Next season two new faces will sit behind Ball State women's basketball team head coach Tracy Roller on the sidelines. One of them is a member of the Women's National Basketball Association.
Along with Duffy Burns, the first male assistant coach of the team, Stephanie White was added to Roller's staff with the subtraction of two who left for other jobs.
"It's a great opportunity to be involved with this program and Roller's coaching staff," White said. "I'm really excited to be able to work with the staff."
White grew up in West Lebanon, Ind., where she attended Seeger Memorial High School. There she was named a National Player of the Year in 1995 by Gatorade, Parade magazine and USA Today. Also, she was Indiana's Miss Basketball that year. While she knew that Indiana has one of the biggest devotions to basketball in the world, White said she never felt pressure to play.
"(Growing up in Indiana) isn't the reason I play," she said. "When I grew up, everybody played basketball so it influenced me in my start, but (I had) a passion to play."
After high school, she stayed in house by applying for Purdue University. Again she was a standout, raking in Big Ten conference and Naismith player-of-the-year awards as well as being named the Indiana NCAA Woman of the Year during her senior year of 1999.
After college, she was drafted into the WNBA in its third season by the Charlotte Sting and is currently a starter with the Indiana Fever.
"I'm definitely excited to be in the WNBA," she said. "Before (the WNBA) I would've only had the chance to play overseas, but now I can play (in the United States), and I'm excited about the opportunity to play in the WNBA.
"I just wanted to be able to continue my career in Indiana because fans have compassion for basketball," she said.
Johna Goff, Ball State basketball guard, grew up close to White and watched her career. She says that White's basketball history in Indiana has been great for the state and a wonderful thing to see.
"She's accomplished a lot of things," Goff said. "I'm very excited (to have her as a coach) because I grew up seeing her play and watching Purdue play in the championship game on TV. She was kind of my idol."
In her third season with the Fever, she has been looking to continue in basketball after her playing days are over. Before the job at Ball State, White was a sports reporter for Fox Sports and spent the previous year as an assistant coach for the Logansport High School.
Now she sees being a part of the coaching staff as a valuable tool in gaining experience and is happy to join a team dedicated to being the best.
"This is something I want to do," White said. "I want to get experience from her staff and learn about the coaching profession."
Goff helped Ball State to the Mid-American Conference West Division and a second-place finish in the run for the MAC title. Without MAC Player of the Year Tamara Bowie, who was drafted into the WNBA, the team will try to follow a huge set of footsteps while improving on last season's finish. Goff said the addition of White will help Ball State in reaching higher ground.
"For (Ball State), it helps a lot," Goff said. "When we go places, they'll know her name, and it says a lot for us to be able to get someone of her caliber.
"She won at every level she played. Ball State is starting to change things now, and we need her to point things out. She's exactly what we needed."
White also sees something special about this team and is ready to get started with the players.
"I'm also excited to be working with the players. They are motivated to being a great team and to be a part of that is something special," she said.
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