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presents l afayette legend: s t e p hanie whit e Life���s Next Chapter White makes motherhood and basketball work BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com S tephanie White has always made it look easy. As one of college basketball���s legendary players, as a coach and as a broadcaster, she does things with little apparent effort. But in any great player, looks can be deceiving. It takes planning, preparation and effort to have things come off seamlessly. Such is the case in White���s newest chapter of her life: Motherhood. Her 16-month-old son, Landon, is the joy of her life, and she makes no bones about that fact. ���It���s been awesome,��� White said earlier this month. ���It���s been so much fun and brought so much more meaning to my life. He���s an awesome guy and to be able to continue to share a game that I love with him ��� we���re always playing sports, it doesn���t matter what it is.��� Landon has ���hit the road��� with mom during some of her travels with the Big Ten Network. And White always brings a ball with her, and if possible a basket, too. ���It just puts things into perspective,��� White said ���When I am coaching, I come home after a loss and he���s there to give you a hug. You come home after a win and he���s there to give you a hug. It really simplifies what life is all about.��� Considering Landon���s just in his second basketball season, on Earth that is, it is impressive how much he has taken to the sport that his mother has achieved living-legend status in. It has caused Mom to be at the ready with the necessary equipment. ���It���s funny because at first I wasn���t sure he was into basketball,��� White said. ���He���s to that age where he shoots it up against the door, so I got one of the Fisher-Price hoops and I put it together and he knew exactly what to do with it. I���ve had it for almost two weeks and there has not been a night where Tom Campbell he hasn���t played on it. With 16-month-old son Landon in tow, Stephanie White has taken to ���The poor guy���s already motherhood like she has taken to everything else in her life, with a sense of trying to take a piece of determination, gratitude and humility. my heart. He carries the ���He���s a lot like me. He likes to observe before he likes to jump in. ball around with him evHe already does that. He���ll sit and watch. Once it���s halftime and the erywhere. It���s really funaction stops, he tends to lose his attention a little bit. Once the game ny and interesting to see comes back, he will get back into it.��� something I wasn���t quite Even when White watches film at home, she usually has a buddy sure that I expected to see, with her when she is staring at the screen. White admits she���s not but he really took to it.��� sure that trait is ���good, bad or ugly,��� but it is what it is. Landon isn���t exactly At 35 ��� yes, it is hard to believe that she is 35 ��� White like other 16-month-olds, knows that her life as an assistant with the WNBA champion Inlet alone some 16-yeardiana Fever and her work with the BTN requires a little bit of a olds: He actually enjoys Tom Campbell balancing act. Her broadcast schedule is typically Thursdays, and being a spectator. Landon has taken to the sport of basketball like a fish to ���Yeah, its funny be- water. It has caused mom to have a hoop at her disposal at Sundays with BTN and then Monday with ESPN. With her home base in Indianapolis, and the BTN studios located in Chicago, she cause when he plays, he every possible moment. is in the middle of a stretch when she is only home a couple days plays hard, but he���s really a a week. When not in the studio, the games she covers are usually laid-back kid,��� White said. ���He���s been on a few trips with me and if they���re early games, he goes to the game with me. He likes the motion and to sit within driving distance. ���Landon is quite the frequent traveler,��� White said. ���It���s nice to be able and watch and just take in everything that���s around him. 50 ��� Gold & Black IllustrateD ��� volume 23, issue 4 GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com