PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Diana Caramanico was one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the Ivy League. The University of Pennsylvania star led the Quakers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 2001.
She also finished her career that year as the program's all-time leader in points, rebounds and steals, records she still holds today.
Caramanico grew up in Blue Bell and starred at Germantown Academy in high school prior to going to Penn. As a kid, she was drawn to basketball.
"It helps when you just have a knack for putting the ball in the basket. But I also think, I don't like to be cold, and the outdoor sports, it gets cold. And it's not complicated, you need a pair of sneakers and a ball and you can find a gym," she said.
"I probably was pretty good at it as soon as I started playing, just by accident, so that helped."
Caramanico came off the bench her first two games as a freshman at Penn and dominated. She then learned that her role would be changing in game three.
"We go to a tournament in North Carolina, [head coach Julie Soriero] pulls me aside that morning and she was like, 'Hey, I just want to let you know, you're going to start tonight,'" she remembered.
"I was like, 'No, that’s good. I'm good coming off the bench. Thanks, but I would rather come off the bench.' She’s like, 'I think you misunderstood, I wasn't asking you if you wanted to, I'm telling you you're going to.' I was like, 'Is there any chance I could convince you to let me come off the bench again?' She says, 'You're averaging like 29 points a game. You’re starting.'"
You can listen to the entire interview with Diana Caramanico, above, by checking out the latest episode of the KYW Newsradio podcast, "1-on-1 with Matt Leon." For more, subscribe on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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