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43 bounds per game as a freshman at Jacksonville and upped those numbers to 4.8 points and 7.7 re- bounds per game as a sophomore. Despite taking English in high school, Kryuch- kova still struggled in the classroom when she first got to Texas. "It was terrible," said Kryuchkova with a smile. "I was struggling in class. I was writing five-page essays in Russian, then needing to translate it into English. Friends were helping me out with my grammar. They were laughing, saying it was so cute. It was terrible. I could not understand any- thing. After a year, it got better." Her English improved so much that Kryuchkova earned Academic All-America honors as a sopho- more, with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Kryuchkova didn't expect basketball to continue after Jacksonville but, for the second time, she was wrong about the end of her career on the court. "To be honest, I did not know I would still be ac- tive to play somewhere else," she said. "My grades were really good, so I thought I would apply for an academic scholarship or something." Wisconsin's coaches saw Kryuchkova play sev- eral times and invited her on an official visit. "When they invited me to come visit, I did not know it would be like this, this level ― it is huge," explained Kryuchkova. "When I was offered to ac- tually get a scholarship, it was the best news ever." While she hasn't seen a lot of playing time in games, Kryuchkova has been a crucial member of the Badger team. "DD is great," said fellow senior Morgan Paige, referring to Kryuchkova's nickname among her teammates. "She's a great example of what hard work does for this team. She brings energy every time she steps on to the court. You can always de- pend on her to communicate. "She's there for us and we respect her and love her for that." Kryuchkova's basketball career is over for sure this time but she and her mother are thankful that she has received a great education from Wisconsin. "(My mother) likes that I can succeed academi- cally and athletically and that our team is a fam- ily and that everyone likes me," Kryuchkova said. "I will get a prestigious education. There is a myth that athletes get a degree pretty easily and that athletes are not as smart as regular students. "That is definitely not true here. We work really hard. "It is not possible to have both in Russia. It is ei- ther basketball or an education. She really thinks the American system is better than Russia because you can actually peruse both directions ― play ball and study. That is awesome." Kryuchkova will graduate with a degree in Rus- sian literature and an entrepreneurship certificate. She hopes to open her own business somewhere down the road. What business she is not sure of yet but Kryuchkova knows that basketball and the UW have prepared her for the future. "Besides basketball, I want to do something else in my life," said Kryuchkova. "So here I have a ma- jor, I will have a diploma, and I can do what I love and it is not in the way of my basketball career. "I am thankful for that so I can actually work on different aspects of my life already and think about the future."