By Andrew SimonThe Daily Northwestern
Adam Haluska dropped a career-high 36 points on Georgia State on Dec. 20, and the senior guard is averaging 20.8 points per game, best in the Big Ten heading into Thursday’s game against Northwestern.
But he’s not even the most prolific scorer in his own family. That honor goes to Haluska’s grandmother.
Helen Corrick played six-on-six high school ball in Keswick, Iowa, in the late 1940s. In one game in 1947, she poured in 101 points. In her career at Keswick High, she scored 3,271 points. That’s more than a 1,000 more than her grandson notched in his high school career.
“It’s great playing in Iowa because there’s a lot of people who watched her play or played alongside her, and they remember her name,” Haluska said. “They tell me she was a bruiser. One person I talked to said (Corrick) just beat her up during the game.”
Corrick is an avid basketball fan, and when her grandson was younger, she still had a pretty good shot, according to Haluska.
“She was always out there giving advice,” Haluska said. “She always talks to me after the games, and she’s still excited about basketball.”
Although Haluska never has topped the century mark in a game, he still leads the Hawkeyes in scoring.
But Haluska’s journey to becoming Iowa’s leader wasn’t a smooth one, despite his accomplished high school career and his family’s love for Hawkeye basketball. Even though he grew up cheering for Iowa, out of high school Haluska chose to play at rival Iowa State.
After Haluska’s freshman season, coach Larry Eustachy left the team amid scandal, and Haluska also decided it was time to go.
“I definitely don’t feel like my stay at Iowa State for that one year was a waste, because I learned a great deal,” Haluska said. “But when the coaches all left, and the team was in a place where it didn’t have a whole lot of direction, I thought maybe that was a time to make a move. I think it definitely was the right decision.”
This season Haluska was named pre-season all-Big Ten and has backed up that honor by scoring 29 points or more in six of his 25 games.
Haluska also can run in transition, thanks to his strong background as a sprinter. In his senior year of high school, Haluska was state champion in the 100, 200 and 400 meters.
“In track, somebody shoots a gun and you run as mad as you can until you hit the tape,” Iowa coach Steve Alford said. “I tried telling (Haluska), ‘I’m not going to shoot a gun, but when we get the ball, you run absolutely as hard as you can to the other end to get a layup’ … That’s one of his great strengths – the way he runs the floor.”
Even Haluska’s grandma can’t top him there.
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
