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Nickolas Ashford and Valerie
Simpson co-wrote a tune made famous by Diana Ross. It
was called "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
The gist of the song was that no
obstacle was great enough to keep the subject of the
song from attaining a specific goal, which was, in the
song, the affection of some individual.
Change "affection" to "coaching
basketball" in my previous premise and I begin to think
about Ashley McElhiney.
The former Gleason and
Vanderbilt basketball phenom set a precedent last week
when she became the first female coach of a men's
professional basketball team. Nashville singer/musician
Sally Anthony owns the Nashville Rhythm and made the
ground breaking selection.
It was funny. A week ago, I
noticed McElhiney's ascent to a head coaching position
chronicled in a number of national publications, e.g.,
the Chicago Sun Times, the Las Vegas Sun, the San
Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer and even
Xinhua, an official Chinese state news agency.
Yes, Chinese, as in People's
Republic of.
I can remember this giggly
fourth grader with a beaming smile and bright eyes
watching her older sister, all-state Gleason standout
Kellie, sign with Tennessee-Martin.
I asked Ashley that day if she
was next to sign.
Even as a 10-year-old kid, she
gave a confident shrug of the shoulders, as if she was
prescient and wise beyond her years.
Eight years later, we gathered
in the Gleason High School library where she cast her
lot, shedding joyful tears, with Vanderbilt.
You just knew that this kid was
going to make her mark, despite the naysayers.
She had a lot of obstacles to
climb. It's difficult living up to the legacy of an
older sister, whom Gleason coach Randy Frazier said, at
the time, was the best girl's basketball player he'd
ever seen. One must remember that Frazier went to school
with the late Lisa Caudle-Hutchens, who was an
All-American at Union. Frazier often drew comparisons
between the two.
But Ashley developed as her own
player and silenced critics. A lot of mid-state media
were skeptical of her ability. I had one such
malinformed (I'm making up a word here, I think) member
of press row tell me that Ashley couldn't play in the
Southeastern Conference. This was a veteran reporter,
too.
When Bradford was ruling the
roost in Class A girls' basketball, Gleason rose to the
top and topped a hot-shooting Upperman team to win the
1999 Class A crown. This kid, who couldn't play in the
SEC, wound up being the Class A state tournament MVP in
addition to winning Miss Basketball.
Some people run from challenges;
McElhiney embraces them.
She was inked by Vanderbilt and
starred for the Black and Gold, earning All-SEC honors -
you know, that league she couldn't play in - and set six
VU women's basketball marks. Add to that her gold medal
that she won representing Team U.S.A. in the World
University Games in 2001. Oh, by the way, Vandy won the
SEC title - that league Ashley couldn't play in.
This could who probably wouldn't
see the floor in Division 1 eventually was named
All-American and was one of the best five players ever
to lace them up at Vanderbilt over the last 25 years.
This kid, listed as 5-6 in the
Vandy media guide (if she's 5-6, then I'm 5-9), came
from Gleason and was drafted by the WNBA. But some
dishonesty within the league precluded her from joining
the Indiana Fever. I'm still bitter about that. Ashley
probably dismissed her WNBA ordeal as a mere bump in the
road.
After a year in the food biz and
fielding inquests from curious colleges regarding her
coaching availability, McElhiney got the call to coach
the Nashville Rhythm of the resurgent ABA.
Some might say this was more
publicity stunt than a legitimate hiring. Those people
don't know McElhiney at all. For this spunky kid from
Gleason, there ain't no mountain high enough. And don't
be surprised if Nashville's ABA team is a resounding
success. |
