LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KLRT) – The Little Rock women’s basketball team has a new color commentator this season, and she’s a legend in the sport.
Shameka Christon, former Razorback and WNBA All-Star, is now sitting courtside with a headset on as an analyst for the Trojans’ women’s basketball games.
“I will say Nate actually reached out to me and was like, ‘hey, Shameka, do you want to do color…color analyst?’ And I said, I’ve never done that before, but I will work hard at it because I do. I’m very competitive with myself, and I’m like, I’ll work hard at anything,” Christon said.
That’s exactly how her basketball journey started with a lot of hard work and determination.
Growing up in Hot Springs, she did had some doubters.
“So I initially started playing basketball when I was in the seventh grade, and I was absolutely horrible. Like everybody was like, you’re bad. One person said you’re raw meat, and you’ll never make it as a basketball player. I was devastated, and I was ready to quit. But my mom said, if you quit, you’re going to quit everything else for the rest of your life. So we’ll work hard and prove that person wrong,” Christon said.
It was safe to say she did prove them wrong. When she graduated from high school, Shameka went to play for the Razorbacks, where she dominated in the SEC.
By her senior year, she was racking up the accolades, first-team All-SEC, third-team All-American and even the SEC Player of the Year.
However, she knew ever since high school, she was aiming for something even bigger.
“Ninth grade year, that’s when the WNBA was formed, and I set a goal right then. And I said, I’m going to be there, I will be there. And everybody’s laughing like, yeah, okay, you know how many girls say that? I said, no, I’m literally going to be there and I’m going to go and compete at the highest level. That’s just what it is. There’s no there’s there’s no other option for me,” Christon said.
After college, her dream came true. She was taken as the fifth overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty.
“From Arkansas, I went straight to New York, which was a culture shock, but I fell in love with New York. I was young, a spontaneous thing. So New York is my second home. But, you know, Arkansas is my first love. And I’m just so proud to be from here. And so even when I went to the league, people were like, ‘You’re from where? They got basketball players in Arkansas?’ I was like, you’re looking at one,” Christon said.
Just like college, Christon dominated in the league, being named a WNBA All-Star in 2009 and even secured an invite to the USA Basketball National Team Training Camp.
Her hopes of making the Olympic team though came to a halt very quick.
“It’s just one day I went to practice, and my knee was just swollen,” Christon said. “And the doctor told me, I hope it’s your ACL. I hope you tore your ACL. And I said, well, well, that sounds horrible, doc. Why would you say that? And he said, because if you tore cartilage, that’s even worse. And sure enough, I tore cartilage, and then I’m like bone on bone. So then I had to start getting injections into my knee. So I just really never was the same player.”
Christon played a few more years in the league with the Chicago Sky, San Antonio Stars, and Phoenix Mercury, but ultimately decided to hang up her jersey after an amazing 11-year career.
However, she didn’t give up the game of basketball completely, as Shameka moved back to Arkansas and started giving back to the next generation of players and her impact on them isn’t going unnoticed.
“They started coming to practice in my New York Liberty Jersey. They would walk in, and I would just scream like, oh my God, you know, they literally ordered my jersey,” Christon said.
Whether it’s impacting the next generation of basketball players or getting to do color commentary, Christon is thankful to still be around the sport she fell in love with some many years ago and proud of where it has come.
“I’m honored to know that, hey, I was a part of that process and now look where it’s at. And I’m excited to see where it’s going to be like in the next ten years,” Christon said.
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