Title IX pioneers: UNC champion, Elon coach Charlotte Smith says exposure key to elevating women's game
UNC women's basketball hit a high point in 1994 that it might never surpass.
Charlotte Smith's 3-pointer on an inbounds play with just 0.7 seconds left in the game gave the Tar Heel women their only NCAA title.
Still one of the most exciting plays in tournament history, Smith's shot lives in the realm of Carolina lore reserved for moments like MJ's game-winner in the 1982 national championship, bloody Montross, Tyler Hansbrough's dunk on 7-foot-7 Kenny George, Vince Carter's windmills, and the time in 1974 when the Tar Heels rallied from eight points down in 17 seconds with no three-point line ... against Duke.
But when Charlotte Smith's collegiate career ended, there was no professional league in the U.S. waiting to draft her despite being:
The ACC Rookie of the Year in 1992
The Final Four's Most Outstanding Player after a 20-point, 23-rebound performance (the latter is still a championship-game record) that included the most clutch 3-pointer in title-game history
An All-American and ESPN National Player of the Year in 1995
And the second women's college basketball player to dunk in a game when she threw one down against NC A&T
Instead, Smith opted to play professionally in Italy. She remembers crossing the dates off of her calendar with a black Sharpie, counting the days until she could come home. Drawing an X in those boxes became the highlight of every day.
"It was my first time being so far away from home and I remember being so saddened by the fact that we couldn't show our talent in our own country," Smith said.
More Title IX pioneers from North Carolina
►Mia Hamm inspired a generation of American girls to play soccer
► Peggy Kirk Bell carries legacy as matriarch of women's golf
► Wilmington legend Sheila Boles wants more for women's sports
► NC State's Kay Yow put courage on display as the world watched
She graduated from Shelby High, and grew up watching her uncle, David Thompson, become one of the best players in the country in his time at NC State.
As a kid, she thought her only path to a pro career might be in the NBA. That seemed more likely than a league for women.
"Women's basketball was not highly televised, so it was hard to see role models," Smith said in a phone interview this week after a workout at Elon, where she coaches now. "I didn't have any female role models to look up to with regard to having an opportunity to play professionally. So, as a little girl, I always thought that I would play in the NBA and never imagined there being a chance for a WNBA.
"It opened up a world of opportunity and any time you give someone an opportunity, you give them a chance to be all that they can be."
In the fall of 1996, the American Basketball League (ABL) was formed as the first independent professional basketball league for women in the U.S.
"I remember hearing about the ABL," Smith said. "It was like the wind in my sails. It was like a breath of life."
The WNBA was forming at the same time and would begin play in 1997. The ABL folded after two seasons, but the WNBA is still around, with 12 franchises and plenty of chatter about expansion.
Smith spent most of her 8-year WNBA career with the Charlotte Sting, playing close to home in front of an adoring fan base, with teammates like NC State playmaker Andrea Stinson and current South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
When she was in Italy, Smith met many women's college basketball stars that she never had the opportunity to see play stateside. One of them was Cynthia Cooper, who would become a four-time WNBA Finals MVP.
Opportunity and exposure, Smith says, are keys to pushing women's sports into the future. The game is there. The talent is there. People just need to see it.
"Exposure is critical," Smith said. "When you see someone that looks like you, it makes it feel more possible, it makes it feel more real. Just the exposure in terms of television can elevate our game."
Title IX is directly responsible for women's pro leagues like the ABL and WNBA.
"It's given me an opportunity," Smith said of the 50-year-old law. "There were so many women before my time that simply didn't have the opportunity. Anytime you have opportunity, it open doors, a lot of times to the unimaginable."
She had to make a college roster to learn from women who played at a high level, and travel overseas to build a professional career. Now, people can see women's pro leagues and women's college games more often, and an incredible talent like Cooper is far less likely to fall under the radar.
"I didn't know a lot of the greats because we were not on television," Smith said of the lack of women's coverage. But, she added, with increased exposure there's a bigger fan base and more support, which leads to growth of the game. "It's basketball at its purest form and we play a great game.
"We had enough talent to have two gold-medal teams at the Olympics. We're not growing the game with the level of the talent that we have. We need more opportunities," she said, adding that she'd like to see another WNBA team in Charlotte.
Smith also made a point about women supporting each other. "We need to see more women at the game, at high positions getting involved," she said.
"We can't complain about the growth if we're not supporting it ourselves."
Sports editor Monica Holland can be reached at mholland@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC, Elon's Charlotte Smith says women need opportunity, exposure
