Dec. 15, 2004
Every Wednesday, broadcaster Andy Demetra gives an all-access look at Gamecock Women’s Basketball. This week, Andy gets the scoop on Stacy Booker and her sophomore surge with the Gamecocks.
Beyond The Mic – Book It
Stacy Booker still carries the scars on her legs, a living scrapbook – or scrape-book – of her earliest days playing basketball.
There was the time she dove for a loose ball and slid on the concrete. Or the time she picked up a nasty cut, crumbling after a hard pick.
Booker understood the hazards. Not many eight-year-old girls play pickup games with their 12-year-old brother and his friends. Or wait three years before competing against another girl.
Recently, Booker’s playing history picked up another mark.
Against Clemson – and in front of a season-high 2,500 fans at the Colonial Center – the sophomore exploded for a career-high 28 points, shattering her previous high of 13. Her 50 percent shooting from three-point range leads the Southeastern Conference.
Booker knew she had a game like Clemson in her. “I just didn’t know how to get it out of me,” she said somewhat existentially.
“She’s stepped up with a lot of confidence,” said head coach Susan Walvius. “She’s capable of doing it every night.”
Booker may not have always agreed.
Despite being a first-team all-state selection out of Lawrenceville, Georgia, Booker averaged only 3.5 points per game last year a freshman. She was often the last guard option off the bench, a role she was not accustomed to.
“It’s difficult coming from high school, and you’re the star, and then you’re just somebody on the bench,” Booker said.
“It taught me to be strong, because I was a little punk coming in here.”
Booker let that bottled-up desire to play fuel her over the summer. She immersed herself in basketball, working alongside Walvius in the basketball office when not lifting or – what else – playing pickup.
“Stacy dug her heels in this summer and said, “I want to play. What do I have to do to play?” Walvius said.
Booker also solicited the help of Carolina assistant Michelle Marciniak.
“She was one of my favorite players coming from the WNBA. She helped me with my ballhandling, my shooting, my pull-up jumper, and my three-point shot,” Booker said.
The result? A far cry from the sophomore slump. From 3 points in the season opener, Booker’s numbers have improved to 6, 11, her first career start against Charlotte, her career-high 28, and 10 against Florida A&M.
Now if only Booker’s scoring can be as prolific as her consumption of chicken wings. Her appetite is the stuff of legend around the team; her personal best is a Ruthian 35 to 40 wings in one sitting.
“I had to calm down on those. They were adding some weight,” Booker said.
As long as her hunger for success doesn’t diminish.
An expanded Tip Drill coming next week!
Andy Demetra is in his second season as the voice of Gamecock Women’s Basketball on 1320 AM WISW.
