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Chamique Holdsclaw: A Rare Find

© Colleen Bittner

For the past seven years Chamique has never ended the basketball season with less than a Championship. This year, however, is different. In a six-point loss to Duke, the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers lost their passport to the NCAA Final Four. After fouling out with seconds remaining, Chamique just cried on her coach Pat Summitt's, shoulder.

Although Chamique may not have four NCAA Championships to take with her to the pros, she was still the Number One draft pick overall for the WNBA, going to the Washington Mystics. Before the ABL folded, it was assumed that whichever league let Chamique play near her hometown would be where she would go. She did in a way, get to play near her hometown. She was happy with the arrangement, stating that because Washington as only a three hour drive she could still visit home, but she wouldn't have the pressures of living too close to family and friends.

It doesn't really matter what team Chamique is on, she will always have a huge fan base following her career as a professional. She is a role models for girls across the country, an inspiration to women's basketball players. Milton Boddie of Greensboro agrees that Chamique is a big part of women's basketball. "I coach a group of girls for an AAU basketball team and Chamique to them is what Michael Jordan was for me. I feel this way because she has brought so much interest to women's basketball. She is the main reason why I became interested in women's basketball. Now, I go to girls' high school games just as much, if not more, than I go to my own school's games."

Chamique is as equally great off the court as she is on. "There is just something about her that I love, although I'm not sure what..." people say. Milton agrees. "I love everything about Chamique. If she didn't play basketball, I would still love Chamique the person. I've read articles about how she overcame the everyday problems growing up in New York to become the women she is today. I also lived in the inner city of New York and I can relate to the difficulties that she had to deal with. She means so much to so many people. She has that rare persona about her that is hard to explain."

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