daily lives and different ways that they go about things or hear different, just different cultural things was super interesting for me. We always joke about how some of their English was still not Great when they were first getting here. And so we would have little roommate disagreements or whatever might happen, and we would be using Google Translate to make sure that we were understanding each other.
So I just think things like that, like those are funny memories now to look back on because we're all still very close. And so it's just really funny. So it's been a cool experience.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Food and weather seem to be the two biggest adjustments. When I talk to international students, would you agree with that?
[00:19:31] Speaker B: I would say yes. The one thing that has always stuck out to me is they were always convinced that the air conditioning was making them sick. And that was something that I had never heard of before.
So we would have little debates back and forth about whether or not that was true or that was a myth. But a lot of the international students, when it came around to whether it was like, later in the fall or whatever it might be, they were convinced that they had a cough and it was because they left air conditioning on too cold. And we were like, okay, whatever you say.
[00:20:05] Speaker A: Okay. There's a good group of Capen graduates in the athletic department, several on the track team, Henry Thangvall on the men's basketball team. Many of them are active in the St. Paul Catholic parish on campus.
Tell us about that part of your life.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: Yeah, so I think just going back to what I said earlier, my faith being a huge part of my life and a huge.
A huge rock for me, really, especially throughout my experience as a student athlete. I think St. Paul's does a really great job of connecting with student athletes. They have Mass times that are available and very accessible on campus, as well as eucharistic adoration, which has been huge for me because it's just time to sit and be quiet and take a breath. There's a lot going on as a student athlete and so caring for your mental health, that's been a huge way that I've been able to do that just to kind of recenter myself in my faith. And then I'll also talk about Father Drew. Father Drew is amazing. He is so supportive of every student at St. Paul's but from my perspective, the student athletes as well. He. He comes to a lot of our events and just does a really great job of supporting us and helping us to feel connected and like we have another home at St. Paul's and so that's been super, super great.
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Father Drew Hoffman, you mentioned, he's the. The priest at St. Paul, and he is a regular. Yeah, you will see him quite often at athletic events.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: Season ticket holder for the women's basketball team. Yes.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Yes. And then he is also a Bishop Carroll graduate.
[00:21:49] Speaker B: He is.
[00:21:49] Speaker A: Has he been sensitive about the last two football games where Capen defeated Carroll? Does that ever get brought up?
[00:21:55] Speaker B: He's very, very competitive. So he'll like to sarcastically say after Bishop Carroll loses that it's just a football game and nobody cares either way and we just all need to support each other. But you can tell that he. He's very competitive and definitely wants Carol to pull it out. But it's a fun rivalry.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: It is a fun rivalry. Let's see who Luke Porter and Emma Besdick are on the track team, Clara Whitaker on the tennis team. Am I missing any Capen graduates while we're going down this road?
[00:22:31] Speaker B: I don't want to leave anyone out, but I can't think of anyone else off the top.
[00:22:35] Speaker A: Those are the ones that come. If we've left anybody out, we apologize.
Nutrition. We've heard more and more about that around the athletic department over the last year or so. You are a meal prepper. Do you have a favorite meal prep recipe that you would recommend that people try?
[00:22:50] Speaker B: I am. I love meal prepping. I've learned a lot about sports nutrition throughout my time as a student athlete because I learned the importance of fueling your body for performance. And my goal across the board, whether it was with my mental health, but my physical health as well, just to maximize my level of performance. And so nutrition's been a big way that I've done that.
I'd say one of my favorite meal prep recipes is I'll keep it simple. I love just making a taco bowl. I have some ground beef, rice, lettuce. I make a corn salsa. And then I'll just prep that all on a Sunday or on the weekend and have it in my fridge throughout the week. And it saves me a lot of time and helps keep me on track. I save money cooking at home and doing all those things. So that's been something that's been super helpful for me.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: You plan on attending chiropractic school in Kansas City. Tell us about choosing that career.
[00:23:50] Speaker B: So I have always loved working with people.
I want to have an active career, an active lifestyle.
So studying exercise science, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I knew that it would fall under the exercise science umbrella.
So speaking of my interest in nutrition, I looked a lot into becoming a sports dietitian as well. I thought that that could be a really cool career path.
