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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 87 f necessarily get a shower. The food wasn't the best. It was hot. Kids were running around. It was crazy. "One night, one of the kids showed us his house, and it was actually like a hut, but he was so proud of it. I couldn't even imagine living in something like that. It was like five beds in one little area, 20 people living in there, his whole family. He was so grateful and we take it for granted, having water every day, or being able to shower, or electricity; it's not guaran- teed there. "It's human nature just to take everything for granted and not appreciate what you have." That was Wilson before, going through life with- out taking it too seriously. It showed up in basket- ball. She was aloof on the court at times, exhibiting bad body language that left one to wonder whether she even wanted to be there. Sometimes, she looked distant, grumpy, didn't always do what the coaches asked. It came to a boiling point at Ohio State, in Pur- due's Big Ten opener last season, when Wilson "bumped heads" with Versyp — "I was saying one thing; she was wanting another" — then didn't play much in the second half. She had six turnovers in only 21 minutes, while Purdue gave up 89 points in a loss to a Buckeye team that won only five Big Ten games. Wilson says it was part of a "rocky relationship" she's had with Versyp since Day 1. "At the beginning, I never really bought in," Wilson said. "I'm always that type of person who questions things, but at this point, I believe everything that Coach V wants us to do. I have her back and I'm always going to have her back. "Looking back there was more that I could have given. I could have been better. I could have been in the gym more, I could have been talking more, I could have taken more of a leadership role. And I think if I would have done that in the be- ginning, I could have been better on the court, or helped our team a little more." Purdue needed those traits from Wilson at the end of last season. It was in early February that KK Hous- er suffered a knee injury, forcing the Boilermakers' most vocal leader and their emotional sparkplug to the sideline. Those responsibilities fell to Wilson, but she hic- cuped. Sure, the basketball itself was fine — Wilson averaged 10.4 points in the last nine games of the season, while taking over the point full-time — but her ability to lead wasn't as good as it could have been. "She really shunned it a little bit, even though she had to take it on," James Wilson said. "But here in the last few months, in our conversations, she's re- ally embraced it and is looking forward to thriving in it. Her communication with her teammates, her overall work ethic in regards to practice and getting Tom Campbell Wilson admits that she and Versyp haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but Purdue's point guard vows to be more in line with the program this season.