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FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2007
’Pack’s Schork exemplifies the ‘sacrifice theory’ Player’s work ethic bound to pay off in ‘whatever’ she does By NICOLE MUNDY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR FILE PHOTO
There is, in theory, a formula to derive the quintessential Loyola basketball player: one part crazy, two parts gluttony for punishment, then fill to the top with physical discipline. Actually, this formula doesn’t apply in all cases; it’s designed specifically to describe junior guard Kiely Schork, mass communication major from Burlingame, Calif. Schork discovered basketball at age five, and by the fourth grade, she was already a diehard fan of her home team, the Golden State Warriors, and participating in professional basketball camps. While this probably only borders on intensive, her enthusiasm for the sport at an age when the most to be expected of her is mastering cursive handwriting is a little crazy. “Even at that age, I remember kids being like, ‘Oh, I hope it rains so we don’t have practice,’ but I always couldn’t wait to go to practice,” Schork said. Now in her third season at Loyola, her eagerness for 6:30 a.m. practices hasn’t diminished. But certain aspects of college life that most take for granted, Schork considers a luxury. “Being on a team, you automatically sacrifice a lot of things. You’re giving three hours a day (at practice), and then you have class, and all you want to do is sleep,” Schork said. “When you do have free time, you appreciate it so much more.” Schork attended Pinewood, a small high school in Los Altos, Calif., because of its excellent basketball program (Pinewood won the Division V State Championship three times in 2002, 2005 and 2006). When choosing a col-
Senior guard James Bunn draws contact from Tulane’s Daniel Puckett in an exhibition Nov. 21, 2006. Bunn is a top defender.
GCAC: Christmas break hurts timing Continued from page 9
FILE PHOTO
Shooting guard Kiely Schork measures her options on The Den’s floor. Schork sacrifices college normalcy to play NAIA ball. lege, she had to decide between larger, Division I schools, or one with a team that would challenge her. She credits coach Dobee Plaisance for swaying her decision. “We had a meeting in her office with my parents, and she told me how much she puts into the program because it’s what she believes in. She’s the biggest reason I’m here, because I wanted the challenge,” Schork said. Now, theology may have an alternate definition for the Theory of Sacrifice, but Schork, a volatile cocktail
of the aforementioned ingredients, understands exactly what it means to a college athlete. “There are a lot of things you learn from the program. I think I’ve just started realizing how much it’s prepared me for the future, everything from time management to basic respect for teachers and peers,” Schork said. “After you’ve sacrificed so much, you’re bound to be successful at whatever you do.” Nicole Mundy can be reached at nlmundy@loyno.edu.
For more coverage on Kiely Schork and an opinion on the BCS go to www.loyolamaroon.com. Scroll down to Sports.
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where you could have won the game or lost it,” he said. It’s not, Curtin admits, concentrated on decoding text on dead presidents and the effect their administrations had on foreign affairs. Not when his reading is partly lit by the bluish haze of a Will Ferrell movie, not when yellow highway markers zoom by the window he’s resting his head on, not when his teammates are coercing him into wrestling matches over the armrests. UNIQUE CHALLENGES In Curtin’s opinion, conference presents the Wolfpack with opponents that are better prepared. “Their schemes are keyed to take (our strengths) out the game,” he said. The most notable tendencies opponents attack are psychology junior guard Luke Zumo’s perimeter scoring and finance junior forward Mario Faranda’s post-play through double-teams; they also relentlessly set picks on accounting
senior guard James Bunn, the ‘Pack’s top defender charged with handling the opponent’s best attacker. For Plaisance’s women, however, their toughest challenge was overcoming a Christmas break layoff that was “just long enough to throw (timing) out of sync.” It instilled enough rust on their gameplan execution against SUNO to inflict a loss, and Plaisance voiced her displeasure. “It’s my job that we pick up the intensity in practice,” she said, going on to admit that increasing it would oil up both timing and execution. In the William Carey win at The Den, guard and mass communication senior Kiely Schork championed Plaisance’s “sense of urgency.” “We definitely played with one,” she said. Brandishing an itchy trigger finger, she buried four-of-nine three-pointers and powered the Lady Wolfpack’s balanced scoring with a game-high 14 points. Ramon Vargas can be reached at ravarga1@loyno.edu.
GCAC Standings as of Jan. 10 Women’s
Men’s
1. Xavier (3-0)
1. Mobile (3-0)
2. Spring Hill (2-0)
2. Spring Hill (2-0)
3. SUNO (3-1)
3. William Carey (3-1)
4. Mobile (2-1)
4. SUNO (3-1)
5. Belhaven (2-1)
5. LSUS (2-1)
6. Loyola (1-1)
6. Belhaven (1-2)
7. LSUS (1-2)
7. Tougaloo (1-2)
8. William Carey (1-3)
8. Loyola (0-2)
9. Tougaloo (0-3)
9. Xavier (0-3)
10. Dillard (0-3)
10. Dillard (0-3)