ACC brings students from the city to the country

Iola pales in comparison to cities within a drive of two hours or less, both in population and availability of things to do.
But there is an appeal, two Allen Community College basketball players told the Register.
Right away, it’s easy to notice the difference in the way of living.
 “Just the wide open space,” men’s basketball player Courtney Stockard said. “It’s just different compared to the inner city feeling, like being away from civilization I guess you could say.”
Stockard calls St. Louis, Mo., home, a five-hour drive away and a metropolitan population of almost 3 million. Stockard came to Iola to continue his basketball career.
“When I talked to Coach (Andy) Shaw and when I came down here, he tried to make me feel like I was home as much as possible,” Stockard said. “When I talked to him on my visit, he said it would be different but I would like it. I came for basketball reasons for real.”
Ashley Sally, a member of the women’s basketball team, also came here to play basketball. She hails from Milwaukee, Wis., a 10-hour drive and home to 600,000.
At her high school, “there were like 2,000 people in the school. That’s like Iola’s population,” Sally said.
Not quite, but it’s significantly larger than Iola High.
“When I was looking at colleges I still wanted to play basketball and I felt like the people here are really nice, that’s a big difference,” Sally said. “City people aren’t that nice.”
Stockard has taken notice of Iolans’ hospitality, too.
“Since it’s such a small community, you get to know everybody,” Stockard said. “When they come to the games, there’s a lot of support.”
There is a cultural difference in Iola, Sally said.
“I’m not around as many black people as I was before, so I have to say different stuff so it’s a little hard relating,” Sally said. “But, it’s a good change.”
Stockard said that his life outside of basketball hasn’t changed that much since moving here.
“I guess you can say it’s the same,” Stockard said. “I’m always around my teammates. So, we go to the gym or play video games. We also go to the movies. We do the things I do at home, so it’s not that much of a change in that area.”
Sally said she misses going to the mall.
“I know that might sound cliché,” Sally said. “But I like going to the mall and stuff like that.”
However, shopping in Iola doesn’t take as much of a hit to a wallet.
“A good thing here is money isn’t the issue,” Sally said. “Back home I had to worry about that, you don’t have to do that here.”
As well as Iola has treated both Sally and Stockard, both plan on moving on once their playing days are over at Allen.
“I plan on moving to a bigger university to continue my basketball career,” Stockard said. “My dream has always been to play for a Division I. I’ve been getting recruited this year by a bunch of schools, so I’m looking forward to fulfilling that dream.”
Sally will head in a different direction.
“I want to go somewhere that has a city life, I can’t do country too much longer,” Sally said. “I had never even seen cows that close. I want to keep playing basketball and I might change my major to medicine. Maybe I’ll be a doctor, wherever life takes me and wherever God takes me.”
Even though neither Stockard or Sally plan to stay here or in a small town, Iola has offered each student-athlete a chance to continue their playing careers. It’s become a second home.