Former Pro basketball player and Olympic Gold medalist speaks at Jets Booster Club Recognition/Awards Banquet
SGTC Lady Jets head coach James Frey is shown above with the Lady Jets 2015 – 2016 MVP.
Travis Garrett, head coach of the Jets is shown above with Rico Simmons, MVP for 2015 – 2016 Jets.
“If you love something, give it your all. Don’t make excuses. An excuse is a reason to be weak. Be strong. Work hard and move on.” That was the message that Wichita State assistant women’s basketball coach Bridgette Gordon shared with the South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets at its basketball recognition and awards banquet in the John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center recently. She received a standing ovation at the close of her talk.
Coach Gordon gave an overview of her life that has resulted in tremendous accomplishments. Her dream began when she was a 5’10” fifth grader who was teased for being an Amazon. “God had a plan for me. I was predestined. My goal in the fifth grade was to play in the Olympics. At that time there was not a professional women’s basketball league, the Olympics were as high as you could go. Playing in the Olympics was my goal, no matter what it took, I was willing to work hard to accomplish that goal,” said Gordon.
Gordon accomplished that and much more. She distinguished herself as an outstanding basketball player at the University of Tennessee where she played for the legendary Pat Summitt. She led the University of Tennessee to their first national championship, was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1989 and was voted to the Final Four All-Tournament team in 1987 and 1989. She was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer all four years and earned SEC Player of the Year honors in 1989. She did go on to win the gold medal in 1988 with the USA Olympic women’s basketball team in Seoul, Korea.
After college, she played professional basketball in Italy, winning the Italian League Championship for six years straight and was an All-star player each year. She also played with the Sacramento Monarchs in the women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) inaugural season, appeared on the cover of the Wheaties box, worked as a television broadcaster, WNBA scout, and as an assistant basketball coach at the collegiate level. She was inducted into the Tennessee lady Volunteers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
“Be careful that you don’t just look at the end of this story,” said Gordon. “You need to go back to the beginning. My story is a long one and full of sacrifice. I was told what I could not do, but God had a plan for me and I was willing to work hard and play any sport to be competitive.”
Gordon was born in 1967 in DeLand, Florida, to a single mother. She was one of eight children, six girls and two boys. She led DeLand High School to their first state championship in 1984 and was an All-State performer and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder for three seasons. She failed to qualify to play her senior season and almost derailed her future for what she described as “letting fame get into my head. I stopped doing my work and wasn’t eligible to play my senior season. MVP as a junior averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds a game and not eligible to play. That was the most embarrassing moment of my life. I was just another dumb jock because I didn’t do my work. I was a straight A student and first or second in my class but I couldn’t play because I didn’t do my work.”
That was a defining moment for Gordon who came back and used the “little orange basketball” to accomplish her dreams of getting an education and playing in the Olympics. “The University of Tennessee was the only college that was not recruiting me. I had verbally committed to play at Florida, but then Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt changed my mind. That was the best decision I ever made. I decided that I was going to do whatever it took to make my team a national champion. I had to be willing to sacrifice. I had to do whatever it took. I trusted my coach. She set me off to become someone. She saw an 80-inch screen when I only had a 13-inch screen view.”
Today, Gordon is still a competitor. “I hate losing more than I love winning,” said Gordon. “I have been very privileged and it is all because of an orange basketball. Coach Pat Summitt took a chance on me and I am where I am today because of that. I cannot thank her enough for that.”
Gordon, who feels very fortunate to be an Olympic Gold Medal winner, also said that she is very proud to be an American. “We are so blessed,” said Gordon. “Playing in the Olympics and hearing the anthem and seeing the flag raised while they placed that medal around my neck is one moment in time, I will not forget. But having the opportunity to travel the world with basketball also made me realize how fortunate we are to live in America and be an American.
“Basketball has given me so much that is why I want to give back. That’s why I coach. Tomorrow is not promised. Thank the people who have helped you become you. Pat Summitt never told me I had arrived. She didn’t want me to become complacent. Basketball is what I do and what I did, but most of all I am a woman of God. Without God, I would not be where I am. You are who you are. Work hard, and move on. Don’t point fingers. Work hard for your dreams.”
Former 2014-2015 South Georgia Tech women’s basketball standout and NJCAA All-American Honorable mention TaQuandra Mike is a member of the Wichita State Lady Shockers and had the privilege to play for Coach Gordon. Mike is expected to be a leader on that team as a senior next season.
Following the talk by Coach Gordon, South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey thanked the Booster Club, the players, their parents, the supporters, and the South Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and administrators for their support. “Every little thing that someone does for this program, we count as a big thing. It takes all of us working together to make this work. When we recruit players, we want three things. We want them to graduate, to be a good community member and we want them to perform on the floor as Jets and Lady Jets. We don’t take just anyone. We want people of character that will not embarrass our college, our faculty or our administration,” said Frey.
Coach Frey also thanked Lady Jets assistant coach Kenzia Conyers, Jets head coach Travis Garrett, Jets assistant coach Chris Ballauer, and his athletic assistant Terrie Battle for their support and hard work this season.
First year Jets head coach Travis Garrett and his team finished the season at 15 – 16 overall. They lost those 16 games by an average of 6.5 points and led in every game this year. “We were close in all those games and we are committing to work hard to improve on that season next year.”
Garrett presented freshman Rico Simmons from Wilkinson County with his MVP award for the Jets for the 2015-2016 season. Simmons and freshman Pat Welch will be representing the freshman in an All-Star game on April 9th at Central Georgia Tech. Sophomores Demario Beck and Clarence Smith will also participate in the sophomore All-Star game at Central Georgia Tech on April 9th.
Lady Jets head coach Frey then presented sophomore Brittney Delva with the MVP award for the Lady Jets who finished the season 27 – 6 and 14 – 2 in the conference. “She lays it all out of the floor every night. She has been a better extension of me on the court for the past two years. We could have won 20 games without any one player this season, except for Brittney and that’s why she is our MVP.”
Frey went on to add, “We were one basket short of realizing our goals for this season. For several days, those 27 wins didn’t seem to matter but that is an amazing accomplishment and these girls have a lot to be proud of. They displayed hard work, determination and dedication. If you don’t have those things you don’t get to be a Division I player. We have Division I and even professional player potential here tonight, but you get there by working as Coach Gordon just said. Do what it takes to get there. You have been given a gift, don’t waste it.”