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Hoosier hero Purdue's White-McCarty the star of Indiana, tournament
Posted: Saturday March 27, 1999 07:24 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- In the crowded Purdue locker room, Stephanie White-McCarty holds a video camera to record her team's trip to the Final Four. If White-McCarty has anything to do with it, the video diary will include a national championship celebration. "This is a great experience," she beams, the camera in her hands. "A once-in-a-lifetime experience." White-McCarty is usually on the other side of the lens. The center of attention since high school, her popularity has reached new heights this season as Purdue makes a run for the title. That's because White-McCarty's story has everything, from triumph to adversity to triumph again. "Some people say her name is in the same category as Bobby Knight, Larry Bird and God in Indiana," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said. The legend began in tiny West Lebanon, Ind., population 760. Stephanie White was a hometown hero at Seeger Memorial High School, scoring 66 points in one game and grabbing 30 rebounds in another. With an average of nearly 40 points per game her senior year, she was lauded as the one of the best high school players in the country, alongside Chamique Holdsclaw. She was true to her home state and decided to attend Purdue. But just before she arrived, Leslie Johnson and Danielle McCulley left the Boilermakers, signaling the start the near disintegration of the program. It got worse. Although White-McCarty was a starter as a freshman, she fell far below her own standards by averaging just 10.8 points a game. Then coach Lin Dunn was fired. White-McCarty and her best friend, guard Ukari Figgs, considered bailing on the Boilermakers, as some other players had. Best friends Nicole Erickson and Michele Van Gorp went to Duke, where Purdue assistant Gail Goestenkors had gone years before. Figgs and White-McCarty held on, but there were more rough times ahead. After their sophomore season, coach Nell Fortner left to coach the USA Women's National Team. The two friends had their third collegiate coach, Peck. Under Peck, the turnaround began, culminating with this moment: the national championship game Sunday against Duke -- and old teammates Erickson and Van Gorp. "It's sweet just being here, period, whether what we've been through or not," Figgs said. "We haven't dwelled on the past. We've just come out here and we're going to make our senior year special." White-McCarty echoed the sentiment: They're just happy to be here. "We are not playing against those two players. We are playing the whole team," she said. "They have done a great job of playing together, and their team is a very good team. We just have to be prepared to go against them." White-McCarty has certainly done her share to make sure the Boilermakers made it to this point. She has averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 rebounds this season. After Friday night's 77-63 victory over Louisiana Tech, she had 2,170 career points. She has school-bests with 126 consecutive starts, 183 career 3-pointers, and 38 consecutive games with double figures in scoring. She has 695 points this season, breaking her own record of 679 set last year. White-McCarty also has the first triple-double in the program's 22-year history with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a Jan. 22 game against interstate rival Indiana. In fact, there's little White-McCarty doesn't have. She married her high school sweetheart, Brent McCarty, last May, with Figgs as a bridesmaid. She's been profiled in Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. Hoosier coach Knight sent her an autographed picture as a fan. But she doesn't have a national championship. "We're happy where we are, but we're not satisfied," she said. "We want more. That's been our attitude all season." When compared to Bird, Knight and God on Saturday, White-McCarty put her face in her hands then leaned over to Figgs. "So embarassing," she whispered. "I really don't see myself like that," she said. "I see myself like any other person. It's important for me to be a role model, and I take that very seriously. But I'm just Steph." After Sunday's game, Peck is headed for the Orlando Miracle of the WNBA. Figgs and White-McCarty could choose to play professionally either here or overseas. But for now, the focus is on one game, one night. And, in at least one town small town in Indiana, one player. West Lebanon's own. "You could go through all the players on the team and ask 'Who's your best friend? Well, Steph,"' Peck said. "She has the best personality that I could describe as a hug. She embraces everything and everyone around her."
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