Inside the Huddle: Rhodes Navigates Hurdles, Challenges in Road from Arizona to Illinois

Kam’Ren Rhodes learned to adapt and always be on her toes. She had to. There was no other option.

Whether it was moving two hours away to transfer high schools, navigating the challenges of an ACL injury, or switching her college commitment at the last minute, Rhodes has embraced the bumps in the road in her route from growing up in Arizona to the Illinois women’s basketball program.

Her hoops journey, though, started as soon as she could walk. Born in Georgia before moving to the Grand Canyon State, Rhodes grew up on the basketball court with her father, Jaamal, who coached the sport at the high-school level before eventually moving into the college coaching ranks while Kam was in elementary school.

Once she reached fourth grade, Kam’Ren Rhodes first recognized her love for the game, and she became committed to her craft. It was during this time that she started training with Jeremy Daniels, who immediately saw her potential and eventually served as her AAU and high-school basketball coach.

“I saw it early. She was a kid who just had that it factor,” Daniels said. “She had that work ethic and the discipline to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over again at a young age. She's by far one of the hardest workers I've been around.”

As a sixth-grader, Rhodes played up on an eighth-grade team that consisted of kids from all over the state. Daniels still fondly remembers one specific game, a contest in which Rhodes got a steal, picked the ball up, and threw a left-handed full-court pass to a teammate for an easy layup.

The play caused uproar in the crowd as parents from the opposing team questioned Rhodes’ true age. Little did they know, she was actually two years younger than everyone else on the floor.

“A lady in the stands was like, ‘She's in high school! She's in high school! Go get her birth certificate!’” Daniels said. “Her dad and I looked at each other laughing, like ‘Hold on; she's 12!’”

In seventh grade, Rhodes tried another sport for the first time: softball. Tired of sitting down all day and wanting to get some more physical activity, she gave it a go, but she quickly learned that it was not for her.

“I absolutely hated it,” Rhodes said. “I was like, ‘Yep, basketball is my thing now for sure. I don't want to do anything else.’”

Once that realization hit, Rhodes went all in on basketball, waking up at 6 a.m. every day to train with Daniels before school. After seeing a teammate going through that same routine, Rhodes decided to join in, and the extra work paid off once she entered high school in 2018.

Rhodes found success as soon as she joined Sabino High School in Tucson, Arizona. Averaging 14.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 4.7 steals, Rhodes was named the 2019 Southern Arizona Player of the Year as a freshman while also earning all-region accolades. 

“I didn't foresee it and it was encouraging, but it also showed that I'm capable of things,” Rhodes said. “Having that achievement was something that was really big for me.”

Looking to carry that success and momentum into her sophomore season, Rhodes’ year took an unexpected turn. Just nine games into the 2019-20 campaign, she landed awkwardly on a seemingly routine layup and soon received devastating news: She had torn her ACL in her right knee.

Always working and never taking a day off, Rhodes had to adjust to a new reality, a reality in which she could not compete or train as she worked to get back to full health. The experience helped shift her mindset, and she embraced a new mentality in her road to recovery.

“It was tough, but it was also a good moment for me to see things from the sidelines, learn how to coach my teammates, learn how to be there and support in different ways, and push my teammates while being there and encouraging them,” Rhodes said. “It was about little things: not taking walking for granted, trying to stay on the positive side with it, and finding ways to still be involved with basketball. I still went to practice. I still sat at workouts. I was still around it, touching the ball, and shooting when I could.”

Rhodes’ Sabino squad struggled to adapt without their starting point guard, but the Sabercats soon settled in. Starting the season with 11 straight wins, most of which came prior to Kam’s injury, a four-game losing streak in late December set the team back. 

Going undefeated in conference play and earning the No. 1 seed in the state tournament, though, Sabino took care of business in the postseason to secure the Arizona 3A state championship after winning their final 17 games of the campaign.

