On Monday the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 7 members of its Class of 2019: Ticha Penicheiro, Ruth Riley Hunter, Valerie Still, Carolyn Bush Roddy, Beth Bass, Joan Cronan, and Nora Lynn Finch. The Kentucky Wildcats’ men’s basketball team is recognized as the most successful D-1 program ever in terms of both all-time wins/all-time winning percentage. However, the leading scorer/rebounder in the history of the school is not a male player like Dan Issel or Jack Givens but rather Valerie Still (2763 PTS/1525 REB). She was a 3-time All-American in Lexington, a 9-time All-Star in Italy, and a 2-time MVP of the ABL Championship Series with Columbus. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with the brand-new Hall of Famer about averaging a double-double during each of her 4 years on campus and winning a pair of ABA titles. Feel free to check out her “Still Talkin'” podcast at: www.bigbluebanter.com.
(photo credit: Valerie Still Private Collection)
You grew up in New Jersey: what made you choose Kentucky? I was born/raised in Camden. I chose Kentucky because 1 of my older brothers went there and had a wonderful experience.
You were 1 of the 1st female athletes to receive an athletic scholarship shortly after Title IX was passed in the 1970s: how big a deal was it at the time? It was huge. Title IX was passed in 1972 to prohibit discrimination based on sex. People thought that it would affect female professors but right away it affected college athletic programs. It was not until 1978 that women were offered full scholarships and I graduated in 1979. I lucked out thanks to people like the Godmother of Title IX: Bernice Sadler.
You had a 30-game home court winning streak from 1980-82 and in 1983 you helped lead the Wildcats to an upset of Old Dominion before a record crowd of 10,622: how much of a home-court advantage did you have at Memorial Coliseum? Kentucky had just won a men’s championship in 1978 but when I arrived the women only had around 300 people in attendance at their games. The ODU game featured the largest women’s crowd ever at the time: we were both top-5 teams so that was definitely a highlight of Kentucky women’s sports. They are getting ready to make a $15 million renovation of Memorial Coliseum soon. Pat Summitt was the coach at Tennessee at the time: she wanted to come to Kentucky but they would not pay her $200 in moving expenses! Debbie Yow was the Kentucky coach who recruited me, although I made it clear I was going there. Debbie later became the 1st female AD at a D-1 school and is 1 of the most 100 influential people in college sports. I had some great role models: she was like a mother figure to me and was the very 1st person I called after becoming a Hall of Fame finalist.
You averaged a double-double during each of your 4 years on campus and you remain the leading scorer/rebounder in school history (male or female) with 2763 PTS/1525 REB: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? Debbie tells a funny story about this. Coming out of high school my stats were based on raw talent: I did not even know what “boxing out” was! As a girl playing among boys I had to work hard for everything I got and always tried to chase down rebounds. A lot of times in college I would miss a shot and then go get the rebound: some of my teammates joked that I was just padding my stats. I had 27 REB in 1 game.
You were a 3-time All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I had no clue about what was going on with awards: I was just a kid with a dream who wanted to play basketball. I was not looking at breaking any records…but I did want my name listed in the back of the media guide.
You played pro basketball in Italy for 12 years and were a 9-time All-Star who led the league in scoring several times: how were you able to head overseas and dominate for more than a decade? It was just my destiny. In college we would tour Japan and play against some pro teams, so I knew I had that option if I wanted it. There were a couple of Italian agents who attended my final college game in 1983 and asked if I was interested in playing abroad. My mom did not want me to go overseas but I told her that I would do it for a year before returning to finish my degree. Those were the best years of my young life: if it were not for the Italian League I would have probably become a veterinarian.
After returning to the US you joined the ABL and were a 2-time MVP of the ABL Championship Series with Columbus: what did it mean to you to win a pair of titles? It signified quite a few things. As 1 of the older players who played pro basketball overseas it was incredible because a lot of players who came before me did not have that opportunity. In the spring of 1996 I was retired with a very young son but 1 of my former assistant coaches told me about a new league that was forming after the 1996 Olympic team sponsored by Nike went undefeated. 3 players decided to hold out and wait for the WNBA but everyone else joined the 8-team ABL. Katie Smith was the big name in Columbus and the league had teams in other women’s basketball hotbeds around the country such as northern California/Connecticut. Columbus had already conducted its draft but did not have a lot of post players and was only 3 hours away from me in Lexington. I tried out against some kids who were half my age and they offered me a contract right then and there. The ABL played from October-April while the WNBA played during the summer. We were the 1st women’s team ever invited to the White House! I was picked up by Washington in 1998 after the ABL folded but I had suffered a bad knee injury. The Mystics were a terrible 3-15 team when I arrived but they had the best fan support in the league: I remember Al Gore dropping by to say hi after 1 game. Michael Jordan joined the Wizards around that time and we would watch him practicing after we did.
You got your undergraduate degree in Animal Science/Pre-Vet, a Master’s degree in African and African-American Studies, and a PhD in Sports Humanities at Ohio State, and you currently work for the Palmyra, NJ school district: how much importance do you place on academics? It is the key! I left UK 15 credits shy of graduating because most of my production courses were scheduled at the same time as our practices in the afternoon. I came back in 2000 to finish my undergrad degree and was later thinking of getting back into vet school but decided to get my Master’s instead. I took a sports psychology class and it was just so incredible: it covered so many different topics like literature, philosophy, management, etc. The department head suggested I get my doctorate…so I did. I still have to write my dissertation but education is freedom. You just have to be in the know: sports only last so long but there are so many other opportunities out there.
In 1998 you founded the Valerie Still Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists youth in their development and helps young girls grow into mature women through innovative programs: what have you been able to accomplish over the past 2 decades? That was awesome! We did so many things: reading programs, building courts, etc. I had young girls look up to me as a champion so the opportunity to empower them was intriguing to me. I stay involved because you have to give back by paying it forward.
Earlier this week you were announced as an inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is an incredibly fantastic honor. I have been on the Hall’s radar for a while even though I just played basketball for the pure joy of it. Last December when they announced I was up for the Naismith Hall of Fame it felt surreal. I was on both lists last year and it was exciting! It is not about success now but being significant. I want to use it as a tool to teach kids to not let anyone deter them from their passion. Nobody wanted me to play sports as a young girl but if you stick to what is inside of you then things like this can happen. Fortunately, I have always been a Hall of Famer to the people who love me.