The scene had to be perfect – it couldn’t be forced. Midway through the first half of the Nov. 21 game against UL-Lafayette, LSU senior center Sylvia Fowles rushed to the top of the 3-point arc to trap the diminutive guard handling the basketball. “First it started with good defense,” she said. First impressions can be intimidating for anyone. Fowles, often considered the best center in women’s college basketball, stands 6 feet 6 inches. During practices and games, Fowles always sports a white, cotton headband with a traditional Nike check. Her thin, black hair is pulled tightly behind her head. Her accolades are equally daunting. “All-American” is practically part of her name. Trophies are second nature. Television appearances, cameras, flash bulbs and interviews are a part of life. But it hasn’t always been a glamorous ride for the 22-year-old. Fowles lived a less-than-desirable childhood in Miami and had more trying experiences during her career with the Lady Tigers. But the tough times have molded her into one of the most humble, yet dominant, forces in the game as her chase for that elusive national championship title continues this weekend in New Orleans. The game plan called for Fowles to occasionally sprint from underneath the goal and frustrate UL-Lafayette’s guards using her imposing physical frame. “I remember coach saying we’re trapping every ball screen,” she said. Fowles poked the ball free from UL-Lafayette guard Bronson Rodgers as the All-American center slid in her path. Fowles peered toward the goal at the opposite end of the court. There was nothing but open space in front of her. “I was like, ‘I can’t miss this one,'” she said. Fowles’ roommate, LSU guard Quianna Chaney, describes “Big Syl” as a “gentle giant.” “Responsible. Sweet. Loving. Kind,” come to Chaney’s mind when describing her towering friend. While growing up though, Fowles had a mischievous side to her, always looking to make a joke and lighten the mood. At least that’s how it worked when she was in third grade. “We were called in from recess, and we had a substitute teacher,” Fowles said. “And I saw she had a lizard in her hair. So I snuck up behind her and knocked it off her head, and her wig flew off … Everyone was laughing. I think that teacher wanted to kill me.” Beside her role as a comic, Fowles has the “keep it clean” pet peeve. “She even folds up her dirty clothes. I never met anyone as neat as her,” said her roommate Mesha Williams, fellow LSU center.
The players on the bench – almost in sync – shot up from their seats to catch a glimpse. They saw what was coming as Fowles sprinted toward the goal. “I was like, ‘Is she gonna do it? Is she gonna do it?'” Williams said. Getting into a little playground trouble as a child is part of life. But for Fowles, it catapulted her basketball career. In middle school, Fowles stood 5 feet 11 inches tall. By eighth grade, 6 feet 1 inch tall. Her dominating figure sparked a playground scuffle with the star player on the girls’ basketball team one day. “The [basketball] coach was the assistant principal at the time, and he was looking for me for like a week,” she said. She was slapped with a three-day suspension for the not-so-cordial encounter. “My mom said, ‘You need to start playing basketball,'” Fowles said. “I went back to school the following week and told the coach, ‘I think I’m going to play basketball.'” The game wasn’t foreign to Fowles, who spent time on the courts near her home playing with her brothers. Fowles started to make a splash when she began playing at Edison High School in Miami. The coach, Denise Novak, was particularly tough on her because of her raw talent. “She was a very humble individual,” Novak said. “Not really a rocket scientist in the classroom but just worked hard overall, especially on the court.” It didn’t take long for Fowles to bust onto the scene, becoming the first high school player in the nation to dunk in a high school game during her freshman season. She did it twice in a state playoff game. “I used to have to end practice with three dunks a day,” she said. “A lot changed after that [first dunk], especially dealing with the media. I was never exposed to that, and it was kind of unrealistic.” There wasn’t much time left. Fowles had to make a quick decision. Everything was set up in her favor – a fast-break opportunity with a helpless defender, standing just 5 feet 5 inches tall, trailing in her dust. “I got a breakaway,” she said. “When I took three dribbles, I looked back and saw her coming.” The thought of being undercut flashed in her mind. “I was like, ‘Well if she undercuts me, then she’s just gonna have to undercut me,'” she said. “But it’s not fun landing on my neck.” Playing women’s college basketball for a top-tier program presented an entirely new set of hurdles. During her freshman season, LSU made its first Final Four appearance in school history and earned a semifinal game against Baylor. The Lady Tigers gained a 24-9 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game. But the Lady Bears exploded with 40 second-half points and ran away with an 11-point win and an eventual national championship. “I remember getting my hopes up so high at halftime, like we were about to win,” Fowles said. “I can remember my head – like I was getting a sick feeling like was this actually happening.” Disappointment in April became heartache in August. Longtime coach Sue Gunter lost her battle with emphysema, dying in her Baton Rouge home. Fowles and her teammates mourned Gunter’s death and moved forward in honor of their former coach. Then Fowles faced another setback her sophomore season in the team’s second-straight Final Four berth. This time, Duke smothered LSU and Fowles holding her to eight points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field. The memory seemed eerily similar to her. There are two days in 2007 that Fowles will never forget. Former LSU coach Pokey Chatman gathered the Lady Tigers in a circle after practice March 7 and said she was leaving the team after the NCAA tournament. One day later, Chatman gathered her team and broke more news – she was leaving immediately amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with former players. “My stomach – I felt sick. I didn’t understand; I wanted someone to explain to me why. It was a hurtin’ feeling. It was like losing someone very close to you,” Fowles said. “There was just a lot of confusion. We really didn’t know what was going on.” “It was just a mess.” Two weeks later, Fowles had to stomach more disappointment. Reaching the Final Four for the third-straight year yielded yet another loss. Rutgers crushed LSU, 59-35. Fowles was held to five points and made only two shots out of 10 attempts. “I don’t think our teammates wanted to give up,” she said. “But we were tired.” The coast was clear. The scene was perfect. “Big Syl” was about to throw one down. She palmed the ball with her right hand, raising her right arm to the rim. Slam. It was over. The crowd of 3,549 rose to its feet. The public address announcer screamed “Sylllviiiaaa Fowwwleess.” In a matter of seconds, Fowles became the first Lady Tiger and sixth player in women’s college basketball history to dunk. “My mom was happy I got it out the way,” she said. The dunk relieved her teammates, too. “She kept telling me, ‘It’s my last year – I’m gonna get one; I’m gonna get one,'” Chaney said. “It was a lot of pressure off her shoulders. It was the kind of pressure where she had to dunk because [Tennessee forward] Candace Parker dunked.” And as her senior season winds down, Fowles is bearing the weight of three Final Four losses. Critics single her out, saying she can’t be considered one of the best in history without a national title. But Fowles said she’s taken more from her college career than basketball. “One thing I’ll remember is our fans,” she said, gazing around the Pete Maravich Assembly Center one day after practice. “They’re very loyal.” Her career in the WNBA is promising, barring injury. Most sports pundits have her pegged as either the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. But the draft doesn’t occupy Fowles’ thoughts often. The more pressing matter is ending up in Tampa Bay, Fla. in April for her fourth Final Four. A national championship isn’t necessary, she said, but it would be the perfect ending. “Things that we have done haven’t been done before,” she said. “Either way, I’m still going to look at it as we succeeded.” The memories will always remain with the “gentle giant” – some more vivid than others, but none more clear than a typical, mid-week practice during her freshman season. “Coach Gunter was sick at the time, and they brought her to practice one day,” she said. “And we were doing a drill, and she was sitting on the side. I don’t even know what I did, and it kind of amazed her. She started smiling, and she said, ‘You’re gonna be a great player…'” “… It will stick with me for a long time.”
—-Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]