Stardom was already a familiar concept for 6'1" guard La Tangela Atkinson by the time she got to the University of North Carolina last fall. Playing for Lee Central High School in Bishopville, South Carolina, she had made four trips to state championships, leading her team to a state banner with with a triple-double (29 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) in 2002.

Atkinson was a high school All-America selection by McDonald's, Phoenix/WBCA and Parade magazine; South Carolina's Gatorade Player of the Year in her junior and senior years and the state's Miss Basketball as a senior; and a four-time all-state, all-region and all-conference selection. An all-around great athlete, Atikinson also played three years of high school softball and two years of volleyball, picking up MVP honors in softball.

Expectations for Atkinson's freshman season with the Tarheels ran high, and so far, she's definitely living up to the hype. She's currently averaging 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and has helped the Tarheels to an overall 25-4 record and an ACC 13-3 record. She's been tapped for ACC Rookie of the Week honors six times so far. And this week, when the ACC announced its 2003 All-Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball teams, Atkinson was the leading vote-getter on the All-Freshman team and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors.

In the following interview, Atkinson talks about how it feels to spend so much time in the spotlight, how her high school coaches taught her to believe in herself, and why she chose UNC over Tennessee and UConn.

GBall: When and how did you get started playing basketball?
Atkinson: Oh, wow--it's hard to remember back that far. I guess I started playing when I was about five. I saw my cousins and my uncles playing around, and I thought, that looks like fun! So I'd pick up the basketball when they were done and just dribble, dribble, dribble. My school's JV team was the first organized team I played on. I was in seventh grade.

You also played high school softball and volleyball very successfully. What benefits did you get from being a three-sport athlete?
I played softball because my mom was a superstar at softball. And I just liked volleyball. Watching the college-level play on television, I thought it looked like a lot of fun, so I decided I'd try it. And I had the height for it, so it worked out well.

I think playing three sports kept me in shape. If I'd just gone home during volleyball or softball season, I'd have been sitting around, or playing ball in the streets, and I probably could have gotten hurt doing something I shouldn't have been doing. I think playing volleyball and softball kept me in shape in a way that was safe and kept me from getting lazy during the off-season.

Did you ever consider pursuing volleyball or softball in college?
I did think about playing college volleyball or softball. But once I got to UNC and started playing basketball with the teammates I have here, I realized that basketball was where I wanted to be. It's something I grew up on, and it's something I can get always get better at.

I like the fact that basketball is a sport I can work hard on by myself. With volleyball and softball, to get much work done, you need someone to catch with you, or a partner to spike with. The great thing about basketball is that I can go out and shoot, go get my own rebound, work as hard as I want all by myself, so there isn't that limitation on how hard I can work. It's all up to me how much I want to put into it.

What did your high school coaches teach you that has helped you out this year?
Before each game in high school, I'd sit by myself in our locker room and work on getting really focused. One of our coaches would come in and talk to me and tell me, "You have to go out there believing no one can stop you and that all your shots are going in. Don't let anyone put fear in your heart."

Coach Dizzly would tell me, "Go out there and play your game, and don't get so caught up in getting your teammates involved. We know you're not a selfish player, but some shots you have to take yourself because we have confidence that you can make them." So they really instilled in me that confidence and the mental aspect of the game.

I think I learned leadership skills from my high school coaches, too. When I was a senior, if I realized that a play wasn't working, I'd dribble to the side and say, "Coach, we need to run such and such a play, because this one's not working." They had the confidence in me to listen to me, so that helped me develop as a leader.

The things they told me help me out a lot now. To this day, when I'm on the court, I hear their voices saying, "Just remember, no one can stop you."

You have a reputation for being a real team player. Is it hard for you to feel like you're often in the limelight?
Yeah, it is. I don't really like to shoot. I like to give good passes, make my teammates look good, and make myself look good by not being selfish. Ever since high school, I've been the type of player who doesn't want everyone looking just at me. I wanted to work hard and make practice and the games fun so my teammates would enjoy themselves.

Sometimes that strategy can really work to your benefit, too, like in a game we played against Columbia. They were expecting me to take control and shoot all the time, but instead I got my teammates involved in the beginning of the game by passing a lot. Then in the second half, whenever I would drive to the lane, the other team would immediately back off me and go to my post players, expecting me to pass. Then I would shoot instead, so we were getting them all confused. It was pretty fun!

Are there players you admire or try to pattern your game after?
Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady. I love the things they do on the court and how they carry their teams. I admire the style of leadership they have. I also look to the seniors we have on our team--I really look up to the upperclassmen. They've been here for the last three or four years, and I can learn a lot from the experience they've gained.

What skills are you working on this year?
In high school, all I did was drive and pass. I could shoot, but I didn't like to do it. But when I got here I knew I had to change that, so I'm spending a lot of time working on my shots and my free throws. I'm also working hard on my defensive game, and just generally trying to improve in all areas.

What are some of the big differences between playing college and high school basketball?
In high school, I was basically just going off the talent that I had growing up as a kid. But here at college, there are a lot of different techniques, so there's a lot to learn. The game itself is also more physical and intense, and there is more focus placed on defense. In high school, we had to run a mile every day before practice, but I didn't take it too seriously. When I got here, we added more weight lifting, and when we run here, it's serious. We're really running!

You've always wanted to go to UNC. What about the school appealed to you?
That's easy: Michael Jordan! I remember one of the first times I saw him playing with the Chicago Bulls, I said, "He's one of the best players in the league--what school did he come from?" Someone told me he came from the University of North Carolina, and I decided, that's where I'm going, then. I've followed them ever since. The coaching staff here is great, and they were my main reason for coming here.

What has the transition to college been like?
I'm about three and a half hours away from home. It actually hasn't been too big of an adjustment for me, because starting with my ninth grade year of high school, I traveled a lot with AAU all-star teams. We'd stay out for up to two weeks, depending on how the tournament went and where we'd gone to play, so I'm used to being away.

Still, there are times when I miss my family and I wish I could go home and see my little brother. My family tries to make it to my games as often as they can. My mom will drive three and a half hours here, watch a game, and drive straight back to be at work. Nights when she can't make it, we'll talk on the phone or she'll look on the Internet for the results.

What was it like in high school when you were being recruited?
It was stressful. I knew I wanted to go to the University of North Carolina, but there were other schools looking at me, like Tennessee and UConn. People kept pointing out how successful Tennessee has been and trying to get me to reconsider, and I would tell them, "That's great, but I don't want to go to Tennessee. I want to go to UNC."

I didn't want to go to a school that already had what they needed to win or play for a team that already has the ability to make it to the Final Four year after year. I wanted to go somewhere where I could make a difference. North Carolina won the championship in 1994, and I decided, when I get there, I want to make the difference and bring that back. I want us to win every year that I'm here. So that's why I chose to come here rather than Connecticut or Tennessee.

How do you balance school work and basketball?
College is a lot tougher academically than high school, so when I'm in the classroom, I work really hard on focusing on just being a student. As soon as I get out of a class, I do any work from that day, so that I won't have to do it later. I set goals in terms of times and dates when I need to get school work done. Then when I'm at practice, I focus on what I need to do on the court and what the coach is trying to teach me. It helps to really divide the two in my mind. When I'm in practice, I'm focused on that, and when I'm in class or I'm writing a paper, I'm not thinking about anything but writing the paper. So far that's worked well for me.

What is your major and what do you want to do in the future?
I'm majoring in communications right now. My goal is to get into the WNBA, and when I retire from the WNBA, I want to come back to UNC and coach.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Laura Smith.


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