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Arkansas' Harper falling in love again
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ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
FAYETTEVILLE -- Lakishia Harper has had plenty of reasons to hang her head this season, but these days, things are looking up for a change.
Harper and the rest of the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (16-14) play host to Georgia Tech (17-13) in a WNIT quarterfinal game tonight at Walton Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For Arkansas, tonight's game is a chance to move one step closer to becoming the first team to repeat as WNIT champions. For Harper, a 5-10 freshman from Amarillo, Texas, tonight's game is a chance to enjoy her renewed love affair with the game of basketball.
Harper's passion for basketball was strong when she arrived on campus last August, but when a former high school teammate was killed in a car wreck, some of that fire was taken away.
Then came a stress fracture in Harper's left foot and the death of her grandmother, who succumbed to cancer shortly after Christmas.
Put those things together with the usual adjustments 18-year-old student-athletes face when they make the transition from high school to college, and it's not hard to understand why Harper's love for basketball was diminishing.
"That love falls away," Harper said.
Even though the stress fracture was detected in early December, Harper tried to play through the injury in four games -- before the pain worsened.
"It generally feels like someone driving a nail through the top of your foot," Arkansas trainer Sean Collins said.
As a result, Harper missed five games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 16, then had to make her return four games into Arkansas' SEC season.
"Coming back off my injury, I had to build up my confidence, and the SEC didn't help any," Harper said. "You know, the girls are bigger and quicker, and you have to really work extra hard to get back into it."
And while Harper continued to work hard, the spark just wasn't there. It wasn't until Arkansas' Feb. 20 game against then-No. 3 Georgia, Harper said, that something clicked and made her feel like her old self.
Harper still can't explain exactly what rekindled her passion for basketball; she's just glad it's back.
"That's been a big plus for me, to love it again, because in college it gets a little hard," Harper said. "But now I feel like I've opened up a new game, a new perspective on how to play."
Harper's style is not flashy, and only recently, in Arkansas' two WNIT victories, has she made a conscious effort to assert herself offensively. In those two games, Harper is averaging 11.5 points per game, second only to Wendi Willits' 22.5.
Harper also shares the lead during that span in rebounding (5.5 per game) and steals (6), and leads the team in blocked shots (3).
Those numbers represent some of the more subtle ways Harper helps the Lady Razorbacks, and subtle is the kind of player she prefers to be.
"It doesn't matter how many points you score, it just matters how much you give on the court," Harper said.
"In high school, I was used to being in the spotlight, having the fame and everything, but here I got kind of quiet. But I know that if I go out and give it my all and do the little things that count, and help our team win, then I'm going to be satisfied."
Arkansas Coach Gary Blair has been satisfied, too, with Harper's recent upswing, and refers to her as "a defensive enforcer."
That was never more evident than in the closing seconds of Saturday's overtime victory over Missouri.
With Arkansas nursing a one-point lead, Missouri's Kerensa Barr drove into the lane and went up for the Tigers' last shot at victory. But Harper was with Barr all the way, timed her jump perfectly and blocked the shot just as it left Barr's hand.
The final buzzer sounded as the ball hit the ground, and Harper was joined by her teammates for a wild, on-court celebration.
"I told her in the dressing room, 'A kid had a chance to win the game, and you were not afraid to go up and make a play. You'll remember that block for as long as you're here,' " Blair said.
Harper also wants to remember her former teammate and her grandmother, and use them as inspiration to fuel her love affair with basketball. That's why she has written their first names -- April and Aldora -- on one of her game shoes.
Harper also has added a couple of other slogans and a Bible verse, shrinking the amount of white space on her shoes.
"It's just some little things that when I get my head down and I look at my shoes, these things make me think, 'Pick your head back up and quit looking down,' " Harper said. "I know when I'm reading my shoes, that's not good. That's when I need to look back up and keep my head in [the game]."
This article was published on Tuesday, March 21, 2000
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