Rutgers basketball coach talks Olympics, NCAA

Although the turnout was small, the message Rutgers University Women’s Basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer presented to the audience was big.

Stringer, who has brought three different programs to the coveted Final Four of the NCAA tournament, talked at the Penn Bookstore Monday about her memoir Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph, her time as a coach and the life lessons she has taken from her experiences.

“Appreciate what you have now — everyone has a story to tell and you need to respect that,” Stringer said.

Stringer spoke about the different players she has coached over the years and her time with the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball team in Greece. She also recalled stories about Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, who played for the Men’s 2004 Olympic team.

At Rutgers, coach Stringer looks to recruit young women who will “see beyond who they are” and who “over achieve and play beyond their skill.”

However, Stringer hasn’t always been a coach. A Pennsylvania native, Stringer had a humble beginning in a coal-mining town. In school, Stringer excelled in the classroom and worked just as hard on the field.

“I used to play with the guys Monday through Thursday, but on Fridays, they were the ones with the uniform on,” Stringer said. She told a story about her high-school years when she decided to become a cheerleader in order to get closer to the field or court where she usually practiced.

“As an athlete, as an artist, as a student, whatever it is, it’s great to see someone who has never let the situation get them down,” College freshman Janelle McDermoth said.

Stringer believes the game and college recruiting are about much more than “the glitz and glamour,” and she tells her players to “expect nothing and work for everything.”

Her 2007 team did just that as they came back from a 2-4 start to win the school’s first ever Big East championship and made an appearance in the NCAA championship game against Tennessee. This was also the year of the Don Imus incident, when the MSNBC radio host called the women of the team “nappy-headed hos.” The 2007 team did not want their accomplishments to be marred by one man’s comment.

“It’s always frustrating because it’s the moment where you realize that as much as we have progressed we haven’t gotten exactly where we want to be,” McDermoth said.

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