Partial blindness hasn't stopped Oklahoma State's Stailee Heard from leading the Cowgirls into NCAAs
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Stailee Heard never set out to become a role model or the face for those who deal with visual impairment.
The leading scorer for the Oklahoma State women's basketball team that will face South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament on Saturday has never let the fact that she is blind in her right eye stop her from realizing her dreams. She isn't about to start now.
'I get that a lot actually because I don't tend to like telling people that because I don't want them to think of it as an excuse,' said Heard, who was born without vision in her right eye. 'This is how I have been my whole life, I know nothing different so it is pretty cool how people can look at that and say you are a good basketball player but now that they know you are blind in one eye, it is even better.'
There might have been those who doubted whether her lack of vision in her right eye would keep Heard from realizing her dream of playing major college basketball. Those messages never came from friends and family members.
'My parents, they really pushed that and that was their message all the time,' Heard said. 'I never backed down. They never had to push that on me. I never backed down or shied away from it.'
The fact that the Oklahoma State coaching staff didn't realize Heard was blind in one eye when they first started to watch the 5-foot-11 sophomore from Sapulpa, Oklahoma play speaks volumes about her game.
'She is so humble,' Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Jacie Hoyt said. 'It is not something that she talks about very much. I wish she did because it is so incredible and inspiring.
'I think she is such a great poster child for our program because we are very much about embracing adversity, not making excuses, not playing the victim. She is all about that. She doesn't do any of that. There aren't very many players in the country who would be able to handle that the way that she does.'
Heard has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season highlighted by a 34-point game against Texas Tech in the Big 12 quarterfinals and 25 points in the loss to Baylor in the semifinals.
Heard, who leads Oklahoma State in scoring at 16.7 points per game, and with an average of 8.1 rebounds, joins Micah Gray as the Oklahoma natives projected to start in Saturday's NCAA tournament opener. She is more than happy to talk to the high school players who come to see the Cowgirls play and let them know that they don't need to leave Oklahoma to make an impact on the basketball court.
'Being close to home means a lot,' Heard said. 'A lot of people come and we can show these youngsters, especially the high school players who come and watch, I always come and talk to them. I think it means a lot.'
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