(My Anderson News column from May 8, 2013)
There is just something about those
quiet types, you know.
Not a lot of chatter, not a lot of
extraneous noise. When they talk, it's generally to the point.
In the lustrous annals of
University of Kentucky basketball, there probably have been few quieter than
A'dia Mathies.
That means when she speaks, we'd do
well to listen.
Mathies, who just finished her
career at the University of Kentucky, spoke loudly in her Wildcat career. She
is one of only five players – Valerie Still, Dan Issel, Kenny Walker and Jack
Givens are the others – to score over 2,000 points while wearing the Blue and
White. During her career, UK advanced to the women's basketball Elite Eight
three times.
To put that in perspective, before
Mathies arrived on campus in the fall of 2009, Kentucky had made the regional
final once. Only once, back in 1982.
UK won an SEC championship and
began to make regular appearances in the Top 10.
Even though Mathies was not even
ranked in the nation's Top 50 players coming out of Louisville's Iroquois High
School, where she won a state championship and was named Miss Basketball, the
Los Angeles Sparks made her the 10th pick in the WNBA draft.
If you follow women's basketball at
all, you probably already knew what I just typed out.
And you know that Mathies is worthy
to be heard.
The All-American was in
Lawrenceburg last Monday to speak at Turner Elementary School.
Her mission was simple and to the
point: Do your best in everything you do if you want to be successful.
“I tried to talk about practice and
working hard and taking control of your opportunities,” said Mathies, who
brought UK teammate Azia Bishop along for the ride.
Mathies got an enormous opportunity
because of an ability to play basketball. Because of that ability, she now has
a college degree – she graduated from UK on Sunday – and her contract with the
Sparks will likely be much more lucrative than the average entry level job for
a college graduate.
“I used basketball as a tool,”
Mathies said.
A two-time SEC Player of the Year,
there is little doubt that Mathies became skilled in her craft, but at the same
time, she became a well-rounded person.
The quiet young lady from
Louisville eventually became one of the most recognizable – and most beloved –
faces of UK women's basketball.
“In order to grow and be the person
I need to be, I know I need to interact with people,” Mathies said with a
smile.
Last Monday, Mathies showed just
how much she has grown since casting her lot with Kentucky. Mathies spoke
briefly, then took questions from Wildcat wannabes.
Her sport?
“Take your sport seriously and work
hard,” Mathies said. “If you do, your college will be able to pay for going to
school.”
But always, Mathies said, take
advantage of the opportunities.
That is exactly what Mathies did
when she surprised many observers by turning down a chance to play for her
hometown team, winding up 75 miles east.
Still scored more points and a
handful of other Wildcat women have been higher-ranked recruits than Mathies
coming out of high school. But it can be argued that A'dia Mathies is the most
important player to ever ink with the Kentucky women. Surely, it would be hard
to envision the kind of success UK has had over the last few years without Adia
Mathies.
That Mathies, the high school
senior, chose UK the same year Louisville made its first appearance in the
women's Final Four is significant.
“I wanted to get a little bit away
from Louisville,” Mathies said.
But she also invoked the name of a
Cardinal great for her ambition. “I wanted to be the Angel McCoughtry for the
UK team,” Mathies said.
While Mathies was never able to
lead the Wildcats into the Final Four – UConn ended the run the last two years
– she unquestionably fueled the transformation of UK Hoops from SEC also-ran to
contender.
“I'm glad I made that choice,”
Mathies said. “It worked out really well.”
Mathies was planning to leave for
Los Angeles after her graduation. The Sparks' first pre-season game is Sunday
with the first regular season game set for June 1 in San Antonio.
(The best chance for Kentucky fans
to catch Mathies in person will be when the Sparks visit the Indiana Fever on
Thursday, Aug. 8 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.)
But last week, A'dia Mathies, the
quiet superstar, left her mark in Lawrenceburg.
“It's a rush,” she smiled when
asked if she liked going into the schools. “I hope I got through to just one of
them.”
It is the message all should hear
and believe.
“If you continue to work hard and
put your grades first,” Mathies said, “you can live out a dream like I have.”
