Arni's Birthday Zoom: Purdue women's basketball assistant Kelly Komara
We celebrate birthday No. 43 (June 20, 2023) with former Purdue standout guard and current Boilermaker women’s basketball associate head coach Kelly Komara. She shares her experiences growing up as a softball and basketball player, what she learned during her two Final Four appearances as a Boilermaker and the energy level she plans to bring to the Boilermaker sidelines.
“I have learned that as a coach, we have to bring the energy to practice if we are going to get our players to play with energy,” said Komara, who was named to coach Katie Gearlds’ staff on April 9. “That is one of the things I will bring to this program.
Komara’s return to Purdue marks her fourth stop as a college assistant. She comes to Purdue following a two-year stint as an assistant at Marquette. She has also been an assistant for five years at Vanderbilt under Boilermaker legend Stephanie White (who coincidentally shares the same birthdate as Komara) and Albany. This will be Komara’s second tour as an assistant at Purdue when she worked for coach Sharon Versyp from 2014-16.
One of the top guards to play for Purdue, Komara was a key reserve on the 1999 national title team in her freshman season. As a junior, she was an All-Big Ten level performer on the Boilermakers national runner-up squad.
Statistically, Komara ranks as an all-time great in school annals. She is just one of seven Boilermakers in history to score over 1,000 points, dish out 400 assists and record 200 steals,
A native of Schererville, Indiana, and standout at Lake Central High, Komara was named Indiana’s Miss Basketball after averaging 21.5 points per game as a senior. She was the fourth Indiana Miss Basketball to play for Purdue.
Recent Arni’s Birthday Zoom interviews of former Purdue athletes:
Warren “Ike” Moore (May 30, 2023)
Other Arni’s Birthday Zoom links
Jane (Calhoun) Schott (5/5/2021)
Life of Eugene Parker (2/24/2022)
Lauren Mioton-Connor (4/20/2022)
