Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/515571
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 28 • 22 having to try to come back. I just don't like it. The signs were on the wall for me." Shortly after, Douglas announced the end of her career. And quite the run it had been. At Purdue, she was a two-time All- American and Big Ten Player-of-the-Year, after accumulating 1,965 points, 727 rebounds and 526 assists in four years, while helping the Boilermakers to the 1999 national title and a runner-up finish two years later. As a professional in the WNBA, the 36-year-old led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA title, in addition to three other trips to the Finals, once with the Fever and twice for the Sun. A five-time All-Star, Douglas was the game's MVP in 2006 and was a five-time member of the WNBA All-Defensive Team. Before her retirement, she was the league's second-longest active player. She'll finish her career in the league's all-time top 10 in points (eighth, 5,563), 3-pointers (fifth, 727) and steals (fourth, 623). But those days are over. Douglas' back is feeling better now, at least enough to have daily function, although activities like golf likely aren't in her future. Douglas, who was inducted into Purdue's athletics Hall of Fame in April, is enjoying her time off this summer, relaxing but staying busy, too. Douglas splits her time between Indianapolis, where she graduated from Perry Meridian in 1997, and Cape Coral, Fla. She's financially sound enough, WNBA Douglas enjoyed 14 seasons in the WNBA, helping the Fever to the title in 2012. "Now that I'm totally free of commitment, (attending some games) is something I look forward to. Hopefully they'll want me to kind of re- engage myself in the program." Katie Douglas on Purdue after her career in the States and abroad, to be afforded the luxury of taking time off. "I'm just fortunate and blessed to be in that position, to have people who initially at the very, very infancy of my career talk to me about saving and making sure that I was putting back money for this time to come," said Douglas, who married husband Vasilis Giapalakis in 2005. "So I feel like financially I'm able to kind of have a summer of rest, relaxation and throw in a little bit of fun and then I think by the end of the summer I'll start more seriously looking into what is next, because that's what everyone has been asking me. Unfortunately I don't have the answer, but I just want to kind of enjoy this new era for me and see what lies ahead." What could next involve? Perhaps coaching or broadcasting, she says, but there could be other options. Whatever it is, it's likely to involve the game she's played competitively the last 25-plus years. "The game has given me so much and I definitely want to give back to the game and stay involved," she said. "Because I know that I love the game. Even not playing and competing any more, I know that at the root of all that was the game of basketball, which I love, so I know I'm passionate about the game, so I think that might be my best avenue. "But I'm totally open to all possibilities, I'm just trying to kind of feel out what it is that would work for me. I want to make sure that my next step I'm as passionate about it as I was about playing. I feel like I had the best job when I was playing, so I want to try to replicate that for my next step and find something that I love doing each and every day. I'm just unsure of what that is." j