University of Massachusets Athletics
Senior Duo Lead Minutewomen to Strong Start
December 16, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2002
At a moment late in the Massachusetts women's basketball exhibition game against the Nor'Easter Storm, UMass center Jen Butler was guarding Storm center, Yolanda Rayside, out on the right wing hoping for a defensive stop. Rayside made a quick crossover dribble move and blew by Butler on her way to the hoop.
Butler, a member of the 2001-02 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team, had just been smoked.
But waiting in the wings down in the paint was forward Nekole Smith and as the Nor'Easter center attempted to go up for the layup on the right side of the hoop, Smith skipped across the lane, leaped up with her arm outreached and sent the shot into another area code.
There Smith was, giving her teammate, roommate, best friend and mentor a helping hand on the defensive end.
The relationship between the co-captains of the 2002-03 Minutewoman squad cannot only be summed up in that one play though. Smith is not always the one bailing Butler out - it's a reciprocal relationship. One has been watching out for the other and visa versa throughout the three years Butler has been, Smith's four, in Amherst.
"Nekole was my host when I came to visit UMass and she was so good to me. She is actually the reason why I came here," Butler said. "She is my mentor." Echoing Butler's remarks, Smith has proclaimed Butler as her mentor as well.
"I am in awe of everything she does," Smith said of her counterpart. "She is a workhorse and a great person to be around all the time."
It is hard to say which player is the mentor or the subject according to their comments, but what makes their relationship on and off the court so strong is their generosity and love toward each other.
Even Head Coach Marnie Dacko - who is endeavoring in her first year at the helm for the Minutewomen - sees a strong-knitted link between the two players.
"From what I know they didn't hang out a lot Jen's freshman year, even though they were roommates," she said. "But they have really grown into almost like sisters during their time here."
But in their final seasons wearing the maroon and white, the two seniors are spending time away from the court to spread the love and give a helping hand to the community that they have called home for their collegiate careers.
About once a week this semester, the two six-footers take time out of their busy student-athlete schedules to participate in the Big Brother, Big Sister program of Hampshire County. Smith and Butler each have their own "little sister" (an 11-year-old from Amherst for Smith and an eight-year-old from Northampton for Butler).
Each week, as a duo, Smith and Butler pick their kids up and spend a couple of valuable hours bowling, baking brownies, eating pizza, watching movies or whatever seems fun to do that particular day.
"Basically, it is chance for the kids to do activities that they normally don't get to do on a regular basis due to an assortment of reasons," Butler said.
"I have always wanted to do this but I never had enough time in my day," she added. "Now that I am a senior with not as many classes, I have enough time and this is a good time to participate."
"Ultimately, I want to work with kids in some way at my profession so this is a great way to get that started," Smith added. "Beside sports, being able to be around kids later on in life is one of my goals."
Despite living hectic lives juggling their time between practice once a day, road trips and, of course, being a student, Butler and Smith have - and say they will continue to - embrace in every way the mission of the Big Brother, Big Sister program. They are even in the middle of organizing a day when the entire group of Big Brothers, Big Sisters and their younger counterparts come to a UMass game in February.
While making a positive difference to their "little sisters" lives this fall, the two have also been working on making positive differences to their team.
The two were unanimously chosen by their teammates as the captains of this year's squad after Dacko met with the team for the first time. In the preseason, Dacko has seen how beneficial they are to the club and what integral parts they play.
"Nekole is a very out-going, gregarious type of individual...has a lot of ideas...keeps thinking," Dacko said. "She is a very vocal leader.
"[Jen] does most of her leading on the floor as a player," she added. "She has a real good understanding of basketball and a knack for the game. She is a quiet leader but she leads by example." Coming off a 2001-02 campaign in which she averaged 13.2 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game, Butler, was named as a preseason first-team all-conference selection last month. The 353 rebounds Butler tallied for the Maroon and White last season made her the leading rebounder in the A-10 and ranked her fifth nationally.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native had not even touched a basketball till her junior year of high school but after hard work and practice throughout her career at UMass, she has been able to get a grasp on the game.
"To have had such raw talent as she had...to develop into the fifth-leading rebounder in the nation and our team's leading scorer is just a tremendous feat," Smith said of No. 21.
Smith has overcome a tremendous feat herself in her time in Amherst. Two years ago she dislocated her left knee in the preseason and was forced to sit out the entire 2000-01 season. She redshirted a year and now is a fifth-year senior at UMass. Once a potential superstar in the Atlantic 10 - as she was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team in 1998-99 season - Smith has endured through the struggles of recovering from a major injury.
Before the injury, she was averaging nine points a game and roughly 5.5 rebounds a contest. But last year in her return to the court she mustered up 8.5 ppg and only 4.3 rpg. For Smith, the comfort level just was not there. But this year she feels the injury is past her.
"My knee is now fine and I am feeling a little more comfortable," she said. "There is a little tendonitis but as for me thinking that something is going to happened again while I'm playing, I don't do that anymore."
Despite the disparities in the two player's numbers, Butler continues to look up to Smith for guidance and discipline. Butler best describes the relationship when she says, "she is my Big Sister."