Her car is scheduled to pull out of the driveway 7:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. Mom, Dad and Grandmother will all be packed in with her. Her short-term destination: Minneapolis. Her long-term goal: playing in the WNBA.

Kachine Alexander blushes and smiles sheepishly when I ask her about leaving her legacy as one of the greatest players in the history of the University of Iowa Women's Basketball program. At the same time, she knows it's the truth.

Always sporting a flare for the dramatic (both on and off the court) and mixing in a little flirtatiousness, she simply cocked her head sideways and batted her eyes at me in an effort to deflect the question. This time she doesn't get away with it as I ask again.

"It's a mix of emotions right now," she admits. "On one hand I'm sad to leave a place I've called home for the last four years. I'm not just leaving teammates, I'm leaving friends. At the same time I'm excited to try to do something I've dreamed of doing my entire life."

Earlier this season, Kash became the first player in the team's history to score over 1,000 points, pull down over 800 rebounds and dish out over 300 assists. An Honorable Mention All-American each of the last two years, it's ironic she was tabbed as a defensive specialist coming out of high school. Yet that is exactly the attitude she is taking into the start of this weekend's team tryouts for the Minnesota Lynx.

"I've always been the player that has provided emotion on the floor…the kind of player that tries to ignite her teammates. There are plenty of scorers on this team. I'm okay with being the garbage cleaner. I'm okay with being a defensive stopper. Whatever they need, I'll fill that role."

Alexander recently signed with the Lynx. A percentage of that money is guaranteed. However, that doesn't automatically mean she will make the roster. The latest list shows a total of 17 of players attending the 2011 Lynx camp. That number will pare down to just 11 almost immediately following the team's second and final exhibition game on May, 31st. The season opener is June, 3rd at Los Angeles. With high-profile draft picks Maya Moore (UCONN) and Amber Harris (Xavier) expected to be suiting up this season, Alexander will likely have to outshine a veteran player in tryouts. Keep in mind, five Minnesota roster members (Guards Siemone Augustus, Candice Wiggins and Lindsay Whalen, and Forwards Rebekkah Brunson and Maya Moore) are in Las Vegas this week trying out for the 2012 Olympic Team.

Alexander is aware how tight things will be once she sets foot on the court at 3:00 Sunday afternoon. She understands what she has to do in the next two weeks. She is also fine talking about "Plan B": "I'm realistic. If I don't make Minnesota's cut, I'll look around. If there isn't anything for me in the WNBA you'll see me back in Iowa City over the summer and in the GameTime League, and I will certainly play overseas next fall."

For just about everyone (pick your favorite sport/program) the chance to stick around after the final buzzer on Senior Night is usually a fun and classy way for both the players and fans to show their appreciation and say thanks to each other. As a broadcast journalist, I have often had the honor of being a little closer to the ins and outs of how some of the programs operate at the UI. I have seen the hard work on the court…often how athletes have to play through injury. I have seen the back of a darkened airplane or bus lit up with the glow of laptop computers on the return trip home from a contest as those same students continue to work on their academics.

Every year I get to do a few parting interviews with 22-year olds who say they "feel old" right up until the time they are about to graduate and hopefully enter the world of their declared major. They almost always sound the way Kachine Alexander did when I sat down to speak with her one final time as a UI athlete. It's bittersweet.

In Kash's case she gets to chase her dream. Whether she reaches it or not, she echoed the prevailing sentiment of most athletes when I ask them about their time spent in Iowa City.

"It was an honor to wear the black and gold", she says as she points to a framed Iowa jersey bearing her last name and the #21 hanging in her family's living room. "No matter where I go or who I play for in the future, I'll always be a Hawkeye."