Dec. 4, 2007
By Tony Mancuso, Athleic Communications Assistant
With such a storied legacy, filling the point guard position for the Lady Lion basketball team requires big shoes.
Enter head coach Coquese Washington, who starred as a floor general for the Houston Comets in the WNBA. For junior Brianne O'Rourke, Washington's hire added a new dimension to her job of creating another chapter in the point guard legacy at Penn State.
Not only is O'Rourke forced to live up to the heritage left by the Suzie McConnells and Helen Darlings of Lady Lion basketball history, she now must gratify her biggest cheerleader and critic, who happens to own a WNBA championship ring.
From the outside, it may seem like the potential for a rocky relationship, but O'Rourke embraces the opportunity to send her game to new heights with the hiring of coach Washington.
"I was really, really happy when I heard she got the job," said O'Rourke. "And then to bring another point guard in on the staff like Coach (Itoro) Coleman was big as well. Just learning from those two will be a big asset for me. It has been great so far for me. Working with them, I am sure that I am going to be taught a lot of new things."
It is crystal clear to see that Washington's feelings for her point guard are mutual. The first-year head coach lit up as she discussed O'Rourke.
"I love Brianne," said coach Washington. "She is a wonderful person. She is also a wonderful player. We just have to get her to embrace how good of a player she can be. She is a little shy and a little unassuming. She is much more comfortable being in the background, and I keep telling her that she is the point guard and that she needs to step up into the foreground. And to take ownership as to how good she can really be."
O'Rourke is well on her way to leaving a mark of her own on the Lady Lion program. The Pittsburgh native ranked second in assists last season in the Big Ten with 4.3 per game. Earlier this season, she became only the 12th player in school history to accumulate 300 assists in a career.
"It is a big honor to be chosen to be a point guard here at Penn State," said O'Rourke. "Point Guard U is a term that can be used. It is really a great position to be in, and I am really thankful and happy to be in the position that I am in." Coupled with her stout statistical numbers, the junior guard shows a great appreciation of the history that precedes her. O'Rourke also welcomes the challenge to live up to the prestigious names in Penn State women's basketball history.
"The legacy of the point guard position goes way back to Suzie McConnell-Serio, Helen Darling and Jess Strom," said O'Rourke. "They have done some great things here in this program. I have always looked back at what they have done here. I just want to withhold that and want to compete with that and what they have brought to the teams here at Penn State."
Being a point guard in any form of basketball requires a unique personality. The position necessitates leadership, poise and focus, along with the obvious basketball skills. In a sense, a point guard is an extension of the head coach on the floor.
That is where coach Washington and O'Rourke have begun to mesh so well. Their ability to complement one another sets the tone for the rest of the team.
"Being able to communicate things from the coaches to the team plays a big role in my position," O'Rourke said. "I feel if you are able to believe in your coach's philosophy, it will bring success to the team.
"I think coach will bring a lot more confidence to my game. She likes to get to know us outside of basketball. Being able to talk and communicate with a coach on and off the court is what you look for in a coach. And especially being a point guard, I know that I have to communicate with her. I think I have gotten to know her at a good personal level, so I think that's going to help out with the team's success."
A player's ability to individually steer a team is a distinctive trait many athletes do not possess. On the basketball floor, a point guard's leadership skills can be the decisive factor in the outcome of a tight ballgame. That characteristic is what separates a good player from a great one.
"Brianne is our unquestioned leader," said coach Washington. "She likes the ball in her hands. She likes to make decisions. She likes to be the one who is the catalyst for everything we have. I like having her with the ball in her hands, and her making the decisions. She is definitely our point guard and our leader, and I am definitely comfortable with that."
The junior point guard heads into the rest of her playing career at Penn State with aspirations of a Big Ten title and an NCAA tournament appearance. Although O'Rourke has developed into the absolute leader of the team, she is still looking for more. But she is not looking to beef up her own stats.
In O'Rourke's eyes, just as many true leaders in sports would note, the team's accomplishments trump individual statistics.
"I always want to do well for myself because I will be helping the team out, but I always look for that team success first," she said.