A Pair of Tens!

Today's post is written by Associate Head Coach Ronda Hubbard:



Many of you know that I played at Missouri State way back in the 80’s. Yes, officially, it was then SOUTHWEST Missouri State University. Looking back now, those were some really great times! I wore the number #10 and ran around trying to prove to the world that a 5-0 guard could play DI Basketball. I have told our players here at Southern… for years now… that my jersey was “retired” at MSU. Most of them just look at me like I’m a little drill sergeant, NOT a basketball player. So, I really do think they had trouble believing me. That was until this past week. No, I didn’t take each of them on in a one on one game and beat them. By the way, Coach Moeller has tried that a few times, and , well, to say the least, fallen short (Editor's note: outside sources have NOT confirmed this claim! :). So, I tried something else. I tracked down Jackie Stiles. You know, the NCAA all time leading scorer. The All American and Wade trophy winner. The last player to take “SMS” to the Final Four and 4^th overall pick in the WNBA draft. Not to mention, WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2001. And yes, she wore the #10, and retired it graciously for me. Now our players KNOW that my precious #10 IS RETIRED. Just not by me. By Jackie. :)

I will never forget meeting Jackie for the first time. I had just come off of winning a state championship at Springfield Catholic. My first coaching job out of college. I always worked the SMS Elite camp and the last year I worked the camp, my team did not win a game. I was NOT happy. I gave Coach (Lynnette) Robinson such a hard time about it and bugged her about giving me such a “bad team”. I mean, I was an Alum, a state champion coach, I THOUGHT I deserved special treatment! So, I show up that summer for camp and immediately look at my roster and see an 8th grader on it. Needless to say…. Once again, I am NOT happy. I immediately go to Coach Robinson and “let her have it” for giving me an 8th grader, just KNOWING that my team was going to be horrible again. She just smiled the biggest smile, nodded her head at me for the entire duration of my tantrum, and said “do the best you can with them, Hub”. So, that night I had my first practice with my team. This little 8th grader…. Well, her name was Jackie Stiles. She ended up being the best player on my team (which included 2 other seniors who had signed to play DI). We went undefeated….. and I, years later, have a great Jackie Stiles story to tell! :)

Our entire focus in the off season with our players is moving our team from GOOD to GREAT. That’s why we brought Jackie in. To show them HOW to separate themselves from the pack through hours of hard work on their OWN without the coaches around. It was so great to listen to her talk to our players, telling them HER story and how she got to enjoy the success she has had. Because Jackie played “bigger than life” most don’t realize that she is only 5-8. Many of our players towered over her…. Especially Erin Rice at 6-2. Jackie drove home themes that our program has been living by for years. Things we “preach” to our players all the time. Like her “work ethic” was what she always fell back on. It was where she, as all players, get their confidence. She taught our players her 1000 shot a day routine. Which of course is great. But what she kept telling them (and I hope they were listening) is that she did it EVERY DAY. Whether she was exhausted or not, whether she had practice or not, whether they played or not, whether she didn’t feel well or not…. Jackie shot. And she shot. And she shot. That’s a great lesson to all of us. If you want to BE the best, you have to step out and be a little “fanatical” about your work. She has the PASSION!

Then came the second day. This is the day Jackie found out that it was easier to drive to the basket than to drive on Missouri Southern’s campus! The poor child was side swiped coming around the corner of Leggett-Platt Arena. Interestingly, she handled it with complete composure (are you shocked?). The player that was once double and triple teamed every time she stepped on the floor was now faced with a regular day adversity. She calmly asked me to store a cheesecake in a fridge (that she was taking to a birthday party after working with our team) and walked right onto the court and started teaching our players. Almost like nothing had happened. I learned one thing. This world would be a better place if we had more Jackie’s around! Composed under pressure, always willing to laugh and share a story, and a strong leader and teacher. Fortunately for our players, they got a great workout and learned a ton. Jackie had them doing half cross, cross, cross moves around a chair to a spin around jumper. I saw Coach Mitts actually squirm in her chair as our post players were attempting these patented moves! :)

I do hope that our players remember these two days with Jackie. She has such a warm spirit, is a great story teller, and certainly knows her stuff. Our players were inspired and so was our coaching staff. The power of ONE is so incredible. Jackie’s presence here the last two days put a little pep in our step. That’s why we all should seek out successful people to “hang out” with. They inspire us and lift us up. I’ve always been told that “if you hang out with dogs, you get fleas”! Which basically refers to the fact that you are who you hang around. I’m glad our program was “hangin around” Jackie this week!


Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Ronda Hubbard
Associate Head Coach

My FIRST Final Four!!

Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

Simply put, the Final Four is the pinnacle of college basketball. All year long teams push, pull, sweat, bleed, drive and sacrifice everything in order to make it to the "holy grail" of the college game. On Selection Sunday, the field of 64 teams (split up into 4, 16 team regions) is announced, and shortly thereafter, tournament play begins. Once the dust settles on each of the 4 regions, only 4 teams remain. The 4 teams that have survived will then convene on a predetermined city and site (this year, San Antonio and the Alamodome), and battle it out for the right to be called "National Champs."

The idea of any "Final Four" is something I have always loved. You could throw 8 people in a bracketed tournament of checkers, and as soon as it was down to 4...you'd have my undivided attention. I would be the best marketer you had, screaming to anyone within ear shot that "the final four is here!!" This passion obviously comes from my love of the NCAA tournament and the final weekend dubbed, the "Final Four." I watched the Final Four from my living room for as long as I can remember. I have read as many books as I can get my hands on about the amazing weekend. But, this past weekend, the Final Four, and all that the phase conjures up in my head, was radically changed.

This past weekend I had the amazing pleasure of attending the Women's Final Four in San Antonio, TX due mostly to the fact that the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has its National Convention surrounding the Final Four. As a member of the WBCA, I was not only going to get to see the city and go to the games, but that I was going to get to hear some great speakers and view some awesome on court demonstrations. Naturally, I was very excited about the opportunity to attend the convention and watch the games, and the 10 hour drive south gave me plenty of time to think about what was in store.

I have not done much traveling in my lifetime, but San Antonio is one more enjoyable places I have ever been. Staying on The Riverwalk was AMAZING. First off, we didn't have to use a car for anything. Everything (food, shopping, convention center, Alamodome, etc) was all so close to our hotel, that walking was the only option! Second, the food was so good. You can get everything from a gourmet Italian meal, to a cookie dough ice cream cup at Ben and Jerry's. The energy on The Riverwalk (at least surrounding the Final Four) was electric. One memory that sticks out is eating on The Riverwalk and hearing a faint noise that seemed to be growing louder and louder. Upon further inspection, we realized that the pep band of each team was riding on The Riverwalk (in Gondolas) playing their team's fight song! It was quite a sight to behold.

The Final Four is truly an "event". I'm not sure if the fans feel that way, but being a coach and being involved in the WBCA convention, I came away feeling that way. That being said, I had never been to a Final Four game before, and I was pumped to watch the games on Sunday evening. First up was Oklahoma vs Stanford. 2 of the truly great coaches in the women's games were about to square off. How would Oklahoma matchup with the enormous front line of Stanford? How would Stanford's guards handle the speed and quickness of Oklahoma's bask court? Stanford took control early and held off a furious charge from Boom Sooner. The Stanford Cardinal punched its ticket for Tuesday night's championship game. The second game matched Baylor and UCONN. I was really interested to see Brittney Griner in person and to see how she would affect the UCONN offense. In the end, Maya Moore and Tina Charles were too much as UCONN solidified their spot in another National Championship game.

Walking back to the hotel after the games I started to really take in all that had gone on during the weekend. Coaching is something that has opened so many doors for me. I am so grateful to Coach Mitts for taking me down to San Antonio to experience something brand new. The NCAA puts on an unbelievable event. I'll never forget my first Final Four.

Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach