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ORONO – Kim Corbitt sits against the wall in the hallway outside her hotel room, a textbook propped up in her lap. She’s studying for an exam.
It’s 6 a.m. Saturday in Albany, N.Y., or any America East city. Corbitt’s University of Maine women’s basketball teammates are still asleep, dreaming about playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Corbitt has learned that it’s much easier to study before the rigors of playing Division I basketball have taken their toll.
“It makes for a long day and you become very good at time management,” said Corbitt, a senior captain for coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears. “Once I get done with basketball, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll have so much free time.”
During her first three years in Orono, Corbitt developed a successful plan for balancing a demanding engineering curriculum and a grueling basketball regimen.
The 5-foot-6 sparkplug from Albany has been the picture of energy and intensity for UMaine even while maintaining a 3.56 grade point average. Corbitt is majoring in biological engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering and mathematics.
At times, she struggled with the stress of a difficult workload.
“We really had to work through basketball and academics, that it was OK to get a ‘B,'” Versyp said. “We wanted her to understand she should feel good about herself as long as she’s giving everything she has.”
Corbitt has always wanted to become an engineer, so UMaine’s respected program and its excellence in basketball made it the perfect choice. Though her original first pick was Virginia Tech, a spur-of-the-moment trip to Orono in August 2000 changed her mind.
Corbitt called her high school coach, Karen Bonitatibus, and asked her for a ride to Orono – 61/2 hours away – the next day. She called and left a voicemail with assistant coach Jody Benner to advise him of her plan.
Upon her arrival, the staff had arranged for a campus tour and meetings with an adviser and professors. After talking with Versyp and the staff, Corbitt knew she’d found a college.
“As bad as it sounds, a lot of schools don’t want you to be an engineer [and play basketball] because it’s so time-consuming,” said Corbitt, who knew UMaine would support her aspirations.
“There’s days that I don’t practice because of class and that’s the great thing about being here,” Corbitt said. “Coach understands that I came here to do well academically and athletically, so if it happens to be that I have class through practice, I go to class.”
Corbitt sets lofty goals for herself, whether on the court or in the classroom. She has achieved at a high level in both venues.
Upon her arrival from Colonie High School, there was no redshirt year or gradual transition to college basketball. Corbitt was immediately thrust into the rotation at point guard.
Ever since, not only has the Bears’ offense run through her capable hands, she also has served as their defensive catalyst. As a sophomore, Corbitt was selected as the America East Defensive Player of the Year. Her responsibility, which hasn’t changed, is to challenge the opponent’s point guard all the way up the floor.
Corbitt brought a tenacious defensive mentality to UMaine after developing an early appreciation for that aspect of the game.
“There was a girl at our high school who was a great defender and I think the way that our coach had a respect for her, I wanted that kind of respect from other people,” Corbitt said.
“Defense creates your offense, so if I get a steal and make a layup, I get my teammates going,” she added.
Versyp said Corbitt is the key to UMaine’s defense because of her intensity and tenacity.
“She makes all the difference defensively on the floor,” Versyp said. “She has to be the defensive dictator for us because she’s the one who starts playing on the point guard.”
Despite the tremendous energy Corbitt exerts on defense, she is still expected to run the offense, make good decisions, and be a scoring threat herself. She has been either first or second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio the last two seasons.
She is averaging 6.4 points per game while playing nearly 26 minutes per contest over three-plus seasons.
Corbitt said her competitive nature is the result of her trying to keep up with her older brothers as a child and a disciplined upbringing as the daughter of Harry and Earline Corbitt.
Harry Corbitt, a retired New York State Police colonel, is described by his daughter as being “obsessed with basketball.” When Kim was little, he’d put on an NBA game involving Charles Barkley and she’d sit happily in front of the TV, he told her.
Corbitt works on her skills with her dad during the summer and also receives input from her mom. Last season, when Kim was struggling with her free-throw shooting, Earline offered some advice.
“She tells me, ‘you need to take three dribbles, take a deep breath, focus on the rim, and follow through,'” Corbitt recalled. “She heard it on TV.”
That kind of support has translated into Corbitt’s success as a point guard, which requires her to keep the Bears organized and under control while making sure the opponent’s defensive weaknesses are exploited.
Corbitt also has been challenged by the demands of an intense coach in Versyp, herself a former point guard.
“Being a point guard and dealing with me as a freshman and sophomore wasn’t a piece of cake for her, I’m sure,” said Versyp, who marvels at Corbitt’s maturation through the years.
Playing point guard brings with it numerous leadership responsibilities. Corbitt has embraced those and has enjoyed her duties as a two-year captain.
“If they’re confident in you, they’re going to listen to what you have to say. I think that’s the kind of respect I have from my teammates,” Corbitt said.
From the outset, Corbitt was quietly confident and intense. She has continued to develop, allowing her personality and sense of humor to shine through.
“We’ve tried to help her see that life is hard, but there’s some great things around you,” Versyp said. “Her challenge was just really understanding the balance of what life’s about with basketball and engineering.”
Corbitt still finds enough time to serve as a teaching assistant in the math department, the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, and as a member of the All-Maine Women group.
“She’s the consummate team leader. You’ve got to have her on the floor,” Versyp said. “To me, she’s an A-plus all the way around.”
UMaine Women’s Basketball
2004-05 Schedule
November
Women’s Sports Foundation Classic,
At Baton Rouge, La.
11 – Louisiana State 81, Maine 50
12 – Virginia 72, Maine 62
16 – NWBL All-Stars (exhibition), 7:30 p.m.
21 – at Southern Methodist 3 p.m.
Dead River Co. Classic, At Orono
26 – Loyola (Chicago), 7 p.m.
27 – St. Joseph’s/Mississippi State, 5/7 p.m.
December
4 – at Buffalo, 5 p.m.
10 – Indiana, 7:30 p.m.
18 – Michigan, 2 p.m.
Lady Griz Holiday Classic,
At Missoula, Mont.
28 – at Montana, 9 p.m.
29 – vs. Florida State/Louisville, 7/9 p.m.
January
5 – at Binghamton, 7 p.m.
8 – Vermont, 7:30 p.m.
11 – at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
15 – Albany (at Portland), 2 p.m.
19 – Hartford, 7:30 p.m.
22 – at Northeastern, 1 p.m.
26 – at Maryland Baltimore County, 7 p.m.
30 – Stony Brook, 1 p.m.
February
2 – at Boston University, 7 p.m.
5 – Binghamton, 7:30 p.m.
8 – New Hampshire, 7:30 p.m.
12 – at Albany, 5 p.m.
15 – Northeastern, 7:30 p.m.
19 – at Hartford, 2 p.m.
23 – Boston University, 7:30 p.m.
26 – at Vermont, 1 p.m.
March
2 – at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
5 – Maryland Baltimore County, 7:30 p.m.
America East Championship
At West Hartford, Conn.
9 – First round
10 – Quarterfinals
11 – Semifinals
12 – Final
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