'I will have basketball in my life'

Even with a 17-55-career record as SIU women's basketball coach, Lori Opp and administrators think she can still turn the program around

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It is easy to spot out head coach Lori Opp at an SIU women's basketball game.

The third-year head coach will be positioned in her trademark kneel with her right fist placed against chin, attentively watching every movement the 10 players on the court make.

She focuses on the details because she knows if the Salukis want to get a single win in the Missouri Valley Conference, they have to do everything perfect.

"Our margin of error is very small," Opp said. "We have to get little things done. Every missed block out and every bad pass, that adds up. That is why we continually harp on the little things."

That is in her predisposition, doing the little things, and it has been evident ever since her days as a standout guard at Havana High School.

When she went to play competitively at Western Illinois, the little things became a must as she played forward at a shorter height than the norm for that position.

She had the perfect composition for being a coach - scrappy and competitive with undying love for the game.

"My high school coach was the first coach I looked up to," Opp said. "He was the one who made me want to coach. That is what I have wanted to ever since then."

After she graduated cum laude from Western Illinois in 1988, she immediately started coaching as a graduate assistant for the Westerwinds until she left in 1993 to become an assistant for Eastern Illinois.

It became noticeable what her goal was. Jumping as an assitant from Eastern Illinois to Indiana State to Murray State before landing here at SIU in 1998 as an assistant under then-head coach Julie Beck.

Then her shot came after Beck resigned in August of 2000, leaving Opp to run the helm at SIU.

Her first season was what most would expect from an interim head coach with a young coaching staff as the Salukis finished 7-20 overall, 4-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

With the 2001-02 season, a renewed vigor surrounded the team before Opp, feeling a bit run down and sick, underwent some checks at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale on Oct. 14, 2001. She was then sent to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis on Oct. 19 for further tests.

"I just honestly thought I had the flu when I went to the hospital," Opp said. "I realized something was wrong after the tests. It was indicative something was not good."

The doctors found that Opp had a rare liver condition called Sarcoidosis, which has no known cure. She was released on Oct. 24, 2001.

The news was not only disheartening for her players, it proved to be terrible timing as the team was gearing up at practice for the upcoming season.

"That was something that hurt us, not having someone in charge," senior guard Molly McDowell said. " We had two very new assistants there and one that had only been there a year. Of course they are going to have conflicting styles and conflicting opinions.

"It hurt not having someone there to tell us 'This is how we are going to do it. This is how it is going to be done."

The Salukis went on to post a 6-21 (2-16) record in the 2001-02 campaign.

Since the prognostication, Opp has been taking a steroid known as Prednisone, which is produced normally in a human body, once a day.

And she believes her outlook, in terms of health, is bright.

"[The disease] can do a couple different things," Opp said. "It can go into remission, where I feel like it is now. Or it can attack your lungs and not your liver. I feel like the disease is in remission."

If the disease does spread to her lungs, the condition is fatal 5 percent of the time.

Opp has had a mild concern for her health being complicated by her work, since stress is something that she tries to avoid.

This season has not helped alleviate any worries.

The Salukis are currently 4-14 and still remain winless in the Missouri Valley Conference at 0-9. Opp's record as a head coach currently stands at 17-55.

"Of course the season has caused me concern, if it didn't I would need to get a different job," Opp said.

With her record as lopsided as it is, her job is something she has also had to ponder.

"Any coach is going to worry about job security," Opp said. "You have to win ball games. But [the players] are getting good grades, they are good people. We are doing a lot of things good.

"I know I will give it the best shot I can and if SIU and the administration want to go a different direction, I'll do my best to change their mind."

The administration has no plans to take any action at this point in time, and their confidence in Opp as a coach has not changed since the day she was hired.

Her contract is scheduled to run out in 2004, but no talks have been initiated by Opp nor the administration.

"She is struggling through a difficult season." Athletic director Paul Kowalcyzk said. "I want to give her every opportunity to succeed here. She is a good person and a good teacher. I want to see her get her recruits in here and rebuild this thing. I have every bit of confidence in her."

The losing isn't helping recruiting.

But if incoming recruits would take notice of how close-knit the Saluki team is, they might make their decision differently.

Opp, well known as a player's coach, is one of the main reasons some players may have not bolted from SIU after Beck's resignation.

"I think if a new coach was hired when coach [Opp] was coming off her interim year, I think transferring would have been a more serious thought in my mind," said McDowell, who currently leads SIU with 12.6 points per game. "You learn stuff from losing. I hope I will be taking something more from here than the wins and losses."

In this season where SIU has not experienced the enjoyment of a win in over a month, Opp said she has been proud of how her players have handled it by not placing blame where it does not belong.

She does not feel anyone is to blame solely, but everyone has to look at her own performances collectively and how she can improve upon them.

That must be done for the Dawgs to play their way into the MVC conference tournament, which will take place March 13-15 in Des Moines, Iowa. SIU is currently three games behind Evansville for the eighth and final spot in the tournament.

"No question in my mind we can make a run," Opp said. "We have not been hitting on all cylinders. If we can get that accomplished in the next nine games, we will get on a roll."

A key will be for the Salukis to play a full 40-minutes strong during games and not try to do too much when they are in the lead.

The safe bet is that Opp will conjure up something when she is in her crouch that will turn around the SIU program, as she is not ready to say goodbye to the sport she has known for almost 30 years.

"There is no question I will have basketball in my life," Opp said. "In some capacity, basketball will always be in my life."

Reporter Zack Creglow can be reached at zcreglow@dailyegyptian.com