The first time Shaquille O’Neal met Sylvia Fowles he had only three words for her.
“Damn you fine.”
Fowles was given the nickname Baby Shaq when she entered her freshman year at LSU. Months later O’Neal came to speak to the student athletes, calling Fowles out in front of the packed audience in the Cox Communication Building.
“I was a little shocked from everybody else in there, but if he probably would have caught me by myself, I probably wouldn’t have been as shamed,” Fowles said. “He caught me whenever I was on my down side – all those people just made it worse.”
Timid behavior is how Fowles is seen by her teammates, but on the court the 6-foot-6-inch center lets her actions do the communicating.
“She is a more laid back person,” said senior forward Seimone Augustus. “She is more at ease. She has a dominant presence in the paint on offense and defense. She presents a problem offensively for a lot of people because it is a tough match up for a 6-foot-6-inch post player compared to a 6-foot-3-inch post player. On defense, she is the intimidator. She intimidates a lot of people and gets them off the paint.”
Augustus spent the majority of the summer with Fowles on the USA Basketball team. During that time, Fowles bonded with Augustus, the National Player of the Year.
“We had a month and a half to get to know each other, and that’s what we did,” Augustus said. “As for basketball, I think understanding each other was always there. We played off of each other the whole summer. She did an excellent job at being more aggressive and understanding her role on the team.”
Coach Pokey Chatman said she saw it as a perfect opportunity for both players to play on the summer team since she believes Augustus and Fowles to be vital to the Lady Tigers’ success.
“I think it was pertinent because those two kids are our bookends to our season,” Chatman said. “[It was] the emergence of Sylvia Fowles against some of the best in the world.”
Fowles is coming into her sophomore season after playing the sixth woman in all games last season. Out of 36 games, she never started a game. Chatman said she saw Fowles progress throughout her freshman year into an experienced player with high expectations for the upcoming season.
“In my opinion, Sylvia became a sophomore in December, a junior in March, and we want to expect her to play like a senior because she’s capable of that,” Chatman said. “We won’t expect any less out of her.”
After a productive freshman year and a successful summer, Fowles said she still sees areas that need work.
“[I need to improve] my verbal skills toward my teammates. I need to work on being a leader,” Fowles said. “My work ethic [needs improvement] – period. I just need to go out there and be ready to work up and down the court and help my teammates out as much as possible.”
Fowles has not had any more run-ins with the original Shaq, but the nickname Baby Shaq has stuck with her. After the embarrassing incident, she wanted to disappear. Now, she wishes in a way the nickname would too.
“I like the name, but I would rather not go by Baby Shaq,” Fowles said. “I want to make a name for myself. I don’t want to be known by other people’s things. It’s not a bad thing. It’s an honor to be named Baby Shaq after him…I think.”
 
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]