The program said Jamie Shine was six feet tall. She's actually 5-11.
The program also said she played center for St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA, and that meant she was guarding people like Denise Woods (a 6-3 center who transferred from USF to USC) and Christine Rigby (a 6-6 center on the Canadian National Team who transferred from Santa Clara to UConn).
`It's fun because it's a challenge,' says Shine, who helped the Gaels to a 20-9 overall record, and an upset win over Rigby and West Coast Conference champion Santa Clara. `The big centers think they have you beat because they're bigger, but you think you have them beat because you can do some things they can't.'
But that doesn't mean it's easy, or that coach Kelly Graves didn't have to make any adjustments with a center smaller than some point guards.
`You almost have to play it differently each time down the court,' he says. `The more you can mix things up, the better.'
Shine agrees. `Switching it up helps. You come from the top three times and they think "This is how they're going to do it." And then you play in back.'
And from that position, Shine can do her favorite thing: forcing a charge. `Drawing the offensive foul is the best,' she says. `They turn and do a drop step -- and then I'd flop.'
Flop? Did a post player actually admit to flopping? Well, since Shine used up her eligibility, she can tell the truth. `Acting always helps,' she says. `You say something to the ref, and know that he's watching -- so you use the grunting and the flopping. Hey, if it works ...'
More traditionally, a small post player also needs lots of help. `We double down,' says Graves, `and a lot of times we double from the other post.'
Still, most of the time Shine had to go it alone, and over the years, she discovered what she needed to do. `I had to work on my all-around game, so I could do different things,' she says. `I draw the big centers out on offense, and then go by them.
`On defense, I use a lot of movement, trying to guess what they're going to do based on their individual strengths. And I take advantage of my strengths -- a lot of the times I'm quicker.'
Graves helped out with the strategy. `The first thing is to get position. It's not as much a question of size, as position. Most players like to post up on the box, but if you can force them lower, or a little bit out, it makes it harder. The closer they are to the baseline, the harder it is for them to get rebounds.'
And that's another thing Shine had to concentrate on: keeping the bigger players off the boards. `The smallest person on the court can box out the biggest person,' she says, but lower body strength is essential. `It starts with a wide base,' she explains, and using her lower center of gravity to her advantage.
Shine also feels being small can work to her advantage. `They get into a routine, playing other big centers, and they have to adjust to me,' she says. `That team as a whole has to make an adjustment.'
Still, being bigger is seldom a drawback on the basketball court, and Shine lost her share of battles in the paint. Of course, she won quite a few as well, or St. Mary's wouldn't have won 20 games, and she enjoyed the competition. And the smaller player always has an excuse -- `Hey, coach, she's a lot bigger than me, what do you expect?' -- while the bigger player can only look bad if the smaller one scores or gets a rebound.
`I like being the underdog,' says Shine, and it's a good thing. As a 5-11 Division I center, she got plenty of practice in that role.
9/14/98