And I also think that it could be cool to work with athletes. So as I was looking into that, the fact that I hadn't studied dietetics as an undergraduate, it just was not working out. The pieces weren't falling into place following the dietitian career path that I. That I hoped that they would. So I started looking back into chiropractic school because I kind of came into my freshman year saying that I wanted to go to chiropractic school. I have an amazing chiropractor that I've gone to since I was about 13, who's not necessarily a traditional, like, just give you an adjustment and get you out type of chiropractor. Dr. Casey Hummel. He works at Blue Chip here in Wichita, and he has inspired me a lot. Just showing me the other side of chiropractic and helping me to heal a lot of injuries throughout my career as a student athlete.
So I started looking back into that career path because that had been something I was really interested in for a while. And I just kind of had a lot of things fall into place.
I went and looked at the website and went to apply and it waived my application fee. So I submitted, and before I knew it, I was on a campus visit and I had been accepted, and all the pieces just kind of fell into place. And like I said, with my faith, I just don't really believe in coincidences. I feel like that was kind of God guiding me in the direction that he had for me. So I felt a lot of peace and just clarity. And so it's been really nice to have that side of my career path and my future figured out so that I know what's happening here in the next year.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Let's say you get a chance to speak to a freshman athlete at Wichita State. Getting started on this long journey. Academics, athletics, time management, nutrition. What's your advice? What are you telling them to get off to a good start?
[00:26:17] Speaker B: I would say that one of the most important things that I've learned is that you can't handle everything yourself.
I can be very independent. I like to try and handle a lot all at once. And I like to be busy. But it's really easy if you're trying to handle your own problems. Go to practice, go to school, be around your family, be with friends, Just take care of everything.
It's very easy to become overwhelmed and to get burnt out. And so it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to need some guidance from somebody else. And I think that's something that I kind of pushed away for A long time. I wanted to be able to handle it myself. I didn't want to feel like it was weak because I needed to meet with our sports psychologist and learn how to deal with performance anxiety. I. I think it's just important to know that it's okay to ask someone for help and it's okay to not be able to do everything by yourself. So that's what I would say.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great point. I hear that in dealing with athletes and the athletes, but also the rest of the student body, there are so many people in this university whose job it is to help students, and all you have to do is ask. But as you said, that can be a difficult. That can be a difficult thing to.
[00:27:46] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Connor Geist on the men's golf team.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Connor.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Yes. Another Capon graduate.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: Don't want to forget about Connor.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: Can't leave him out. Okay, let's say the people at Cape Mount Carmel say, ella, come on back. We've got some. Some sophomores and juniors who think they may be good enough to play college athletics. We want you to talk to them. What advice are you giving them about choosing a school, about preparing for college?
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Right. I would say that when it comes to choosing a school, you want to go to the place that you feel the most connection to.
It's not everybody's path to stay at home like I did. And so I think it's important to really make connections with coaches and speak to current players as you're going through your recruiting process. I didn't really have anybody to guide me through my recruiting process. Myself and my parents did the best that we could with the knowledge that we had about college athletics, but it's all changed so much. So I'd say go to the place that you feel the most connection and pray about it and really take time in that decision. And then I would say, as you're moving into your college career, to just be humble and understand that being an athlete and having a scholarship is a blessing. And I'm sitting here as a senior now, and I had seniors my freshman year tell me how quickly it goes by, but it really does.
I feel like it's been such a long time that I've been an athlete, and yet it's also that I blinked and now I'm a senior. So I'd say that it's a blessing and it's something to not take for granted, because every single. There's so many people who wish that they could be in their position as a student athlete.
And we have very many blessings. And so I would just say that as you get into that position as a student athlete, to go every day just with a sense of gratitude and knowing that you're where you're supposed to be and you wouldn't be there if you weren't good enough to be there.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: So that's what I would say Wichita State Women's Basketball team they play UAB 2pm Saturday. It is the play 4k pink game. Ella Anco, thank you very much for your time.
[00:30:06] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:30:22] Speaker C: Hi, this is Rick Myuma, President of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Shocker Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:30:53] Speaker D: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] Malcolm out near the timeline, left side of the floor to Baker. Ron works deeper to the wing, fires a three.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: Good.
[00:31:14] Speaker D: Ron Baker with his third three point field goal of the game and Wichita State goes ahead by four.
