University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Merritt Hempe
February 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Georgia women's basketball forward Merritt Hempe is a three-year starter whose career is winding down. Some things the senior from Fredericksburg, Va., will miss very much, others not so much (like running drills at practice).
The Lady Bulldogs have four more regular-season games remaining, starting Thursday at South Carolina. Georgia's final two home games are Sunday against Florida and Feb. 25, Senior Night, against Arkansas.
In a wide-ranging chat that covers the joy of community service, a possible ghost hanging around the program's facilities and her love for Larry Bird, Hempe covers a lot of interesting and amusing ground.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen or heard in a game or practice?
Hempe: OK, well, we think we have a ghost, and people will just like randomly trip or like be going up for a layup and just trip and fall.
Frierson: In here [the Coliseum Practice Facility]?
Hempe: In here, or in our locker room upstairs, [where] the toilet just randomly flushes. Things like that. Every time someone just trips on the basketball court, [coach Joni Taylor] just goes, "Oh, there's that ghost tripping us up." We say that we have a ghost that follows us around.
Frierson: Have you all gotten a Ouija board out or anything to try to communicate with the ghost?
Hempe: No, we don't do anything like that. It's just more of an excuse. I mean, there will literally be nobody around us and we'll trip and fall. It's the weirdest thing.
Frierson: If you could have played with or against anyone in history, who would it be?
Hempe: Oh, I would definitely play with Larry Bird, for sure. I think he's awesome. He talks trash and he plays really hard, and I think he's so exciting. I definitely wouldn't want to play against him, but I'd want to play with Larry Bird.
Frierson: Wow, that was not an answer I was expecting, which is great. I'm glad to know that your generation is aware of players like him, that there were amazing players long before you started playing.
Hempe: I definitely watch a lot of YouTube videos on him and I've read his book and stuff.
Frierson: What's the most underrated part of being a Georgia women's basketball player?
Hempe: I think how much we do for the community. Not like we do so much, but how much of an influence we have and I think everyone takes full advantage of that. Especially with Joni this year we're trying to get more out into the community and we've adopted an elementary school [Stroud Elementary] and things like that.
People always say "student-athlete," which is true, you go to class and you play basketball, but we also adopted a family for Thanksgiving, we adopted a family for Christmas and went shopping with them. We donated money for Relay for Life [last Tuesday] night and we do a lot of different things, and I love it. It's one of my favorite parts of being on this team, getting out in the community and doing things like that.
Frierson: Were you always like that or is that something that has evolved during your time at Georgia?
Hempe: I was kind of always that way because I was in the National Honor Society in high school and so I had a Special Olympics team that I coach in basketball. They just became like really good friends, they're my friends now, so I was always doing little things. Now I've kind of taken on a bigger role, to not just do it for one organization but to bring my teammates along and volunteer as often as possible.
Frierson: What are one or two things that you've learned or discovered in the last year, be it a band or movie or a life lesson, that you're still really grateful for?
Hempe: Definitely the movie "Southpaw" with Jake Gyllenhaal. I've watched that movie I don't know how many times. I love that movie.
Also, last year I got sick, I got mono, and so I had to sit out for a few games. Really learning to not take a day for granted playing basketball was something from last year that I've kept with me. Obviously it wasn't really something life-changing, but for me it kind of was because I now wake up every day and I think about basketball.
For a little period of time I had that taken away from me and I can't imagine what that would be like for an athlete that has a serious injury and can't play again.
Frierson: What's the most creative thing you do, or what's something creative that you would like to do?
Hempe: I've actually recently kind of gotten into painting a little bit. So you you can go to those paint classes and they tell you step by step what to do? We did one as a team, but before that I had done one with my mom. It was something I really enjoyed and just like a stress reliever away from everything.
Now, in the room, me and Mackenzie [Engram] are roommates, we'll paint little things and hang them up on our walls. It's something that I've gotten into and I really enjoy.
Frierson: Are you better than you thought you'd be?
Hempe: I'm not good, but I'm better than I thought I'd be. I thought I was going to be horrible, but I'm nowhere near good. I could never be a painter or anything like that. But I thought I was going to be, "what is that?" But you can actually tell what it is. It may not be good, but it's better than I thought I'd be.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
