By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
After four years, Therese Crawford
is finally the go-to player.
When Wahine senior
By Cindy Luis
Therese Crawford sought more than
athletic enrichment, she found
what she needed in Hawaii
Star-BulletinHER search for soul food has taken Therese Crawford farther than she expected. It's a journey that could have easily stopped at Long Beach State, but Crawford was seeking more than volleyball excellence. The Michigan native was looking for the entire college experience, a cosmopolitan yet deep personal experience that could only be found in the slice of volleyball heaven called the University of Hawaii. It's been here that the Wahine senior co-captain has learned that nirvana is served with two scoops rice.
"After being brought up in the Midwest, I wanted something different," said Crawford, preparing for tonight's match with UNLV. "When I came here on my (recruiting) visit, everything was different and so brand new. There was a different culture here and I felt like I was in a different country. That was so neat. I fell in love with the place."
The place and the game has loved her right back. Crawford, one of the most explosive players ever to wear a Wahine uniform, is putting up All-American numbers as she tries to help give Hawaii a return trip to the final four.
And to think that Crawford easily could have been on the Long Beach State side of the net this Nov. 1, looking at the Wahine instead of being one. If not for the persistance of then-UH associate head coach Howard Wallace, this long-distance call would have been disconnected.
"Therese was on everyone's recruiting list, but we were having a hard time contacting her," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "She was in the process of moving, the phone was disconnected. There were all kinds of problems just trying to talk to her.
"But Howard really hung in on her. He persisted and made me persist when I would have otherwise given up. And it's worked out great."
To Wallace's regret, he is not around for Crawford's senior year. Shoji's longtime assistant became the head coach at Creighton this season and has the Lady Jays (6-6) off to their best-ever start.
"I miss not seeing her and Cecilia (senior blocker Goods) in their final year," Wallace said. "But I know that Therese has matured into the player we knew she could be.
"When I first saw her, I thought she was a real dynamic player. I felt our program would benefit from her being part of it and that she would benefit from being part of our program. She was worth pursuing."
Wallace sent Crawford a letter, a copy of which he reread recently. In it, he told her his reasons for wanting to be part of the Wahine staff. The main one was Shoji.
"I told her that Dave didn't know I was writing this letter," said Wallace. "I wanted her to know what kind of coach he was, how much he cared about his players beyond volleyball and that I wouldn't feel comfortable recruiting players unless I believed he was one of the best coaches in the country."
Still, Crawford did not decide until the last minute who she would sign with: Hawaii or Long Beach State. She talked to Shoji first.
"His first words after saying hello was that he was happy was for me not to listen when Brian (Long Beach State coach Gimmillaro) tried to change my mind," said Crawford. "When I talked to Brian, he wanted to come back out to my house for another visit. I told him I had made my decision.
"He said that he was sorry, that I wasn't going to be the player I could have been, that I was not going to be as good as I could have been."
But Crawford says she is the player that she wanted to be. Even if that process is not over yet.
"I have aspirations to get better and there's a lot of the season left," said Crawford, who was the MVP of last year's Northwest Regional. "I usually get better by the end of the season and let's hope that it happens this year, too.
"Maybe it's not the senior year that I wanted so far but this is the senior year I'm supposed to have. I thank God for the challenge. He's got a sense of humor."
Crawford smiles, but it's no joke. She is not used to losing, not after a prep career with three state titles and the past two seasons where the Wahine went 66-4.
Her challenge has been both mental and physical as she has gone from a member of a strong supporting cast the past three years to THE star on offense.
"I need to be two times in better shape than everyone else because I know I'm hitting two times the number of balls," she said. "It's difficult because when I was playing well and we were still losing, I didn't know what more I could do. I started to get frustrated and played poorly.
"My mom reminded me of something she had always told me. 'Do your best and forget the rest.' She said I can only be responsible for myself and that nothing I did or didn't do was going to make anyone else play better. I'm doing the best Therese can do."
And Crawford does it by flying, going over the block with her trademark explosive "hops."
"Physically, there are times when the opposition can't stop her," Shoji said. "I don't think she's had the recognition she might have gotten in another program. It's taken her a little time to become that go-to person but she's definitely an all-American-type player.
"She was also one of the hardest sells we've ever had."
One of the promises Shoji made to Crawford was that she would get to go home to play during her career. Next week, Hawaii travels to Crawford's hometown of Kalamazoo to play Western Michigan.
"I am so excited about going home to play in front of my family and friends," said Crawford, a communications major who hopes to go into broadcasting.
Crawford has another year of school followed by a world of options: professional volleyball, the U.S. national team, the Olympics. The quest for excellence will continue.
The facts
What UH Wahine volleyball
1997 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
