At a towering 6 foot 6 inches and 245, LSU center Sylvia Fowles is imposing to young women stepping out on the court with her for the first time.
Fowles, wrapping up a huge senior season that has the LSU Lady Tigers poised for a fifth Final four, has fully stepped out of the shadows of All-American Seimone Augustus. But don't take her timid demeanor off the court to mean she's laid back.
"I'm not very shy. I'm really not," Fowles said recently. "I have to say I came out of my shell a lot. And that has a lot to do with my coaches, helping me gain that confidence."
That confidence, simply, has turn Fowles into a beast in the paint. Upon winning the SEC regular season, Fowles set the SEC career mark with 79 double-doubles. She also led the Lady Tigers to their second 14-0 conference finish in four years.
Fowles is strong on both ends of the floor, picking up the SEC's player of the year and defensive player of the year honors. Her nemesis in the SEC, Candace Parker, is seemingly the only play Fowles is intimidated by. (Fowles is expected to be the No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft, behind Parker).
what separates the two isn't the orange jersey vs. the purple-and-white one, no, what separates them is that Parker is makes her teammates better. She keeps everybody involved, demanding the ball in different spots on the floor without settling for a shot — which is something Fowles must work on.
