As the frothy waves lapped delicately on the Santa Monica
shoreline, Michelle Greco ran, leaving behind a trail of footsteps
not unlike the ones she and her siblings used to make while playing
in the Santa Barbara sand years ago.
But childhood memories of family vacations rarely invaded
Greco’s thoughts during her daily oceanfront jogs last
summer. Instead, she focused on basketball.
She thought about how her career at UCLA had begun with such
promise and how she had played such a pivotal role in the
Bruins’ 1999 NCAA Tournament run. She thought about leading
the Pac-10 in scoring as a junior and having to sit out the
duration of her senior season due to recurring concussions. But
most of all, she thought about whether she would ever play
again.
“At that point, I hadn’t been cleared by the doctors
yet,” Greco said. “Running was a way to let out my
frustrations. It was really nice to be able to reflect on things
and just be free.”
Fortunately for Greco, the UCLA medical staff cleared her to
play again on Sept. 23, 2002, and she returned to the court with
renewed intensity and purpose. The senior guard leads the Pac-10 in
scoring at 19.4 points per game and is the leading candidate to be
named conference player of the year.
“Michelle is a crazy worker both in games and in
practice,” UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. “She
leads by example, and she has a never-say-die attitude on the
court.”
Greco was one of the most sought after guards on the West Coast
coming out of high school, but her impressive prep credentials were
not enough to earn her a spot in UCLA’s talent-rich starting
lineup as a freshman.
In fact, she spent the first two years of her collegiate career
as the Bruins’ top reserve and quickly learned to defer to
her more established teammates offensively.
“My freshman year, it was kind of an intimidating
team,” Greco said. “I was told I was shooting too much
and that I needed to pass more. It was a definite adjustment coming
out of high school where I shot every time I touched the
ball.”
Greco finally earned the respect of her teammates late in her
freshman season when she filled in for injured point guard Erica
Gomez during the Bruins’ 1999 NCAA Tournament run.
After Gomez sprained an ankle 25 seconds into UCLA’s
matchup with Colorado State, Greco provided a steadying influence,
leading the Bruins to the regional finals where they ultimately
fell to Louisiana Tech.
“It never dawned on me that I was going to fill in for
Erica,” Greco said. “I couldn’t believe I was in
that position. That was a great experience for me.”
With her career seemingly on the upswing, Greco gradually
developed into UCLA’s top scorer off the bench as a sophomore
and emerged as one of the best players in the Pac-10 during her
junior campaign.
But the glory was short-lived for Greco and the Bruins.
The core of UCLA’s talent-laden roster ““ Gomez,
Janae Hubbard and Maylana Martin ““ graduated in 2000, leaving
Greco as the lone scoring option on a lackluster team that finished
6-21.
Furthermore, she sustained her first concussion in practice
early her sophomore season, and the problem only snowballed over
the ensuing months.
“After my first concussion, our trainer, Kim
Antonio-Hopkins, asked, “˜Do you know where you’re
at?'” Greco said. “I remember thinking to myself,
“˜Of course, I’m at practice,’ but I just
couldn’t get the words out.”
From October 2000 to March 2002, Greco suffered between five and
10 concussions. While not all were severe enough to force her out
of the lineup, the sum of the damage was enough to make her family
and coaching staff anxious.
“I was concerned for her,” Olivier said. “My
first impression was to be worried from a basketball perspective.
Eventually, I wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing for
her as a person.”
Greco appeared in five games last season before the UCLA sports
medicine staff determined that the risk of further concussions was
too great. She did not play again in 2002 and only participated in
non-contact drills in practice.
While having to watch from the sidelines was difficult, Greco
approached the time off with a positive attitude. She watched tapes
of games from earlier in her career to find the flaws in her play
and worked on her shot every day in practice while her teammates
scrimmaged.
“It was kind of nice having a little break from
basketball,” Greco said. “It made me appreciate the
game that much more. I’ve never had basketball ““ or
anything ““ taken from me like that.”
Since being cleared to play again in September, Greco has
flourished in her return to the court. Playing alongside fellow
senior Natalie Nakase and freshman phenom Nikki Blue, she has been
the driving force behind UCLA’s (15-10, 10-6 Pac-10)
emergence as an NCAA Tournament contender.
Greco has been a team leader and a mentor for UCLA’s five
freshman and was recently named a finalist for the Wade Trophy, the
award given to the player of the year in women’s college
basketball.
“To win that award would make my career at UCLA,”
she said. “I’m not going to lie. Just to be in the
running is an honor.”
When the Bruins take the court against Oregon on Saturday, it
will be Greco’s final appearance at Pauley Pavilion in a UCLA
uniform. The idea of leaving Westwood saddens the fifth-year
senior, but she knows that it is time to go.
“Pauley Pavilion has been my home,” Greco said.
“It’s been a place where I feel very comfortable. To
play my last game there is going to be tough, but I think I am
ready to move on with my life.”