Dinkins is Women's Basketball's Heart and Soul

When the Crimson women’s basketball team faced Princeton for the first time last season, they lost 67-51. The team entered the locker room frustrated after the tough loss, ready to hear its senior leaders and captains give their critique. But then-sophomore Kaitlyn Dinkins started talking.

Although she hadn’t played a minute in the game, her teammates listened intently as Dinkins offered the squad her own words of encouragement. No one uttered a sound as she brought herself to tears, emphasizing the endless possibilities the team still had in front of them.

“[The game] was so disheartening,” Dinkins said. “Because I was so emotional, and so passionate about it, I forget what I said. I remember everyone sitting there and realizing that was it. At that moment, I felt appreciated by my team and knew my leadership had grown a lot.”

Fast forward to the end of the season and Dinkins, who averaged 5.4 minutes a game, was selected as co-captain for the 2013-2014 campaign. Despite the relative lack of time competing on the court, neither her teammates nor her coach was the least bit surprised.

“Even though she doesn’t have the stats, even though she hasn’t played much in her career, she leads by example just as much as I do, just as much as anybody on the team,” co-captain Christine Clark said. “It just doesn’t necessarily happen during games, but during practice, all of her teammates know that Kaitlyn is always going to give 110 percent and they strive to match that effort level.”

Dinkins came to the Crimson after leading Pace Academy High School to the Georgia state championship game for the first time in program history. As the captain of a small private high school basketball team, Dinkins learned to lead and developed the skills she hopes to use to guide the Crimson this season.

“People were there for different reasons,” Dinkins said. “I learned how to communicate and cater to different learning styles and adjust my leadership skills to their responses to what I was saying. Emotion and talk has always been my thing. I like to get people motivated and riled up and ready to play.”

Although Dinkins was surprised when she was named captain, she recognizes the effect her contributions from the bench have had on her team during the past two years.

“I’m a person who has a lot of energy and likes to get other people motivated,” Dinkins said. “Every time there’s a huge play or we need a stop on defense, we start cheering on the bench, running up and down and giving each other high fives. I think that that energy is just so contagious on the court.”

Her teammates can attest to the enthusiasm Dinkins generates and the important role she plays on a daily basis by passing along that passion and energy to the rest of the team.

“I think she’s going to continue to hold us accountable and make sure we’re holding our other teammates accountable for giving 110 percent,” junior forward Erin McDonnell said. “She has so much grit. That’s a great word to describe her as a player and her pure love for Harvard women’s basketball…. She wants us to be Ivy League champions and to be successful because she loves us as players and people.”

Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith recognizes many of those same qualities in her co-captain and appreciates the example she sets for the rest of the team.

“Her work ethic, her leadership…she can listen, she can process, and she can implement,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s fundamentally sound, she’s loved and admired by every single person in this program, and that’s the heart and soul of our program.”

Even if Dinkins can’t always be on the court alongside her fellow co-captain Clark, she knows her contributions will be just as valuable in other areas.

“We have two captains managing both sides of the game, which is awesome,” Dinkins said. “Obviously, I want to be on the court. I love playing basketball. I just have to keep in mind that whatever my role is is whatever is best for the team and that’s how it has to be. People always look to me for energy, talk, and getting people going. No matter if I don’t play, my effort and attitude are going to be the same the whole time.”

Clark acknowledges Dinkins’ leadership as a main asset to the team’s focus and morale, saying that the junior can lead with her words, as well her play.

“Everyone has a high level of respect for Kaitlyn,” Clark said. “If she puts the team first, everyone else is going to put the team first. Everyone else is going to be more unselfish and not get down about not playing.”

Dinkins might not have the numbers to back up her success, but her coach won’t deny this player’s ability to lead her team.

“She is a player with a tremendous court IQ who you can call on to fill any role,” Delaney-Smith said. “And I’m not going to say Kaitlyn’s going to play or not play, but I’m going to tell you that if you need a solid player that can do exactly what she’s told without mistakes, Kaitlyn is probably the best on the team at that.”

After two seasons wearing a Crimson jersey, the Atlanta, Ga., native appreciates the time she has already spent on the team and anxiously anticipates this season.

“It’s been so much more than I could have ever imagined,” Dinkins said. “We go at it really hard on the court. It’s a competition, but it’s all so we can make each other better. Off the court, we have each other’s backs. The commitment everyone has is so different than anything I’ve ever experienced. We all want to be there every day.”