United States Olympic gold medalist. EuroLeague Center of the Year. WNBA All-Rookie. NCAA Final Four participant. Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. National Defensive Player of the Year. State Farm All-American.
It has been quite a year for Sylvia Fowles, a journey that has included stops in Baton Rouge, Beijing, Chicago, Moscow and Miami. This Friday, Fowles returns to the campus that shaped her career to add an accolade that stands above them all.
LSU graduate.
“This is at the top of the list. That’s the main thing we all strive for when we go to college.”
Fowles left LSU following the 2008 Final Four when she was drafted by the Chicago Sky as the second pick of the WBNA Draft. Two credits shy of graduation, she earned all-rookie honors her first season in Chicago, averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest.
Weeks later, she joined Team USA with former LSU teammate Seimone Augustus as the two began training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. August in Beijing resulted in a gold medal for her country, the crowning athletic achievement of an already brilliant career.
Fowles worked toward finishing her two credit hours while overseas in the Russian EuroLeague in Moscow. A typical day would include an early morning workout and practice followed by completing class work assignments as designated by the LSU Academic Center for Student-Athletes.
Her drive and determination on the court and off of it can be traced back to her mother’s guidance.
“My mom constantly stressed academics and she wasn’t really into sports,” she said. “I can remember a lot of times during my high school and college career where she didn’t care about the glamour and the fame of being an All-American and playing basketball. She wanted me to work hard.”
That hard work has allowed Fowles to become the first person in her family to graduate from college, fulfilling her mother’s lifelong dream.
“This is No. 1 at the top of my list because I am the youngest of my mother’s kids and I am the first to graduate,” she said. “It says a lot about how much my mother means to me and how she prepared me for this. I have a lot of nieces and nephews and they can look up to me and see if I can do it, they can too.”
Fowles continues an LSU basketball legacy that has seen the program graduate its most prominent WNBA stars. Seimone Augustus, Temeka Johnson, Marie Ferdinand, Quianna Chaney and Elaine Powell have all walked away from LSU with academic degrees.
Erica White of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and Kristen Morris will also participate in commencement ceremonies. All three of them will walk across a stage in the same building as their home floor of four seasons.
The Maravich Center was where Fowles produced an amazing 54-3 record during her career and just the sixth dunk in the history of NCAA women’s basketball.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” the 6-6 center said. “I am looking forward to walking across that stage in the PMAC because I know that my mom will be there. I am flying my youngest brother out to see me. It will be a very emotional moment.”
Fowles reports to WNBA training camp next week as she begins her second season with the Chicago Sky, but there is something to be said about an athlete the caliber of Fowles coming back to receive her degree.
It is a day and age where high-profile athletes advance to the glamour and fame of professional leagues only to forget about improving their education. Fowles is the exception. Arguably, the two most dominant centers in SEC history will now have earned their degrees from LSU.
Shaquille O’Neal did it in 2000. Fowles nine years later in 2009. Both are iconic figures in Baton Rouge as they dazzled a fan base en route to international stardom.
“It will be a proud moment for me to see Syl walk across the stage and receive her degree,” said LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey, who coached both Fowles and O’Neal. “In a time where superstar athletes sometime move on without completing their degree work, both Sylvia and Shaquille have sent a strong message to young people on the importance of an education.”
Fowles has not forgotten her roots either.
“Temeka (Johnson) and I were talking on the phone last night, joking about how Baton Rouge is our home,” she said. “It’s true. I come home to Miami, but a lot of people don’t know me like everyone in Baton Rouge and the fans. Baton Rouge and LSU has been my home.”
That fan base can stand up and give Fowles another standing ovation for an achievement well earned.
“When you go back and get your degree, it says a lot about your work ethic. I accomplished things that I will never forget here. If I had to do it all over again, LSU would be the only place I would do it.”