WINONA LAKE - In-between performing community projects in the area and beginning play in the NCCAA Division-I National Tournament today, players from all over the country first heard from WNBA player Shanna (Zolman) Crossley and her father, Kem Zolman, Wednesday in Winona Lake.
Speaking at Rodeheaver Auditorium, the pair spoke about basketball, but the thesis of the address was on faith."This is not a how-to," Zolman said. "You can get rid of that now. As soon as Shanna got out of high school, I had film and showed it to my team about how to shoot. That didn't go well. I want to talk to you about what God has done through us."
During his daughter's childhood, Zolman, a 13-year coach of the Wawasee Lady Warriors, admitted he never really knew how special his daughter was, even though she'd go on to set the state's all-time scoring record for girls with 3,085 points.
The only player in Indiana high school basketball history to score more points than Crossley was Damon Bailey with 3,134.
"I just thought that's how all girls were," Zolman said. "You put the ball in the basket."
On top of putting the ball in the basket as a youth, Crossley, who is serving as the tournament's chaplain, was going through the motions of being a Christian, but admittingly not being as serious about it as she could have been.
"Until my sophomore year in high school, all I had to do was drop a line like 'praise the Lord,' or something like that," Crossley said. "But I didn't realize it could go so much deeper."
Crossley credits her brother, Josh, for deepening her relationship with God, but her dad also credits him for constructing her competitive nature.
"They were constantly competing," Zolman said. "It got to the point when they'd pull the trampoline to the basketball hoop to see who could have the best dunk. That helped build a deep competitive spirit and toughness that only a brother could beat into her."
Through high school, Crossley quickly got popular with the fans, selling out gyms where ever the Lady Warriors went.
"The police would have to separate the crowd waiting in line to enter the gym so our team bus could pull through," Zolman said. "The line would be 100, 200 yards long."
The crowd was on hand to see a player that averaged 33.2 points per game throughout her career and became Miss Basketball in 2002.
It was in front of one of the largest crowds that she set her most memorable moment on a basketball court, scoring 50 points at North Side Gym, setting the state' scoring record.
"It was in a huge gym with 6,000 to 7,000 people, and I needed 50 points to get (the record)," Crossley said. "It was like everything fell into place. No matter how high I go, that will probably be the top memory for me."
With such individual success, Crossley went on to attend the University of Tennessee and play under the tutelage of coach Pat Summitt.
"I just liked the discipline," Crossley said about playing for Summitt.
While she eventually chose Tennessee, Notre Dame was also on Crossley's short list of choices, although she didn't seem too serious about it.
"I wanted to go to as many Notre Dame football games as I could," she said about dragging Notre Dame along. "Sorry (Notre Dame women's coach) Muffet McGraw."
While at Tennessee, Crossley found herself growing closer to the Lord, having to attend church without her parents making her go.
"Her platform was becoming national," Zolman said about his daughter's spirituality rising proportionality with her celebrity. "God was building something that was national."
Following her four years at Tennessee, Crossley was then drafted by the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars, where she joined a group of like-minded women.
"We had a religion night after a game, and I was asked to give a testimony," Crossley said.
After two seasons in the WNBA, Crossley had shoulder surgery following the 2007-08 season, then tore her ACL, keeping her off the court for the 2008-09 season.
Once back on the court, Crossley then tore her MCL in her second game back in June 2009, leaving her off the court for a couple of months.
In April 2010, Crossley was traded from the Silver Stars to the Tulsa Shock, then signed on to play in Turkey during the WNBA offseason.
Once she returned to the States, Crossley once again tore her ACL in January and has been focusing on rehabbing it since then.
"With the things I've been through, all the heartbreak and tough times, I've always had Christ," Crossley said.
