Harvard had gotten the nation's attention, andso had Feaster. Soon after the Stanford win, shewas one of just 10 players in the country named aKodak All-American. She also earned ECAC Player ofthe Year honors, ahead of players from 60 otherschools, including UConn standout and NationalPlayer of the Year candidate Nykesha Sales.
The ESPN commentators gushed at halftime of theStanford game about her "guns and game," andFeaster was the main topic of conversation atevery press conference before and after both theHarvard-Stanford game and the subsequent Harvardloss to Arkansas.
Before his team's second-round game againstHarvard, Arkansas Coach Gary Blair half praisedand half lamented Feaster's versatility.
"You do not stop Allison Feaster," he said."She presents a severe matchup problem for us. Doyou call her a forward, or do you call her a post?I call her a basketball player."
After the game, the Arkansas players were insimilar awe of her abilities.
"She's just as good as [National Player of theYear Chamique] Holdsclaw, just shorter," saidArkansas guard Sytia Messer, whose team plays inthe SEC along with Holdsclaw's national-championLady Vols.
One week from today; Feaster will begin acareer in the WNBA, where basketball is basketballand athletes are athletes. There, as a member ofthe Los Angeles Sparks, she will build new castlesand lay new foundations.
"Last summer I watched a lot of the WNBA games,and it looked like a cool thing to do," Feastersays. "But I never believed in my chances untilafter Stanford and being Kodak All-American."
Feaster, the fifth overall pick in the April 29draft, is the WNBA's golden child. As much apublicity engine as a basketball league, theleague loves the fact that Feaster is a Harvardgrad, turned down a Wall Street job to play prohoops and is part of the Cinderella squad thatfinally did it.
She decorates the front of the Sparks' website, already has shot an ad for Lady Foot Lockerand appeared at halftime at two NBA playoffgames--one in New York and one in L.A.--to promoteherself and the league.
"Allison is not only a great player, but Ithink she's going to be a tremendous ambassadorfor the game," said WNBA Director of PlayerPersonnel Renee Brown after Feaster signed withthe league.
Okay, Coach Delaney-Smith, we believe you.
Your statement was incomplete, however. Yes,Feaster raised her game and the entire level ofplay in the Ivy League to new heights. But the winover Stanford that she helped engineer raisedcollegiate women's basketball to a new level.
Perhaps no other event better symbolizes theemergence of the collegiate women's game from itsadolescence. Never again can some cocky men'sbasketball fan boast of his league of choice as ashrine to parity and competitiveness. Gone are thedays when a few female standouts from programslike Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Stanford werethe league's lone ambassadors.
So, Allison Feaster, for leading your team toone of the greatest upsets in college basketballhistory, we salute you. For being among thegreatest athletes in Harvard history--male orfemale--we salute you. For putting not justHarvard basketball, but Harvard athletics, on thenational map, we salute you.
"I can't believe the things I'm doing nowbecause of playing basketball at Harvard," Feastersays.
Neither can we.
Years from now, some basketball coach in somecorner of the country will see a young player whoseems to have the complete package--she can spotup or shoot off the dribble with ease, she tearsdown rebounds with reckless abandon, she cananchor herself in the post, but defenders can'tplant their feet too firmly when guarding her onthe perimeter, lest they get burned by a drive tothe hole.
"She'll make people forget the name AllisonFeaster," the coach will tell campus reporters.
If they know anything about Feaster, thereporters will simply shrug it off.