Two guards' work ethics shine
'Flyin' Lion' high on drive, low on image

By ANN TATKO
Collegian Sports Writer

She is the one who sits in the back of the classroom with a baseball cap pulled low, and yet basketball fans still recognize her.

Carla Coleman, the senior guard whose speed and seemingly effortless layups earned her the nickname "Flyin' Lion," considers herself a private person.

Her free time is spent in front of the TV watching her favorite shows -- "Sisters," "ER" and of course the soaps, especially "Days of Our Lives."

But then last month, when the Lady Lions opened conference play with a 1-2 record, Coleman put her soaps on the back burner and headed to the gym to work on her shooting.

A member of two past Lady Lion teams that reached No. 1, Coleman was unaccustomed to such a slow start. So she recommitted herself to the team -- no talk, just an example for her teammates to follow.

Then she mentioned her week-long hiatus from soaps at a press conference.

"Now, I think everybody in this country knows I watch soaps," she said with a laugh.

A small glimpse into the other life of a basketball player known for her attacking defense and penetrating offense.

On Sunday against Ohio State, the Carla Coleman who doesn't consider herself high profile will be the focus of attention for senior night. It is a moment that will begin to draw together the player and the person.

"On the court, I play with a lot of high energy -- I wouldn't call it flashy, but I pump the fist," Coleman said. "Off the court, I'm very laid back. I really don't like to be noticed."

In fact, Coleman wouldn't mind going unnoticed on the basketball court because to her, what matters is the little things --the unnoticed rebound or stopping the key player that could be the difference between a win and a loss.

In Sunday's win over Minnesota, Coleman showed how the little things add up. When Minnesota surged from 17 points down, Coach Rene Portland berated Coleman for not picking up her game.

"I thought it was a game she needed to put behind her," Portland said. "And then I look up at the scoreboard and she has 15 points at the time I get finished yelling at her."

Coleman finished the night with 16 points after taking a shot to the head in the prior day's practice.

For the fifth-year senior, the win almost meant that the 1-2 Big Ten start, handed to the Lady Lions in part by Minnesota, was behind her. Another battle with adversity won.

"I strongly believe that if you never face adversity in life," she said, "then you really haven't lived, because it makes you a tougher and stronger person inside."

It wasn't so long ago that Coleman came to realize that fact the hard way.

In the summer of 1992, Coleman tore her anterior cruciate ligament during a pick up basketball game. For the next five months, she spent her time rehabilitating her surgically repaired knee.

Then in January of 1993, she made a brief comeback in two games before going down with another injury.

For a player who had never suffered anything worse than a sprained ankle, the rehabilitation process would become the greatest challenge in her career.

"When I had bad days where I couldn't do anything," Coleman recalled, "I just sat there and cried."

The fight back to basketball went beyond recovery for the McKeesport native. She also had to deal with the critics.

"A lot of people -- some behind my back, some to my face -- were saying, 'She'll never be the player that she was. You won't be able to go to the basket as effectively as you did before you tore your ACL,' " Coleman said.

So she channeled any resentment she felt into practicing. A few extra hours in the gym. Working on her cutting and going to the basket. Over and over.

"I hope this year has proven to everybody that I haven't lost my step," Coleman said. "Maybe I've even added a little something to my game."

The year has looked good for Coleman, the only Lady Lion to start all 24 games. She is averaging 11.4 points per game, which is eclipsing her personal scoring record of 9.1 points in 1991-92 -- the year before her ACL injury.

This type of effort also epitomizes Coleman's philosophy of leading her teammates by example.

Not a vocal leader, Coleman prefers to set examples such as spending extra time in the gym, even if it means shelving her soaps.

Guard Jamie Parsons said Coleman's dedication effectively motivates all the freshmen.

"It really inspires us because we know we can depend on Carla," Parsons said. "That's something we can look up to."

That quiet leadership is the hint of the same low-key person who plays fearlessly on the basketball court.

Despite being a show stopper on the court, Coleman still clings to her privacy. Sometimes the publicity overwhelms her.

Such was the case following a roadtrip two weeks ago.

Her friend, Tammy Bailey (senior-Spanish), placed the winning bid of $50 on football quarterback Wally Richardson at a charity auction. When Coleman arrived home, Bailey said she had bought Coleman something "tall, dark and handsome."

Coleman's response -- why?

"Everybody was in my apartment taking bets -- was I going to strangle her, was I going to be mad?" she said. "I'm not that type of person. I don't get upset about much."

Then Coleman read a newspaper article the next day detailing the purchased date.

"I guess it bothers me because I'm a very private person, and to have something like that splattered across the news wasn't the happiest moment for me," Coleman said. "If he calls and asks me to go, I'll go."

That's the way Coleman likes to do things -- at a go-with-the-flow pace.

And in a couple of months, that will be her life once more. She will go back to playing softball, her first love in high school. She will pack away the basketball uniform and put on the jeans and baseball cap.

She will retreat to the back of the classroom, just like always. But this time she will be taking graduate courses as just a student.

"I think that's what I really missed, being a student without that athlete connected," Coleman said. "I'm really excited about just going to class and not having to worry about those early morning practices."

Or shelving her soaps for extra time in the gym.