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WNBA No. 10 draft pick Imani Boyette writes love letter to basketball
Boyette may be a record-breaking basketball player but she's also a slam poet
Posted April 15th, 2016
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After being drafted by WNBA’s Chicago Sky on Thursday, Texas senior and former Longhorn center Imani Boyette’s NCAA basketball career ends with a poem.
“Dear Basketball,” she wrote in a piece for espnW. “I didn’t realize how much I’d really miss you until the buzzer sounded in my last Longhorns basketball game.”
Her letter is part of espnW’s weekly poetry series on influential female athletes and women in sports, honoring National Poetry Month. Although Boyette is known for being the first Longhorn to reach the combined milestone of 1,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 200 career blocks, she’s also a slam poet.
“She’s adamant about the things she cares about,” said Texas assistant coach Tina Thompson. “She looks confident in a crowded room, and you hear her voice.”
The Los Angeles native writes in her poem about how her relationship with basketball matured over time, her struggles with depression, her family’s basketball legacy and her future with Chicago Sky. In the end, she makes a promise to love the sport better.
And so, here’s to Boyette’s “budding relationship” with basketball.
Read her whole poem below.
Dear Basketball,
I didn’t realize how much I’d really miss you
Until the buzzer sounded
In my last Longhorns basketball game
The crowd erupted
But this time, it wasn’t for us
I cried my way through the eyes of Texas
And just like that
We were done
In college, we started to get serious
When they started putting expectations on our relationship
It scared me
Remember…
that time I tried to quit sophomore year because my depression was
trying to take me out
And I blamed you
I didn’t think of myself as worthy of all that you came with
The after game press conferences
The constant quest to be better
The suicides, the 300s, the gassers
I didn’t think I could do it
I never thought we’d get here
In the beginning, I downplayed our relationship
Told them I was just using you
To get out of California
To go to college
To get a degree,
And still you were there
Remembering who we used to be
Basketball, I never had a choice in this relationship
But you did
There were taller girls,
Quicker ones
Harder-working ones
More skilled ones
But you kept rewarding me
I was born to hall of famer Pamela McGee
My aunt, Trisha played in the WNBA and is now a college coach
My mom’s twin, Paula McGee won two NCAA titles
My dad played in Beijing
My brother is Mavericks center JaVale McGee
We were just the inevitable
Basketball,
This is the first time I’ve had a choice
And here I am choosing you
I’m no longer just some NBA player’s kid sister
I love you,
There I said it
I hiccup before games
Because you still make me nervous
Almost a decade in
I say the same prayer at the jump ball
And when ESPN shows the 2016 WNBA Draft my name will flicker across the screen
I just want to put on that jersey again
Say that same prayer when the ball tips on May 14
when I’m wearing my new Chicago Sky jersey
So basketball,
I promise to love you better
You’ve given me a platform
Reminded me that I’m stronger than I think
Here’s to our budding relationship basketball
Love,
Imani
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