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Feb. 15, 2008
By:Sammy Batten Amid the locker-room celebration following a 75-73 win at Elizabeth City State on Jan. 19, Fayetteville State's Shacovia Sheppard asked for quiet. "Everybody was so excited,'' Sheppard said in retrospect. "I probably shouldn't have done it like that.'' But Sheppard had something important to tell her teammates. Something life-altering. "I got a phone call that I'm going to be deployed again,'' Sheppard told the room of mostly 18- and 19-year-olds. "Everybody was looking at me all sad. But I was like, `Don't worry. It will be OK.'" Sheppard, a forward for the Broncos, is also a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves. For the second time since signing up in 2004 to finance her college education, the 22-year-old from Charleston, S.C., is being called to duty with her unit, the 941st Transportation Company. Sometime later this month Sheppard will leave her FSU teammates for two weeks of training before heading off to Iraq for a 15-month deployment. Her departure is expected to come in advance of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament that begins Feb. 25 in Charlotte and well before she can complete the academic work for the spring semester at FSU. Until then, Sheppard plans to remain in school and help the Broncos "win as many games as I can.'' The 5-foot-10 junior won't be in uniform today as FSU (13-7, 10-2 CIAA) tries to extend a six-game winning streak when Bowie State comes to Capel Arena for a 5:30 p.m. conference game. She'll be away undergoing reserve training over the weekend, but will return to the team next week. Sheppard has been a key component in the streak that has propelled the Broncos into a logjam at the top of the CIAA's Western Division standings with Shaw and Johnson C. Smith. She's scoring 7.9 points per game, is tied for second on the team in rebounding (5.4) and is third in steals (29).
"It's tough to lose somebody like Shacovia because she's a vital part of our offense and our defense as well,'' FSU coach Eric Tucker said. "But what we're doing is nothing compared to what she's about to do. I told our girls, `I know you can't put yourself in her place, but she's going to put her life on the line, literally.' "I don't know if they realize the magnitude of what she's been through or what she's about to go through.'' Sheppard first deployed to Iraq in 2005, not long after enrolling at FSU. She spent 15 months there serving as a gunner protecting convoys carrying fuel to troops. Different duties await Sheppard on her return to Iraq. But for now she's choosing to focus on basketball and enjoy the time left with her teammates. "Playing basketball keeps my mind off of it,'' she said. Patricia Holmes, a sophomore, said Sheppard will continue to be in the Broncos' thoughts after she's gone. "We'll worry about her a lot,'' Holmes said. "We just want to make her proud of us like we're proud of her.'' Staff writer Sammy Batten can be reached at battens@fayobserver.com or 486-3534. |
