As some teams move to the college basketball playoffs, SHSU must look forward to next season. As I thought about the seasons that both the Bearkats and LadyKats just concluded, I felt compelled to share a few of those thoughts with your readers. While the men’s team won many more games than did the women’s team in the 2001-2002 season, I came away with decidedly different feelings about each team.While the Bearkats missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins and won half of their games for the year, it is to the LadyKats that I offer my thanks and admiration. Thanks for playing hard every game, even though you were at a decided physical disadvantage every time you took the court. Thanks for not ever giving up on a game, no matter how frustrated or fatigued you became. You made many mistakes and lost many games you could have won, but it was obvious that each of you were trying your best and learning from each game.I admire the way you stuck together as a team, even when you had lost your first 15 games of the season. I have never seen, in many years of watching and playing basketball, a more determined and classy team handle diversity as well as you did. When your leader suffered a season-ending injury early on, the rest of the team just tried all the harder. And that leader showed what “team” means by remaining by your side even when she could not shoot or pass or defend. Each of you should be proud of the way the LadyKats represented Sam Houston State this season. It was clear that the coaches did a terrific job of preparing you and keeping you from feeling disheartened, or at least playing that way, but it still took amazing fortitude on the part of each player to contribute to a winning program.It may seem strange to call a team that won only three games all year “a winning program,” but that is what you area group of winners. You represented the university with class, pride and good sportsmanship, and gave maximum effort in executing your coaches’ instructions in an effort to win, every game. It was a pleasure watching you this year and I look forward to seeing the team you will become next year. With the lessons you learned through hard experience this year, I expect you will have much success next year and for many years after you have finished playing basketball for the LadyKats.
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