Big Ten All-American soldiers on 1 despite physical, emotional pain USA Today folded, given up. I’ve tried to soldier on. I’m surrounded by great people. No mat- On and off the court, Katie Douglas has ter what life throws at you, you have to get been a soldier with the Purdue women’s up. No matter what life throws at you, basketball team. The All-American’s game there’s somebody who’s got it worse.” attire has included oversized ankle braces, knee guards and elbow pads—enough ar- The 6-1 senior and two-time Big Ten player mor to make her look ready for combat. of the year, averaging 14.2 points, 4.4 re- bounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals, might be “I went through wars in games and came the most versatile player in the country. out standing,” she says. The senior has been Equally comfortable at point guard, on the through concussions, tendinitis and recon- wing or on the low block, she often plays structive ankle surgery, plus three coaches. every position but center for the well re- The injuries and coaching changes were the spected Boilermakers. easy part. The tough part is the emotional pain. In the last three plus years, Douglas It’s hard to imagine anyone experiencing a has lost her father to pancreatic cancer, a greater range of emotions than Douglas. As teammate to a drunken driver and her a sophomore, she had the ball in the final mother to breast cancer. seconds of Purdue’s win in the 1999 na- tional title game before flinging it to the “I’ve lost three people really close to me,” rafters in a moment of exquisite exhilara- she says. “A lot of people would have tion. “It was an awesome feeling,” she says. “All the hard work, sacrifice, everything we’d been through was all worth it.” After Purdue’s opening win in the big ten tournament last year, Douglas sat on the floor, head in hands, sobbing because her mother was too ill to attend the game in the family’s hometown of Indianapolis. A few weeks later, her mother died. “Katie fell apart, just like the rest of us,” says Kim Rastrelli, Katie’s sister and the oldest of four children. Sports Stories Packet #1 Questions & Puzzles ©2001 Advantage Press, Inc. The recovery is ongoing for Katie and her three older siblings. They are applying les- sons learned from Ken and Karen Douglas. “They were firm believers that life doesn’t come to a grinding halt,” Rastrelli says. “If you have something to do, you need to do it.” When Katie’s father died on a Friday in June 1997, she was playing with the Indi- ana All-Stars in a two-game series against cult stretch began in March with Karen Kentucky. Katie wasn’t told about his death Douglas missing the early rounds of the Big until Saturday after the first game. Follow- Ten tournament but summoning the ing the funeral, she rejoined the team. In strength to attend the final, which Purdue the same spirit, Rastrelli and brother Scott won. For the first weekend of the NCAA Douglas continue the family-owned busi- tournament, Karen stayed at Katie’s apart- ness, Airline Fasteners, which distributes ment in West Lafayette. “I wouldn’t trade nailing and stapling equipment. Kim lives that time together for anything,” Katie says. with her husband and child in the house “It was mother-daughter bonding time. She where the Douglas children grew up. helped me get my new apartment orga- nized, and decorated.” Katie went 3-for-22 as Purdue got by Dartmouth 70-66 and then lost 76-74 to Oklahoma. Douglas received media and fan criticism for her uncharacteristic per- formance, though her trying circumstances weren’t known. “After we lost to Okla- homa, I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around,” Douglas says. “I felt I let a lot of people down. I had a lot on my mind. That wasn’t me out there. “We draw strength from our parents,” Rastrelli says. “We realize you still have “I didn’t want to go back to school to face your life to lead, and you can’t be unhappy. people. I was embarrassed. My mom told My parents wouldn’t want that for us.” me to use it as a learning experience, to use it as motivation.” Katie’s games are family events. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to return to school Karen Douglas also insisted Katie attend or play again after last spring. The diffi- the Final Four, where she received Kodak Sports Stories Packet #1 Questions & Puzzles ©2001 Advantage Press, Inc. All-America honors. It was the start of an she’s hurting. She’s got tremendous emotional roller coaster for the Douglases strength and courage.” in 2000. On April 15, Katie had reconstruc- tive surgery on her right ankle. On the 18th, Kim gave birth to a son, Drew, who, 15 hours later, was in his grandmother’s arms in a different hospital. On the 28th, Karen Douglas died. Katie didn’t feel like resuming school. She took incompletes. She thought she should help care for her new nephew so Kim could return to the family business. But her mother, on her deathbed, had extracted a promise that Katie would return to school. Since her mom’s death, Douglas has been “I was probably a bum for a while,” says inundated with mail, offering condolences Katie, a communications major with a 3.6 as well as grieving suggestions: “It’s hard grade-point average. “I know I was a bum to read, but it’s been helpful.” for a while.” The basketball court has been a refuge. But she got her class situation straightened “That’s where I go to get away,” she says. out, baby-sat Drew, talked to teammates I’m not going to lie. There has been some and friends, including ex-teammates and hard days. But I love college basketball, WNBA players Stephanie White-McCarty love college and am trying to get the most and Ukari Figgs. “I can’t even imagine out of senior year.” what Katie’s gone through,” says White- McCarty, now with the Indiana Fever and For games she wears a self-designed sweat- a frequent quest at the Douglas home. band on her right elbow that contains her “Katie’s someone who’s internal. You’re parents’ initials and the number 23, worn not going to see a lot of emotion. You know by ex-teammate Tiffany Young, who died in a 1999 car accident. “I tough it a lot,” she says. “It makes me feel better.” Her sense of humor, evident in her diaries for espn.com, remains intact. About her family nickname of Money Pit, she says: “I have a problem. I like to spend money, and I don’t have any.” She might be drawing a WNBA salary Sports Stories Packet #1 Questions & Puzzles ©2001 Advantage Press, Inc. soon. “In the right situation, she could have or jumping ability. “She goes left; she a long career in our league as a utility doesn’t go right,” says Penn State coach player,” says Melissa McFerrin, general Rene Portland, who coached Douglas on manager of the Washington Mystics. the ‘99 World University Games team. “But she goes left better than anyone in the coun- Douglas can post big numbers; she led the try in that long, slow, lanky way. It’s been Big Ten in scoring last season at 21.1 points four years of saying, ‘If you stop her, you a game. She’s averaging seven less points stop them.’ this year, about what she scored as a sopho- more on Purdue’s NCAA title team. “She was great to coach. She motivates people. Katie grabs you and says, ‘Cut the “I’m not looking to score as much (this crap. We’ve got to win this game.’ The very season),” she says. “I’m just trying to do next play, she leads the charge. That’s why the little things to make us successful. she’s so easy to follow.” She soldiers on. When the team needs a big basket, I still Says current coach Curry, who gave birth want to be the one to hit it.” to a daughter recently: “We’re blessed to have Katie. If my little girl can grow up to The lefty can take over games with a style be like Katie and I can be the mother based more on guile than speed, quickness Katie’s mom was, we’ll all be all right.” Sports Stories Packet #1 Questions & Puzzles ©2001 Advantage Press, Inc. Sports Questions 1 name______________ Use the space provided to write answers to each of the questions. Make certain your answers are in complete sentences. 1. What has Katie Douglas’ game attire consisted of as a basketball player? 2. What types of injuries has Katie Douglas had during her career? 3. List the playing statistics for Katie Douglas during college. 4. What family disasters has Katie had during college? 5. What was the promise that Katie’s mother got from Katie on her death bed? 6. What does Katie wear when she plays that makes her feel better? Sports Stories Packet #1 Questions & Puzzles ©2001 Advantage Press, Inc. Sports Crossword 1 name_____________ Use the clues provided to complete the crossword puzzle below. 1 2 3 Across: 4 5 2. “If you stop her, you stop ______.” 6 4. The family draws strength 7 8 from them 7.