Long Beach State University Athletics
Health Scare Gives Hegarty Perspective
11/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
Heath Scare Gives Hegarty Perspective :It was near the end of February when she found out she had a tumor, and frightening thoughts invaded her mind as she continued her daily coaching chores. The team was doing well, and she was assured by the doctors that there was no danger in delaying surgery until her team's season ended. But there was no assurance by the doctors what they would find when they removed the tumor, and this left her in a state of uneasiness. Would it be cancerous? Would she be facing chemotherapy or radiation or both? Would she have to give up her position for a while as she underwent treatment? Would she be healthy enough to even return to work in the fall as the women's head basketball coach at Long Beach State? "It was a definite health scare," says Mary Hegarty, who prefers to keep the location of the tumor private. "You suddenly feel so vulnerable. You suddenly start thinking of all the possibilities, and that leaves you worried." At the time, Hegarty's team was cruising along with a 19-6 record, and playing at a level that gave her hope that it finally might end its long losing streak against UC Santa Barbara. But the 49ers faltered down the stretch, dropping close encounters to Santa Barbara, 64-60, Cal Poly SLO, 66-60, and to Idaho, 69-67, in the Big West Conference Tournament. "The bad news was that the season ended abruptly for us, much too quickly," says Hegarty. "But the bright side was that the surgery wasn't put off any longer, and that the tumor turned out to be benign." Mary Hegarty will tell you the latter development inspired in her an emotional sense of relief, and gave her even a deeper perspective of life. "I've always preached to my players you have to take the opportunities afforded to you every day," she says. "But when you get the kind of scare I got, it brings into sharper focus the meaning of living for the moment and taking advantage what is out there for you." Beginning her third season with the 49ers, Hegarty believes she has the program headed in a positive direction. "I definitely think there will come a day when we can become a Sweet 16-caliber club," she says. "It will be very difficult to sustain that because of the vast financial differences that exist between our school and some of the others. But I have no doubt we can get there at some time." It's doubtful Mary Hegarty's women ever will reach the heights of Geno Auriemma's Connecticut Huskies or Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Vols or Pokey Chatman's LSU Lady Tigers, but she's confident she has the right combination in place to field representative teams on a regular basis. "You bring recruits in, and show them the Pyramid and that leaves a very positive impression," she says. "It's a terrific place to play. I think another selling point of our program is the expertise of our assistant coaches. The players know they will get tremendous coaching here. "Denise Curry is in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, and one of the top players of all time. Obviously, she has a great knowledge of the game. "Like Denise, Nicole Anderson is one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA history, and she obviously knows about guard play. "And our other assistant is Jason Flowers, who played at UCLA and UC Irvine and he also obviously has a keen knowledge of basketball." Modesty forbade Mary Hegarty for bringing up another selling point of her program herself. She has become a well respected coach in her field, a workaholic with boundless energy she works out a couple of hours daily who also was a star Bruin player and who still holds the school's single-season assist record with 240. Her team opened its season this weekend in Texas, facing TCU on Friday night and meeting Houston today. Hegarty has only two starters returning from last season's team guard Crystal McCutcheon and forward Jayme Connors but she has brought in eight new players, including one of the standouts, forward Rosalyn Omoryui, from last season's state champion Cypress College squad. She has proven to be an extraordinary recruiter, as she already has received commitments from six players for next season's team, including 6-0 Nondi Johnson of Cathedral City, 5-10 Ally Wade of El Dorado High, 5-8 Lauren Sims of Troy High, 6-2 Lauren Bagley of Foothill High, 6-2 Lindsey Beckner of Hilltop High in San Diego and 6-4 Sharissa Bayes of Taft Junior College. "We're pretty excited about the class we'll have coming in," says Hegarty. "Lauren Sims is a terrific 3-point shooter, and she's considered among the top 70 high school players in the country. It's been a long time since our school landed such a highly ranked recruit." Mary Hegarty will tell you she savors everything about her job at Long Beach State the people she works with, the support she has received from Bob Maxson and Cindy Masner and others but she isn't exactly enamored with her team's practice schedule. "On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have to practice between 5 and 8 p.m., and I just don't think that is right," she says. "I guarantee you there is no other successful women's basketball program in the country that has to practice that late. We're not a priority here, and it's just not equitable. I think something should be done about it." But Mary Hegarty admits she isn't losing sleep over the inconvenience. "Things that seem so important to you pale when you've gone through a issue," she says somberly. |
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