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A perfect 10
By Eric Bailey, Springfield News-Leader, February 2, 2002 Take a glance at any girl’s youth basketball team in the Ozarks and you’ll find a player wearing the No. 10. Since Jackie Stiles brought her high-scoring game to Southwest Missouri State five years ago, little girls have been requesting the number of their hero. “Almost every little girls’ team had to have a No. 10,” said local sports apparel manufacturer T. J. Loudis. “It was almost parallel to when the boy’s teams always had to have a No. 23. “Make whatever comparison you like, but No. 23 (Michael) Jordan compares to No. 10 Stiles in this area.” At SMS, no other women’s basketball player will ever wear No. 10, as Stiles will get her jersey retired at halftime of tonight’s SMS-Drake contest at the Hammons Student Center. Stiles, the NCAA’s all-time women’s scoring leader, will be the third Lady Bear eternally honored in the rafters at Hammons, joining Jeanette Tendai and Melody Howard. Stiles understands what she means to the next generation of women’s basketball players because she, herself, was a crazed follower of an SMS great. Stiles remembers the first time she saw Howard at a Lady Bear basketball camp. She’d be awestruck when her hero would instruct the youngsters. “I’d get so nervous and I couldn’t talk to her,” Stiles said. “I remember getting her autograph on a camp jersey and I wore that for every single game under my warmups and at every single track meet. “It was my lucky shirt because she signed it.” The first time Howard saw Stiles, she sensed greatness. “I think back to when she was a seventh-grader in camp and Coach (Cheryl) Burnett took me over to the gym at Greenwood to see her,” Howard said. “She was a skinny seventh-grader that could play well.” “Now, I’m so proud of her than anything else. She works so hard and deserves everything she’s earned.” Less than a decade later, Stiles’ jersey will forever hang near Howard’s. “I never imagined when I was first here at Lady Bear basketball camp in 1992 that my jersey would one day be next to hers,” Stiles said. “It’s a credit to her. I modeled my game after hers and my jersey wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for her.” Being pegged the hero of college basketball’s greatest scorer is “a humbling experience,” Howard said. From 45 to 10 This will be the second time Stiles has had her number honored. Claflin (Kan.) High School retired No. 45 in the spring semester of her senior year. Because Stiles was a freshman on the varsity team, she had the last pick of uniform numbers. “All that was left was 4 and 45 and I thought ‘Nobody picks these numbers,’” she said with a laugh. But shortly after she picked No. 45, Michael Jordan made his return to the basketball court and started wearing No. 45. “It was the best number back then,” Stiles said. “It ended up working out and I fell in love with it.” Stiles wanted to wear her high-school number when she came to SMS, but an upperclassman — Roshonda Reed — already had claim to No. 45. But there was one number with a little bit of history behind it. “When Jackie came here, the number she actually wanted was taken and I just kind of smiled and said No. 10 was available and she smiled and said ‘OK,’ ” Burnett said. It’s fitting, Stiles said, that the No. 10 was available. Burnett wore that number at the University of Kansas, and Stiles said she will be forever indebted to her college coach. “My jersey wouldn’t be retired if it weren’t for everything she’s done for my career,” Stiles said. “She’s been a tremendous mentor on and off the court.” The tribute of having Stiles wear her number “is a tremendous honor,” Burnett said. Was there any doubt what number Stiles would wear when she was drafted by the Portland Fire of the WNBA? “No,” Stiles said with a laugh. “The first question I asked Coach (Linda) Hargrove was ‘Do you have No. 10?’” The superstitious Stiles doesn’t want to change numbers again. She’s playing in a men’s basketball league in Springfield and insisted on wearing No. 10. “No reason to delay” It’s not often that a student-athlete will get their number retired just one year after completing their eligibility. But in Stiles’ case, it was a no-brainer. “There’s just no reason to delay retiring her jersey,” SMS athletic director Bill Rowe said. “She’s just really left a tremendous mark at this school. She has the best work ethic of any student-athlete we’ve had, male or female. “She’s the most deserving we’ve ever had to achieve it.” Stiles admits that she’s surprised that her jersey is going up so soon. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling that they’re going to honor me and I’m going to see my jersey up there every time I walk into Hammons. “I have to give credit to the people I had support me through my time at SMS. “It’s just not my number, but so many people share in that — from teammates to coaches to fans — they all played a huge part in my jersey being retired.” Stiles made sure not to leave out appreciation for the fans. It’s difficult to walk around Springfield without seeing a child wearing a Stiles jersey or T-shirt. Those same kids offer support in ways they’ll never know. “A couple of months ago, after my wrist surgery, I got my cast off and basketball was tough again. The first shot I took barely hit the bottom of the net. “But then I saw a little girl in a backyard with a Portland Fire jersey on. That’s what helped push me to get back from the injury.” TO THE TOP |