“He just tells me, ‘You’re a freshman, you’re going to make mistakes,’ ” said Shakara, who went to Francis Howell Central High in St. Charles. “But he said as years go on, you’re going to get a lot better. So keep your head up.’ ”
Good advice from any dad, but Ron knows whereof he speaks when it comes to basketball. He played for Norm Stewart’s Tigers in the 1980s, and MU coach Cindy Stein said he’s been a big help for her and Shakara.
“He’s like another coach,” Stein said. “What I love about him is he’s very supportive of us and the things we teach. He tries to help in any way he can, but doesn’t want to overstep anything.
“He’s got great insight into the game, and he passes that on to Shakara. It’s funny because we say the same things to her a lot. And she is so coachable, and very talented, obviously.”
Tuesday, that talent — and Shakara’s determination — showed as she and the Tigers pulled the biggest upset ever at the Big 12 women’s tournament. No. 12 seed MU’s 70-64 overtime victory over No. 5 Oklahoma sent shockwaves across the women’s basketball world.
It ended Oklahoma’s hopes of winning its third consecutive Big 12 title and almost certainly damaged the Sooners’ NCAA Tournament seeding. They have to regroup. And as disjointed as they looked in this game, that’s going to take some work.
For the Tigers, it was like the sun finally rising after a long, long night. MU lost four starters off a team that underperformed last season. This year, young Tigers such as Jones were trying to learn how to play in the Big 12, which is a tough place to get schooled.
For Jones, who bypassed a scholarship offer from Tennessee and instead opted for MU, it was also hard because she was frequently going against bigger players inside. What was Dad’s advice on that? He told her all year that when you are undersized in the paint, you just have to keep dancing.
One of Jones’ aunts, Deborah Williams, was doing the “real” kind of dancing in the stands at Municipal Auditorium during timeouts of the MU-Oklahoma game. And, folks, she can move.
Another aunt, Gwendolyn Squires, was also at the game. Both women live in Kansas City — Gwendolyn is principal at Garfield Elementary — and are sisters of Shakara’s mom, Anita Squires-Jones. The three sisters were always present at MU games this season.
Tuesday, they got to celebrate along with Ron and the rest of MU’s fans in watching the Tigers win a game few really imagined they would.
Shakara finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in another battle with Oklahoma’s twin towers Courtney and Ashley Paris. MU had played well against the Sooners when the teams met in Columbia in February, but still lost that game by seven.
“This is a huge confidence-booster. We knew we had it in us,” Shakara said Tuesday. “We knew it was going to be a tough game with the Paris twins, but playing them at home had given us a sense of what we could do and couldn’t do.
“By the middle of the game today, we thought if we kept pushing, this would be our game. This is the team that we knew we were. It’s a great feeling to know we showed it.”
Ron said he had reminded Shakara before facing Oklahoma, “You’re playing against the bigs, and I played against Wayman Tisdale back in the day. And he was huge. You gotta do a lot of dancing.”
Outside MU’s victorious locker room, Shakara said she followed Dad’s advice.
“I felt like today, I danced!” she said, laughing with joy. “Yes, ma’am!
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open debate is the goal, but please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as violation" link to notify a KansasCity.com editor. Thanks for your feedback.