By ROBERT CESSNATanisha Smith's actions earned her a most valuable player award on the Texas A&M women's basketball team. Her demeanor at the squad's season-ending banquet Tuesday night showed how much she treasured her time in Aggieland.
"I'm a little nervous," said Smith, who first thanked her mother, Andrea Kelley.
The 6-foot guard/forward, who was picked by the Seattle Storm in the second round of the WBNA draft last week, then thanked A&M assistant coach Johnnie Harris, who had followed Smith's career from her high school days at Lincoln Prep in Kansas City, Mo.
Harris, who just concluded her third season at A&M, was at Arkansas when Smith signed with the Razorbacks. That didn't work out, and Smith spent a season at Arkansas-Fort Smith before coming to A&M.
"I want to thank you for having my back over the years when I didn't have positive people in my life," said Smith, looking at Harris.
Smith, one of three seniors to speak to the crowd at the Zone, was unable to continue until Harris went to the podium and hugged her.
It didn't take long for the teary-eyed crowd to laugh as Smith turned her attention to associate head coach Vic Schaefer, who runs the team's defense.
"When I first stepped on campus, I thought you were crazy," Smith said. "But all that yellin' and fussin' made me a better person."
Smith finished by giving her mother and Harris certificates of appreciation.
It was that kind of night -- a lot of laughs and a few tears shed for a 26-8 team that won the Big 12 tournament and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, A&M's fifth straight appearance in the field of 64.
Smith, who averaged 15.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.2 steals per game, shared the MVP award with Danielle Adams, who also is from Kansas City and transferred in from a junior college. Adams averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in her first season at A&M.
Sophomore Tyra White, another Kansas City product, won the most improved award. Smith also won the team's Miss Offense Award and Adams took the Newcomer Award.
Senior Damitria Buchanan and sophomore Sydney Carter shared the Defense Award. Junior Maryann Baker won the Miss Hustle Award, and she won the Team Academic Award for the second straight season. She had a 4.0 grade point average in the fall and has a 3.48 overall GPA.
Junior Sydney Colson won the Sixth Player Award and Adrienne Pratcher won the Rookie Award.
Schaefer, who handed out the team awards, got emotional in giving Buchanan the Miss Aggie Award.
Buchanan, who came from Houston Jones, graduated in three years and is working on a master's degree in educational psychology with an emphasis in school counseling.
The outgoing Buchanan, who loves to sing and write, dazzled the crowd with her speech, especially when thanking trainer Mike Ricke.
"I've never had a man care for me like you have in four years," she said, adding that she'll probably not marry a man as thoughtful.
A&M head coach Gary Blair, who enjoyed reflecting back on his team's accomplishments, made sure he had the last word.
"Get somebody else to sing at your wedding," Blair said.
Smith, Buchanan and Katrina Limbaha helped the senior class to a school-best record of 107-31 (.775).
Real estate appraiser Marty Cangelose and his wife, Saysha Kovacevich, were named the season's greatest fans.
The banquet ended with a 35-minute highlight film, but if Blair has his way, next year's will be longer.
"I'm going to give you the best five years I got left," said Blair, who became the school's winningest coach.
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.