by R.J. Marse
LSU Sports Information
Khalilah Mitchell and Marian Whitfield have a lot in common.
They enrolled at LSU in the fall of 2003 and suffered season-ending leg injuries within the first four games of the season.
Both have played under four coaches in their careers at LSU.
They have identical career-high scoring totals of eight points.
But coaching changes, injuries and scoring a career-high 10 points don’t get you into the NCAA record book.
From 1967-76, UCLA men’s basketball made 10 consecutive Final Four appearances with great players like Lew Alcindor, Sidney Wicks and Bill Walton. In that span, the team won eight NCAA titles, including seven in a row. Alcindor and Walton have five Final Four Most Outstanding player awards between them.
But neither of them did what Khalilah Mitchell and Marian Whitfield have done.
The University of Cincinnati made five consecutive Final Four appearances from 1959-63, led there for the first two years by Oscar Robertson. Robertson would leave Cincinnati as the reigning collegiate player of the year and all-time leading scorer while averaging over 33 points per game during his career.
But he never did what Khalilah Mitchell and Marian Whitfield have done.
From 1988-92, Duke University also made five consecutive Final Four appearances. Marked by two national titles in ’91 and ’92, the Blue Devils were led by terrific players like Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, both of whom were named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
Mitchell and Whitfield have them beat, too.
The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team was the first women’s team in history to appear in five consecutive Final Fours. Led by two-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Diana Taurasi, the Huskies won three consecutive NCAA titles and a Division I-record 70 consecutive games from 2002-03. Taurasi attended the Final Four each of her four years at Connecticut.
That used to be a Division I record.
LSU women’s basketball is making their fifth-consecutive Final Four appearance. Mitchell and Whitfield have been there for all five. They are the first athletes in Division I basketball history ? men or women ? to attend five Final Fours.
“We’re the only two?” asks Whitfield.
“That’s pretty good. We made a joke about it on the bus home from New Orleans that we didn’t even have to touch the floor to get into the record books.”
Playing time, or lack thereof, aside (Mitchell and Whitfield have played a combined seven minutes in Final Four games), they play a vital role in the success of the team both in practice and during a game.
“They’re our eyes from the bench during the game,” says senior point guard Erica White, a three-time Final Four veteran.
“Being here and having gone through as many games as they have, they see things on the floor that we may not see when we’re out there. Everyone on the team trusts them so much that when we come to the bench and they tell us something we know that we need to go out there and do it.”
Associate Head Coach Bob Starkey is the only member of the coaching staff to see all five years of Mitchell and Whitfield’s careers.
“Khalilah has a wonderful attitude. She’s probably the most popular teammate on the team,” says Starkey.
“My fondest memory of her as a player is last year when we were playing Connecticut to go to the final four,” says Starkey.
“Erica White got into foul trouble in the second half and Khalilah came in and gave us eight great minutes and extended the lead.”
When asked about Whitfield, Starkey was quick to respond with what he thinks her greatest contribution has been. It
“She’s an excellent shooter ? one of the best on the team. Anytime we practice, she’s going to be the other team’s best scorer. She’s a wonderful teammate too.”
For Starkey, the impact of the two fifth-year seniors is undeniable.
“Those two kids, even if they don’t get on the floor and play, they have helped us win the basketball game with their practice habits and their attitude,” he says.
New Orleans, Indianapolis, Boston, Cleveland and Tampa ? Mitchell and Whitfield have traveled around the country to finish their season every year of their careers. They’re regulars now. Their teammates, with a combined total of 37 Final Four appearances, are regulars too. They know what to expect. Four years ago, they didn’t.
“Oh the first one definitely sticks out,” says Mitchell.
“We weren’t familiar with it at all. We didn’t know what was going on. All we knew was we got money, we had a bag full of five pairs of shoes, we had like three jumpsuits and two watches. It was tight.”
“And the game was really good too,” says Whitfield.
The game, a 52-50 loss to SEC rival Tennessee, ended on a turnover by former LSU point guard Temeka Johnson that led to a game-winning layup for the Lady Vols with almost no time remaining. It was the only Final Four game the Lady Tigers came within 10 points of winning during their streak.
Needless to say, they’re ready to win one.
“We need to get a national championship in order to get the respect from having gone to those Final Fours,” says White.
In five years, Mitchell and Whitfield have seen a lot of changes in the program. They were recruited to go to LSU by the late Sue Gunter and now are heading to their fifth Final Four under their fourth coach, Van Chancellor.
“With the coaching change, it’s a lot different this time around,” says Whitfield.
“He’s more verbal about enjoying the game,” says Mitchell.
“He always tells us to enjoy the moment and that we’ll never get another opportunity like this or we’ll never get another chance like this so we have to enjoy it and make the best of it.”
“With Coach Chancellor, we’ve definitely become more offensive-minded. The defensive side of the game has always been there for us, but now we feel confident in our offense too,” says Whitfield.
To say Coach Chancellor enjoys life is not a small understatement. As the Lady Tigers made the hour-long trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans to compete in the sweet sixteen this year, Chancellor asked the driver to stop along the way in Gonzales, La. He was hungry and wanted to eat at one of his favorite restaurants ? Cracker Barrel.
“That’s just the stuff that he does. That’s coach,” says Mitchell.
For Mitchell and Whitfield, being a collegiate athlete has been more about what they’ve done off the court than on it.
“I’m pretty sure that when we signed our letters of intent that’s not what we wanted, but that’s what has happened and we’ve benefitted,” says Mitchell.
“Sometimes practice can get tough, but Khalilah is a free spirit and can keep the atmosphere really light and we count on her for that. She can keep the practice in a good place and in a good mood,” says White.
“Marian recruited me pretty heavy on my recruiting trip,” says White.
“She was my host and we just hung out and had a good time. If you look at our backgrounds, we’re really similar, her and I. We just get along really well because we have so much in common.”
“It’s not just that we’re been to the Final Four all five years and didn’t play. There’s so much more to being a player in this program,” says Mitchell.
“It’s been a lot of work off the court. A lot of it hasn’t been how we thought it would be. It builds you as a person and your character improves.”
Before they arrived at LSU in 2003, the program had never been to a Final Four. After five in a row, Mitchell and Whitfield will walk away having established LSU as one of the top programs in the nation. The Lady Tigers join UCLA, Cincinnati and Duke on the men’s side and UCONN on the women’s side as the only programs ever to go to five straight Final Fours.
“It means an awful lot here. Those are four schools that have great basketball traditions,” says Starkey.
“It took us a while to get there. We’re still trying to grow our sport and it’s catching on. You can see it in the crowds. We’re able to recruit nationally now. I think to be able to join them says something about the growth of our program and to me that’s really important.”
“Once we got here, I don’t know if we were blessed or if we just walked with favor, but that’s when it started happening,” jokes Mitchell.
“I think that’s a major accomplishment. I know when UConn did it, it was pretty recent,” says White.
“I think it’s a major accomplishment for our program, but in order for us to make a mark we need to get a national championship.”
In order to do that, LSU must first win the first Final Four game in school history. Neither the men nor the women have ever won, and the men even went 0-2 in 1981, losing to Virginia in the last consolation game.
“We just need to put all the pieces together like we have a few times this season. We have all the pieces we need; we just need to get them working,” says Whitfield.