Siblings clash in lady cagers' game vs. Purdue

By DAN GIGLER
Collegian Staff Writer

Kicked shins, pulled pigtails, tattling and unquestioned love and loyalty are hallmarks of growing up in a brother-sister relationship.

And in a basketball-oriented family, competition and rivalry can be added to that list. Ask Michael Peck. He'll tell you.

Peck is in his first year as an assistant coach for the No. 15 Penn State women's basketball team. His sister, Carolyn, is the head coach for the No. 2 Purdue women's hoops team.

At 8 p.m. tomorrow at The Bryce Jordan Center, the siblings will try to out-strategize one another when their respective teams clash in a game with huge implications in the Big Ten -- and at future Peck family gatherings.

Presently, Carolyn holds a 2-0 advantage in head-to-head meetings with her brother. The first was a 71-61 Purdue victory over Michael's Florida squad in the 1998 Big Ten-SEC challenge. The most recent, a 53-48 Boilermaker win over the Lady Lions Jan. 5 at Purdue's Mackey Arena.

However, competition between the two began long before they became NCAA coaches.

"There was always competition between us," Michael said. Card games and games of horse in the Peck family driveway weren't always for simple fun. The competitive nature of the siblings eventually rose to the surface, especially in games of one-on-one. And for quite a while, Michael spot in the pecking order influenced his ability to hang with the skills of his sister, who is six years his senior, and at 6-foot-4, was six inches taller for quite awhile.

"For a long time, she always beat me," he said.

Then, little brother got big.

Now 6-foot-7, Michael said the tables turned and he finally won some games. "When I got tall enough to dunk the ball," he said.

The stoking of one another's competitive fires in those driveway games paid handsome dividends. Both Pecks were basketball stars at Jefferson County High School in Jefferson City, Tenn. and went on to successful college basketball careers -- Carolyn at Vanderbilt, Michael at Marshall.

Both then went on to careers in the business world, Carolyn as a sales representative for Merck Pharmaceuticals, Michael as an account executive for Pitney Bowes.

However, neither could get over their love of the game. Carolyn returned to the hardcourt in 1991 to play professionally for the Nippondenso team in Japan, before returning to the States in 1993 to accept an assistant coaching job with the Tennessee women's basketball program. After two years in Knoxville, she moved on to assist at Kentucky, before taking over the head job at Purdue last season.

Similarly, Michael said he missed the, "smell of the gym, the tennis shoes squeak, and the roar of the crowd." He left Pitney Bowes and accepted an assistant's position last season at Florida, before coming to Penn State.

The Pecks have supported each other's endeavors. They talk frequently and enjoy the twist coaching against one another has brought to their relationship. Michael in particular enjoys watching his sister work, saying that many of her childhood mannerisms still show through when she is commanding her squad from the sideline.

Though the two are tight off the court, Michael hates to lose, and with family bragging rights on the line, he would relish a chance at beating his own blood.

"I told Carolyn when I talked to her, I hope she won every game she had left except three," Michael said.

Which three?

"Friday night against us, in Indianapolis (in the Big Ten postseason conference tournament) against us, and in the Final Four against us."

That would give Michael a 3-2 advantage, one he might keep permanently. Carolyn will step down as Purdue's head coach at season's end to play for the WNBA's Orlando Miracle.

Two of his players, Andrea Garner and Lisa Shepherd agreed that Michael would love to finally one-up his sister.

"He wants this game really bad," Shepherd said, "But I'm sure he wants it more because it's against his sister."

For the record, Carolyn downplayed the sideline matchup with her brother, opting rather to talk about the on-court battle that is sure to ensue.

"It's a competition between two Big Ten schools," she said. "We play the game regardless of who's on the staff. We both have a job to do and that's what well be focused on."

Despite Carolyn objectivity about coaching against her brother, tomorrow night's game will be a family affair. The rest of the Peck clan will be on hand for the premier game in the Big Ten schedule.

As tomorrow approaches, Carolyn Peck reiterated the strength of her family ties. "We're very close, our whole family is close," she said, and added that the game's outcome has no bearing on her relationship with her brother.

Regardless of the outcome, the losing Peck sibling will congratulate the winning Peck. But, with the memory of those driveway games gone by still lingering, it might not be surprising if the winner sticks out their tongue to the loser and offers a joking "PPTHHFFT!"