Dion
continued from page 7 A
More than a week after her last
collision with the floor, one doc
tor had OK’d her to practice all
out and another hadn’t, so all she
got were those two drills.
Jenny Mowe, herself having
been shelved for almost an entire
season because of injury, sat on
top of the trainers’ table, trying to
lift her teammate’s spirits.
“Hey, Linds, look under the
cap. Didja win anything?”
Dion looked down at the little
orange Gatorade cap and glumly
read aloud: “Winner.”
“Oh! Wow! You won! That’s
great Linds! Right?”
Dion just frowned harder.
There are players, people, who
are put-the-ball-in-my-hands, I’m
gonna-will-us-to-victory type of
leaders.
And there are leaders of the
more outspoken, say-what-needs
to-be-said variety.
And then there are individuals
who defy stereotype.
People who bring it differently,
on a kind of Taoist tip. Lao Tzu
once put it down like this: “A
leader is best when people barely
know she exists ... a good leader,
who talks little, when her work is
done, her aim fulfilled, people
will say: ‘We did this ourselves.’”
The concussions are only the
half of what Dion has gone
through this season.
She also tore the meniscus in
her left knee less than a month in
but has played on it since. Her
knee isn’t going to stop hurting un
til she either has surgery or just
stays off of it until it’s better.
Basketball season doesn’t exact
ly allow time for either of those
things, so the injury continues to
taint Dion’s junior season, similar
to how a torn anterior cruciate lig
ament ruined her junior season in
high school.
The injuries are a residual, real
ly, of the way the 5-10 small for
ward from Fresno, Calif., plays.
Reckless. All-out. Every day.
“That’s what my teammates ex
pect,” said Dion, whose grandfa
ther, former Fresno State head
football coach Jim Sweeney, was
the 16th major college coach to
win 200 games.
“That’s what I’m supposed to be
doing. I don’t know any different
than to try to make something hap
pen. It’s my mentality, the way I
was raised, growing up watching
how IBulldog football players]
played; that’s all I know. ”
So even on one leg, and despite
the bouts with loopiness, Dion has
been one of the most integral com
ponents of an Oregon team (22-7
overall, 13-4 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) that is a win away from
heading back to the NCAA Tour
nament as conference champs.
When she’s in the the starting
lineup, the Ducks are 18-4. When
she’s not, they’re 4-3.
“We’re a very different basket
ball team without her,” head
coach Jody Runge said. “Her ab
sence forced other players on this
team to step up, and that’s been
great for them. But getting Lindsey
healthy will be the difference in
the opportunity we have to make a
statement nationally.”
So Dion is resting — as much as
possible. A couple drills Tuesday.
A couple more Wednesday. A
whole half of practice today. And
then, Friday, it’s game time. Ore
gon State. Sell-out crowd. Pac-10
title on the line.
And Dion, bum knee or not, is
gor na bring it.
“She’s a warrior,” Runge said.
“One of the toughest human be
ings I have ever been around,” as
Emerald
Lindsey Dion continues to rise over every obstacle this season has presented.
sistant coach Fred Litzenberger
concurred.
“The most stubborn, hard-head
ed person I’ve ever met,” fellow
junior Brianne Meharry said.
It’s all related, right?
Last Saturday, with the Pac-10
title at stake, the Ducks rallied
from a 22-point second-half deficit
in Tuscon, against No. 20 Arizona.
“We weren’t nervous,” Dion
said. “It was like, ‘We just need to
fix this.’ It was frustrating for a bit,
but then it was just so exciting.”
A true team effort, of course. No
comeback of that magnitude
wouldn’t be, not at this level.
But the run did have its stars.
Shaquala Williams, not unexpect
edly, came through with 16 points
and several key steals in those 10
1/2 minutes. More surprisingly,
freshman Courtney Moore subbed
in for Dion and contributed 11 in
the run—but only after Dion kick
started matters with a couple as
sists, including a length-of-the
court pass to Jamie Craighead.
Two days before that, Diop
helped Oregon get past Arizona
State with a career-high five steals
to go with 14 points dn seven-pf
seven shooting.' • " & .
Not bad considering the woman
has a tom meniscus.
Before every home game this
season, Dion has taken it at the
other team.
Not physically, but literally.
Poetically. Though it’s not “po
etry, poetry.”
“I take the word ‘Stanford,’”
Dion reluctantly explained, “and
I write it on the dry erase board. I
write something about Stanford
for every letter, that, in a sense,
fires us Up. And yeah, sometimes
it’s funny or mean. But it’s just me
being goofy. My teammates really,
really like it, so I’m gonna keep do
ing it.”
“She’s definitely a silent
leader,” Meharry said. “She’s not
very vocal but she’s always gonna
do the little things.”
“In my 31 years of coaching, she
is the best example of a leader who
lives by example, on the court and
off,” Litzenberger said.
“The consummate do-the-right
thing-all-the-time kind of leader,”
Runge said.
“I’m not vocal,” Dion said. “I’m
just out there playing hard, mak
ing sure I keep everyone in the
game, making sure no one is drag
ging. Basically, my role is just
making those hustle plays — and
you’re always going to get a high
five from me, whether you do a
good or bad job.”
After practice this Tuesday,
Dion reclined, attached to an elec
tric stem machine in the trainer’s
room below Mac Court. She talked
about* once again, only getting in
on a Gopple of drills at that day’s
practice. But she was hi a better
mood than before, chatting about
wanting teammates to rely on her
during the next few weeks.
“They haven’t been able to de
pend on me like I want them to;
that’s been hard.’’ . , ,
And she grinned.
“I think Ttn learning a lesson in
patience,” she said'. “1 have to take
it easy if I want to play. ”
As much as anything, that’s
something that would please her
teammates.
University of Oregon
Athletic Department
Teamwork Internship Positions Available
Become a member of the Oregon Athletic Department
008716
Gain valuable experience in:
• Recruiting process of student athletes
• Marketing and promotions
• Fund raising
• Sports information
• Receive class credit
There will be an informational meeting on Thursday, March 9th in the
Football Theater, located on the 2nd floor of the Casanova Center (next
to itutzen Stadium). Meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
Pick tip your application in the Football Office, 2nd floor of the
Casanova Center. Interviews will be held on March 13, 14 and 15. You
may sign up for your interview time when you pick up your application.
Application deadline is March 10th.
Community.
Law.
Power.
New and Critical Approaches to law and Economics
MafWi 10-11,2000
Friday, March 10th
7:00 I’.M.
Order of the Coif Lecture
Robert D. Cooter
University of California, Berkeley.
Saturday, March 11"'
8:00 A.M. - 4:00 1>.M.
Conference
Students Free
More Information: Judy Sprauer 346-3994
http://www. la w. uoregon ,edu/%7elec/leconf/
School of Law
University of Oregon
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