Article

The Benchwarmer

The heart and soul of Minnesota State women's basketball, Jessica Stanek, has made an impact from the unlikeliest of places: the bench.

by Andrew Miller

Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Womens Sports

Jessica Stanek has been relegated to the end of the Mavericks' bench where warm-ups are the dress code and casts and crutches are the hottest accessories. Here, most players wait out their redshirted seasons, but Stanek looks on while the last of her eligibility slowly runs out.

Stanek is a senior, perfectly healthy and proven capable of hitting the hardwood. She started 24 games her freshman season, but her playing time has rapidly decreased ever since.

Some call it a change in regime. She is one of two remaining players from the Ann Walker-administration, along with fellow-senior Alanna Wahl. But while Wahl has become a solid bench contributor, Stanek has become something of an assistant coach. She's the igniter, the motivational leader, the heart and soul of a team just a year or two away from reaching its potential.

And somehow, she couldn't be happier.

The Starter

Stanek came to MSU as an accomplished four-sport high school athlete from Tripoli, Iowa. In her first season, she appeared in all 28 games and started in 24 for then-coach Ann Walker. Her future at MSU looked bright.

"I was excited," Stanek said. "I was ready to get into the next years."

Walker abruptly resigned following a dismal 2003-04 season, and current Mavericks head coach Lori Fish took the helm, bringing with her a philosophy and style of play drastically different.

"Obviously, Walker was the one who recruited me here and a big reason why I came here," Stanek said. "But at the same time, I just wanted to win. Fish came in here and wanted the same thing."

The Bench Player

In her sophomore and junior seasons, Stanek saw less time as Fish's recruits began to trickle in. She appeared in just 13 games her sophomore season and eight last season.

"It was real tough," Stanek said. "It was definitely eye-opening."

Faced with the reality her future role would be reduced, Stanek at times thought about quitting. That freshman-season tease was in the past now, and every second of playing time would be hard-earned.

"I guess I learned a lot of life lessons through it," Stanek said. "As much as it sucked, I loved my teammates and they were the only thing that kept me going."

The Bench Coach

As she's grown comfortable in her role as a reserve, Stanek has cozied into a player-as-coach role for a young Mavericks team that relies heavily on four sophomores and two freshmen each game.

Freshman Tiffany Moe came to the Mavericks as a fiery point guard with great speed and a skill-set perfectly matched for Fish's offensive scheme. Moe's arrival meant another long season on the bench for Stanek. Still, the senior greeted the freshman with open arms, helping her through the growing pains associated with learning college basketball.

"She accepted it and did anything in her power to make me a better player," Moe said. "And never once held a grudge against me."

Stanek's statistics this season are hardly worth mentioning. In eight games, she's tallied seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. More important is what's immeasurable: her attitude, her energy, her leadership and her ability to encourage younger teammates through their struggles.

"I want to help them in any way that I can," Stanek said. "What I see from the bench, I try to tell them."

While Fish won't admit to giving her captain any additional liberties, Stanek has been known to pull players aside during in-game timeouts.

"Coach knows that she's willing to help anyone out," said sophomore guard Heather Johnson.

Wahl has been a Maverick with Stanek since day one and seen her role decrease over the years. While she's been given the chance to contribute on Fish's team, she's seen her classmate drift farther down the bench each season. But that hasn't changed Stanek.

"Her attitude has been the same all four years I've been here," Wahl said. "She's got so much energy and she does it because she loves the game."

The Bench Warmer

Five players hustle up and down the court, some two or three years younger, and Stanek can't sit still on the sidelines. The Mavericks are trailing St. Cloud State by a dozen at home. For Stanek, there's towel-biting, there's fist-pumping, there's screaming. There's a folding chair she can't stay seated in. With every turnover, there's wincing. With every swish, vigorous clapping. Her warm-ups usually stay on all 40 minutes these days, but still player gets more into the game.

"For our young players who don't play, they see her on the bench cheering and being positive the whole time and they think to themselves, 'How can I get mad and frustrated? She's a senior," Fish said.

On Feb. 24, Stanek will be recognized during the Senior Day festivities. Standing near half-court, she will be surrounded by all the younger players she has guided, the coaches she has mimicked and fans who will erupt after a drawn-out "Stan-ek!" chant brings the senior into her last game at the Taylor Center as a Maverick.

"I'm dreading that already," Stanek said.

"I'm not looking forward to that day at all. I want to push it off as far as I can."

Andrew Miller is the Reporter Editor in Chief