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How will SMS do without Stiles?
By Vahe Gregorian, Post-Dispatch, October 31, 2001 At Southwest Missouri State basketball clinics, SMS women's coach Cheryl Burnett sees girls use clips to roll back the sleeves on their jerseys so their sleeves look like Jackie Stiles' sleeves. "Anything and everything" she did at SMS, Burnett said Tuesday during the Missouri Valley Conference's annual media day, became subject to the sincerest form of flattery. And the ripples of the phenomenon extend well beyond Springfield, Mo., where Stiles became the career leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball and led the Lady Bears to the 2001 Final Four in St. Louis. At the Final Four, even Lisa Stone, coach of MVC rival Drake, became so engulfed in Jackie-mania that she wore an SMS Lady Bears T-shirt. "I'm sure we won't understand the whole magnitude of what Jackie did for this league probably for five or six years down the road," said Northern Iowa coach Tony DiCecco, who says he now sees a lot "more kids wearing knee pads," a la Stiles, and added, "Honestly, I have mixed feelings about her not being in the league (any more). Because she was just a great kid. And she meant so much to us." Those contradicting senses apply to her former on-court rivals, too. "It was so much fun to see her play and just watch her score, because she scored in ways that you never imagined anyone could. And so part of me is sad to see her leave," Drake center Carla Bennett said, adding, "I'm glad she was here, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to play against her. And it's something I can tell my kids. "But at the same time it was more than time for her to move on. She hurt us a lot of times, and that pain is gone now." That pain was a substantial gain for SMS and also for the Valley and women's college basketball. Commissioner Doug Elgin said Stiles' impact on the game is comparable to the influences of Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on the men's game. A presence such as hers, he said, comes "once in a generation, if not once in a lifetime." All of which makes for a dandy legacy. Now, though, SMS must face the aftershocks of her departure, as well as those of three other senior starters. The immediate fallout might figure to include paybacks from around the MVC. "I hope people don't count us out," said SMS senior forward Carolyn Weirick, who sat out last season with a knee injury. "Because we've got people who are ready to play." Those who know the Valley best don't doubt it. A panel of 37 coaches, sports information directors and media members project SMS second to Drake. "Would I pick us there?" said Burnett, who also took SMS to the 1992 Final Four and is 303-123 in 14 seasons there. "Yes, but I didn't know that everyone else would pick us there." In addition to SMS' recruiting class featuring two-time Missouri Gatorade player of the year Nicole Lehman of Lamar, Burnett also believes in those who return - and the chemistry, work ethic and enthusiasm she already has seen among them all. "This is one of the most special teams I have ever coached," she said, though smiling and noting it had yet to play a game. As for leadership, Burnett expects it to be furnished by guard Erica Vicente, even though she started just six games last season, and even if the Brazilian still is mastering English. She called Vicente a "natural-born leader . . . (who) was just waiting for her moment." Confident as Burnett is, though, her first team After Jackie probably will take time to gel. So though she believes part of the lesson of last season was "any dream at all is possible," this season she is focusing on the journey. "And the journey with this basketball team," she said, "is going to be an incredible one." Odds are, though, it won't be as amazing as the journey with Jackie. TO THE TOP |