Despite the injury-shortened season, Rhodes earned all-region honorable-mention status after registering 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.7 steals per game before tearing her ACL.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Rhodes’ summer club schedule to be canceled, Daniels called it “a blessing in disguise,” as it allowed Rhodes to have additional time to fully recover instead of potentially rushing to return. Given the serious nature of her injury, Rhodes was able to spend more time resting and rehabbing ahead of an eventual big change later that year.

“She was just a young person going through adversity, having to figure that out, learn, and grow. It was challenging, but I never had one doubt that she would get over that,” Daniels said. “Life hit her, she had to figure it out, and that's what she did.”

After spending two years at Sabino, Rhodes had to make another adjustment that summer. After Jaamal Rhodes served as Rhodes’ high-school coach in Tucson, he was named the new head coach at AZ Compass Prep, a prep school located two hours north in Chandler, in the institution’s first year with a girl’s national basketball program.

The transition meant Kam’Ren Rhodes would not only transfer schools to join her father at Compass, but she also would be moving to the Valley. Excited about the new opportunities, Rhodes was eager to settle into a new environment.

“I wasn't upset. I wasn't sad. It was all kind of new for me,” Kam’Ren Rhodes said. “I didn't know much about the prep basketball aspect of high school, so it was all new information every day.”

Traveling all over the U.S. with AZ Compass Prep, Rhodes quickly fell in love with the team and the prep school atmosphere. Whether it was taking only the required coursework, seeing different parts of the country, or being surrounded by like-minded individuals who all had dreams of competing at the college level, Rhodes seamlessly adapted and adjusted to her new teammates and situation.

Going to Georgia, Texas, and more helped Rhodes prepare for the life of a future college student-athlete, albeit while still in high school.

“I loved it,” Rhodes said. “We were all really close. We all got along really well. We all knew what we wanted, so it was easier to do certain things with them. It made it much more fun than it probably would have been if I was in regular high school.”

After first receiving college interest while in middle school, Rhodes initially committed to Shauna Green and her staff at Dayton. She was immediately drawn to the group’s vision for her both on and off the court, and the relationships she established with Green and her staff laid the groundwork for her eventual commitment to the Fighting Illini.

“The biggest thing for me was that they want us to be good people, and they want us to succeed outside of basketball,” Rhodes said. “I think having those people who really want to get to know you and see you as a person is really important.”

Initially locked in on representing the Flyers, Rhodes received word of Green’s departure from Dayton and move to Illinois after being woken up by her dad. Decommitting that same day, Rhodes took a few weeks to reconsider her options before announcing her decision to play for Green at Illinois on April 27, 2022.

While Daniels did not play a major role in Rhodes’ recruitment, he provided continued support and encouragement throughout the entire process. Daniels was beyond thrilled to see Rhodes earn an opportunity to compete at the Division-I level after he first identified her potential at a young age.

“She knew what she wanted, and she knew what she was looking for. Her family didn't pressure her. Nobody really pressured her. It was really about her organically developing relationships with different schools,” Daniels said. “When it came down to it, I know why she picked Shauna and her staff. It was because most of her staff had been together for a while, and you could tell the loyalty was there from the players.”

Adjusting from the hot Arizona weather to the cold Midwest winters proved to be one of the biggest challenges for Rhodes during her first season with the Illini in 2022-23. On the court, she took full advantage of the team’s veteran guards during her freshman campaign, turning to All-Big Ten standouts Genesis Bryant and Makira Cook as she adapted to the college level.

Now in her second season with the Fighting Illini, Rhodes credits her work ethic and time management to the game of basketball, a sport that has taken her all over the country ever since she first picked up a ball as a toddler.

From Arizona to Illinois, Rhodes has made an impact everywhere she’s been, and she will continue to play a role in the program’s turnaround and success in her sophomore year in Champaign.

“It all started with my coaches and my parents believing in me and showing me that I'm capable of being good at this sport,” Rhodes said. “I’ve just continued to work and found a place that is good for me now.”