4-Year All-American Courtney Paris of the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team made a amazing promise to Sooner nation on Senior night. Paris promised the women’s basketball world that she would end her career with a national championship. What makes this guarantee so amazing is that Paris promised to repay her full 4-year athletic scholarship valued at over $64,000 if her lady Sooners did not accomplish the task. In an Oklahoma newspaper (NewsOK-click to watch promise\read article) Paris had this to say about the guarantee, "I have a passion for our fans and university, and I want to do something special. That’s why I put my scholarship on the table. I meant what I said.”
It is amazing to see someone make such a huge guarantee and most of all take accountability for their actions. Paris, on taking accountability and winning a championship, "So when you’re good enough and don’t do something, then you have to take accountability for that and that’s your own fault. We can win a national championship. If we don’t, I’ll feel like I didn’t earn my scholarship.”
When looking at many players that I have the opportunity to come into contact with, I strongly believe that very few would take blame for a loss after a game. This is what makes this statement so special by Paris. This statement will also take a lot of the pressure off of the younger Sooner players and put it all on the senior leader Paris. In the word of Sooner’s Head Coach Sherri Coale, "I love her passion, love her belief in what she thinks this team can do. The most important part of reaching a goal is believing you can.”
As I am finishing this blog post Oklahoma was just defeated by the Louisville Cardinals 61-59 in the national semifinals. Paris did a post-game interview in which she said she would make good on her guarantee. Watching the Interview Oklahoma athletics has not only lost a great student-athlete but a great ambassador and promoter of the University of Oklahoma.
