It’s a Cinderella story indeed.
But for Stephanetta Bingley, it’s no longer a fairy tale.
It’s reality.
At 5-foot-2, Bingley did something last week that her friends
and coaches in high school said she could never do ““ walk
onto the UCLA women’s basketball team.
“To play at UCLA is a dream come true,” the
sophomore said. “Anything is possible as long as you put your
mind to it. The process, the road here, was not easy. But if you
want it enough, you’ll get it; hard work pays off.”
This wasn’t the first time that Bingley had attempted to
earn a roster spot with the Bruins. Last season, Bingley made an
effort to walk onto the team, but was unsuccessful in her
venture.
At that point, Bingley realized that just becoming a regular
student wasn’t enough. There was that inkling, that feeling
she remembers from the days she played on the courts of El Camino
High School in front of an audience that seemed so nostalgic.
That certain piece was missing in her life, and Bingley wanted
to fill it.
“I love the game so much, I just wanted to prove to myself
hard work does pay off,” she said. “When I didn’t
make it the first time, I wanted to prove that I was good
enough.”
During a 10-month period, Bingley put herself through an intense
training regimen while balancing two jobs at the Sproul Hall front
desk and the Academic Advancement Program.
Bingley found herself playing pick-up games with a few of the
women’s basketball players at the Wooden Center and the
Students Activity Center to sharpen her game. One of her good
friends, current sophomore Amanda Livingston, was one of the
regulars who worked out with Bingley consistently.
“She worked her butt off this summer,” Livingston
said. “I knew she wanted it badly, so we both had the same
goals this summer ““ improving our game.”
Besides playing pick-up basketball, Bingley sought aid and
advice from current Bruin men’s basketball player Janou
Rubin.
While Rubin prepared himself for his upcoming season, Bingley
would join him for 8 a.m. track runs and late afternoon
shoot-arounds.
The dedication and intensity she had for making the team came in
the form of nearly 35 hours of practice a week. Holding two jobs
and still trying to dedicate herself to her goal began taking a
toll on Bingley.
“I was teetering and tottering the whole summer,”
she said. “It was a roller coaster. Some days I was getting
good, and other days I was playing pick-up at the Wooden Center and
losing the ball every possession.”
But it wasn’t until a few days before the initial tryout
last month that Bingley began feeling depressed and unsure of
herself. That’s when Rubin sat her down and said that if she
stayed calm, she would be all right.
A few days later, Bingley proved she could do it by earning a
spot on the roster as a guard.
Rubin received a phone call from Bingley about the news. But he
wasn’t surprised one bit.
“I believed she could do it,” said Rubin, who
initially walked onto the UCLA men’s team before earning a
scholarship last season.
“I’m very happy for her. She has a great work ethic.
For people that are trying to walk on, you just have to stay tough,
mentally tough, the whole way through, and that’s what she
did.”
Now as a member of the team, Bingley has had to start from base
one, learning a whole new set of drills and practices while still
adjusting to the entire scene.
But the transition, she said, has been relatively easy. And
Bingley attributes that to the character of the team.
“Her personality blends well with the team, really good
energy, and you need that from a walk-on,” coach Kathy
Olivier said. “You need someone that knows her role, and
someone that’s excited to be part of the group, and
that’s Stephanetta. She’s working hard trying to do
whatever is needed.”
“She brings a lot of energy on the team, hard worker, very
positive,” sophomore Noelle Quinn added. “Our team has
very good chemistry, and she blends right in.”
Though UCLA has not had a player similar in stature to Bingley
since 5-foot-1 Natalie Nakase, who graduated in 2003, she feels
that her competitiveness and spirit ultimately outweigh any
disadvantage.
“I don’t think about my height at all,”
Bingley said. “If anything it’s an advantage because
people don’t want to get down that low to guard you. It
doesn’t bother me. Other people make comments about it, but I
just forget about it when I’m on the court and go
hard.”
For a newcomer, trying to do too much oftentimes disrupts the
flow of practice. Bingley has remained careful in just trying to
absorb all she can in the few weeks she has been with the team. One
of her main goals is to just understand her role as an incoming
player.
“I’m not coming out here to say, “˜Hey, I want
30 points a game,'” Bingley said. “I’m a
role-player at this point. Right now, I’m just gracious to be
on the team. Playing time is not really a huge factor.
“I’m just trying to get better every day.”
And now she’ll have her chance on the court she once
considered hallowed, but now calls home five days a week.