Changing Perceptions
February 11, 2008 05:07 PM | General
February 11, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Olayinka Sanni remembers her first basketball game at West Virginia as a freshman in 2004 playing before a couple hundred fans in the 14,000-seat WVU Coliseum. It was nothing but blue seats.
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| Senior Olayinka Sanni has led West Virginia to a No. 11 national ranking and a 19-3 overall record. Sanni is averaging 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game
AP photo |
“There was hardly anyone there,” she laughs.
Mike Carey was beginning his fourth season at West Virginia then and the Mountaineers were coming off a surprising NCAA tournament appearance the year before following its mini run in the Big East Tournament, beating St. John’s and Villanova to reach the semifinals.
Since Carey’s arrival in 2002, he’s been fighting a negative women’s basketball perception that has been artfully concealed. Tucked deep within the pages of the press guide is the 72-point loss to Connecticut in 2000 in a game that was played at Morgantown High School because the WVU Coliseum was being prepped for asbestos removal.
The Mountaineers opened the 1993-94 campaign with a 58-point loss to Washington in the Colorado Coors Classic. There was a pair of 39-point conference home losses to Syracuse and Virginia Tech, and a 33-point road loss at Oklahoma State in 2001. The years immediately preceding Mike Carey were rock bottom for the program.
The WVU women have had 15 losing seasons in 34 years of basketball and have only advanced to NCAA tournament play four times (twice under Carey so far) in its history.
Even West Virginia’s best-ever team in 1992 didn’t crack the national rankings until the last week of January and got to as high as 11th before being upset in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament by 10th-seeded Duquesne.
After beating Clemson in a first-round NCAA tournament game in Morgantown that year, the Mountaineers were decisively beaten at Virginia, 103-83, in a “Sweet 16” game that West Virginia was never really in.
Of course Sanni wasn’t aware of all of this when she chose to attend WVU after a very successful high school career in Chicago. But she did remember wanting to establish a legacy someplace different than the schools that were recruiting her.
“I wanted to build something. I actually wanted to make a difference in a program,” Sanni recalled. “West Virginia was so welcoming and it was like a family state. I felt more secure coming here and trying to build something. This is a good college town. People say it’s a party school but it is also a family school.”
Now push the fast forward button to 2008. West Virginia has been ranked all season and is poised to crack the Top 10 for the first time in school history if it can successfully get past this week’s games against Pitt and DePaul at home. The Mountaineers have been in the rankings longer this season than in its entire history dating back to 1974.
Reporters regularly cover the team now. Fifteen years ago the women were lucky if the student newspaper showed up to the games. Carey has brought along a women’s program that was once losing games to Pitt-Johnstown to the point now of being mentioned in the same breath with Rutgers, Connecticut and Tennessee.
Despite getting blown out at No. 1 Connecticut earlier this year, West Virginia beat Rutgers which knocked off Connecticut. That’s how close this team is to the very best programs in the country. West Virginia has played toe-to-toe with Tennessee in the past and gave LSU a run for its money in last year’s NCAA tournament. Sanni isn’t sure people in West Virginia fully appreciate how far the team has come in such a short period of time.
“I don’t think they do. It won’t hit them until we actually win the Big East or make it to Elite Eight of the NCAA,” she admitted. “I don’t think people understand how big this is in our history.”
The tide of perception is changing, however. More than 3,000 fans showed up for West Virginia’s 63-54 victory over Rutgers on Jan. 29. It was the second-largest regular season non-doubleheader crowd in school history. More importantly, the entire lower section of the student seating was full and the students had an impact on the game. Afterward they rushed the court to celebrate the women’s nine-point victory.
“It was more motivational and it gave us confidence knowing that we’re representing West Virginia and to see people out in the stands I think it was just an honor,” Sanni said. “We told ourselves, look, all of these people are here and we have to put on a show for them so they can come back.”
Sanni says she now gets recognized around campus even when she doesn’t wear her West Virginia gear to classes. That never used to happen.
“Before no one knew who I was. They didn’t even think I was an athlete. Now people come up and say, ‘wow, I heard you had a big win’ or ‘hey, I know you … don’t you wear number 45?’ Before it was never like that,” Sanni said. “Now I think more students are aware of women’s basketball and they are coming up to us.”
Sanni is also appreciative of what the team has accomplished so far, recording a 19-3 record that includes just one conference loss and a No. 11 national ranking. Earlier today she did a phone interview with USA Today for a story that will run later this week on West Virginia’s program.
And the things Yinka is not aware of Assistant Sports Information Director Phil Caskey usually brings to her attention anyway.
“Phil reminds us about these things every day. He tells us when we make history. He’s our stats guy. When LaQuita (Owens) scored her 1,000th career point he made us aware of that and we’re appreciative because we are making history,” Sanni said. “For us seniors it’s big. When we came to West Virginia as freshmen we weren’t really on the map. Now people are asking about the women’s team – not just about football or men’s basketball.”
Sanni admits that is very gratifying - not just for her - but for the women’s program in general.
“It makes us feel good for women’s basketball, not just personally. We’re up and coming and people should know about us,” she said.
On Wednesday night, Sanni would like nothing more than to walk out on the court and see a full bottom section of the Coliseum for West Virginia’s big game against Pitt. For the first time in Backyard Brawl history both women’s teams will be nationally ranked.
“That would be amazing and Pitt would get a shock thinking they were coming down here to just play a regular game. Now it’s not only us but it’s our fans, too,” Sanni said.
“We’re making a statement that West Virginia is around and we’re going to be around for a long time. If you don’t know about us now it won’t be long before you will,” Sanni said.
For those of you still on the bubble for Wednesday night’s game, tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.
