2008 Woodie Awards
Connor Ramey: A silent departure
By: Connor Ramey
Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Sports
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Smith-Williams followed former teammate Audi Spencer and coach Molly Goodenbour to UC Irvine. On the surface it looks like Amber Simmons all over again, but underneath it's anything but. Simmons left the women's basketball team on bad terms a few semesters ago.
"There is no comparison," Athletic Director Anita Barker said. "One did it the right way, the other really didn't."
Smith-Williams presented a list of schools to the department, well before Goodenbour was offered the job at UC Irvine, Barker said.
It's more of a coincidence than the two planning out a change of scenery. But skepticism should be applied.
After her Wildcat departure, Goodenbour pulled former star Spencer and placed her on the bench as an assistant coach and grabbed Smith-Williams, arguably the best 'Cat not named Spencer.
On the shores of UC Irvine, Goodenbour is creating her own mini-Chico, all she needs is a 30-pack of Keystone. But who knows if the same success will follow?
From a Wildcat perspective, the move of Smith-Williams is devastating and admirable.
After the departure of Simmons, it's nice to see a player go about her transfer in the right way. Smith-Williams expressed a need and a reason, instead of forcing the transfer.
Both players brought victories and memories to Chico State, but one respected the school enough to express her desires, while the other thought the school owed her something. And the school never does.
A school gives each player a chance - not the other way around. From a distance, it looks as though Smith-Williams recognized this.
When a transfer is under the radar and isn't on the front page of every local newspaper, something was done right. And in this case, it was both the player and the school.
Despite losing one of its better players, the school allowed Smith-Williams to accomplish her Division I dreams, instead of holding her back.
With the trio of big losses, the new season is still expected to have a winning end, but a new road is needed. For now, the 2008-2009 women's basketball team is full of questions. But in an offseason of change, at least everything was done the right way, a difference from a year and a half ago.
The Simmons debacle showcased everything wrong with sports, while Smith-Williams showed good grace in her final Wildcat moments.
Connor can be reached at
sportseditor@theorion.com
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