Don't Let The Lipstick Fool You:. Lisa Leslie
reason, she was laughing at the same time. “I can’t believe it,” she said loudly. “You just got your hair done!” She stood there in shock. “We were finally getting your hair back nice and clean. It was just starting to look good, and you go out and play basketball? Why did you mess up your hair, Lisa?”
I did not have any answers for her, but Aunt J.C. had an ultimatum for me. “You are going to choose today, young lady. You can either play basketball or get your hair done, but you cannot do both. Which is it going to be?”
Without a hint of hesitation, I told her softly, “I want to play basketball.”
My aunt looked at me, looked at my messy hair, and then said, “All right. Fine. Put your hair in a ponytail, and go play basketball.”
I knew I had made a big decision that day. I could have said, “Oh, I want my hair done.” Mike probably would have done it again for another ten dollars, but who knows what direction my life might have taken if he had. At that time, being cute and stylish was nice, but it was not my top priority. I wanted to play basketball, so I put my hair in a ponytail and went off to play some more. Honestly, I would have played all day and night if I could have. If Craigie wanted to go to the gym early, I was ready. If he wanted to wait until after 5:00 PM, I would do my homework, eat, and get dressed in a hurry just in case he wanted to leave a little earlier.
I had found a passion for the game. It had become a major part of my life. I loved the sport, and somehow, I knew it was going to be a big part of my future. I wanted to be very good, so I would take what Craigie taught me and then try it out in practice sessions and games. I started to put two and two together. When I struggled, I would go back to Craigie, and he would have a ton of criticism and suggestions for me. I would absorb all that he told me, store it in my memory bank, and try to do better next time. I turned into a perfectionist, and that was not necessarily a good thing. Basketball is a game where you strive for perfection but never, ever get there. That can be extremely frustrating. This did not keep me from trying, though. Striving for perfection made me a better player, which came in handy the following spring, when I joined a boys’ basketball league and played for a team called the Sonics.
I did not get to play basketball at school during my entire eighth-grade year, because I switched schools in midyear, but I continued to spend a lot of time working on my game with Craigie. A guy at the gym named Vic suggested that I join an organized team to remain competitive and sharpen my skills. There was no girls’ team, so I joined the team for boys. I was the only girl in the entire league, and I played in the 14-and-under division. Corey Benjamin, who later played in the NBA, was in my league. Craigie loaned me a pair of his basketball shoes to wear with my brand-new #10 Sonics green uniform. It came with white mid-calf socks that had a green stripe around the top. That was the first “take home” uniform that I ever had. I thought it was very cool, but the uniform was not my size. It was too tight, and I barely fit into it. I wound up wearing very short shorts and a too-snug shirt. I was six foot two, the tallest player in the league, but that was not the only reason I stood out.
At first, the boys on my own team did not want to pass the basketball to me. This really upset me, so on one of our possessions, I intercepted a pass between two of my own teammates and dribbled in to score a basket. I stole the ball from my own team! After that, everybody started shouting, “Give the ball to the girl!” The Sonics soon realized that if they got the ball to the tall girl in the middle, she could put some points on the board and help them win games. They finally listened.
I knew I could play a little, and I soon found out that I could do almost everything that the boys could do. I could jump and block their shots. I could slide my feet and play defense. The boys did have a quickness factor that sometimes left me in their dust, so when I played with them, I really had to focus and play super-hard to stay with them. That extra effort against the boys gave me incredible confidence when it came time to compete against girls. Later, in my professional career, my scrimmages with Magic Johnson and his NBA buddies helped me prepare for the battles I faced in the WNBA. To this day, I like to play with men, because it helps me improve my quickness and my moves. This allows me to be more aggressive and play harder with women.
Someone had obviously been keeping tabs on me while I played on that boys’ team or when I practiced at the gym, because in that summer of 1986, I was selected to play in the Olympic Girls’ Development League (OGDL). It turns out that the OGDL played its games at the same Victoria Park that Craigie had been taking me to every night to work on my game.
John Anderson was my OGDL coach. He gave me the first pair of basketball shoes that I could call my own. They were Nikes. I loved them, and I knew I would like Nike from then on. Mr. Anderson was a yeller, though. And he was the first coach who cursed at me. Sometimes he made me cry, but I think that hurt his heart, because afterwards he was always really nice to me. He would say, “Lisa, when I yell, I am not really yelling at you. I just want to help you get better.”
Even through all of Coach Anderson’s shouting, I could sense his caring personality. He was a real sweetheart, and eventually, I learned not to take his shouting personally. Sometimes, I would even go over to his house to hang out with his daughter, Adana. Mrs. Anderson would cook, and we would all have a good time. The Andersons really took care of me. Since Aunt J.C.’s house was nearby, they would even pick me up for practices and games, and then drop me off afterwards.
I knew Coach Anderson saw something special in me, because he was always on my case in the gym, yet so nice at home. He must have liked my game a lot, because before I knew it, he had me playing in the OGDL’s fourteen-and-under, sixteen-and-under, and eighteen-and-under girls’ divisions, all in the same summer and sometimes all in the same day. I was incredibly busy, but I was excited, too, because Shay had joined the summer league. We would play on the weekends, and when one game ended for me, I would head to the sideline and change into the colored shirt of the next team that I would be playing for. Then, I would get back on the court and start playing again. I could go through a lot of shirts in one weekend. Some days, Shay and I would get to the park at 8:00 AM, and we would play five games before heading home. I loved the competition, and I enjoyed seeing my basketball skills improve with every game.
The OGDL was really great for me. I played against Pauline and Geanine Jordan in the eighteen-and-under division. They were twins who just happened to be two of the best girl basketball players not only in California, but also in the entire country. They were recruited by all of the top college basketball teams. Coaches were constantly coming to watch them play, so the OGDL was a showcase for the Jordan twins. It also shined some of the spotlight on a fourteen-year-old who was playing against them—me! I was not on the twins’ level in talent or experience, but I was competitive enough in the eighteen-and-under games. I had to guard Pauline and Geanine (who both got scholarships to UNLV), and that made me better defensively, but I also learned that I could score against the big girls. I could take them away from the basket and hit a short jumper, and eventually, I was driving to the hoop against them and scoring. It was exhilarating. The more I played, the better I got. The better I got, the more fun I had. And the more fun I had, the more I wanted to play.
My metamorphosis on the court was incredible. Within two years, I went from having never played basketball and nervously trying out for my seventh-grade team to holding my own on the court against eighteen-year-olds. I improved so much so quickly, and much of it was due to the basketball mentoring that I got from Craigie. He made sure that I knew the basics, and I made sure that I worked hard and put his teachings to good use. It was all coming together. I was finally really good at something, and I kept growing taller, too. I was up to six foot four that summer, but I was no longer Olive Oyl when I stepped on the court. I was Lisa Leslie, basketball player. I had an identity. I was not awkward. I could move. I performed, and people liked the way I played. My confidence was so high that it did not matter to me what age or gender my opponents might be. In my mind, I had the upper hand on all of them. It was a fantastic feeling.
My schedule was grueling, though. It was all basketball all the time for me, and since it was the summer, I had lots of time. I practiced two nights a week with the OGDL and then played their games on Saturdays and Sundays. I also played two games during the week with the Miraleste High School squad. Mom was trying to transition into more local trucking work, and