Jackie Stiles is one of the greatest college basketball players ever — she set the NCAA scoring record while playing at what was then Southwest Missouri State and most of you, surely, will remember her team’s extraordinary run to the Final Four that year.
She is also an amazing person. I’ve known her now for closing on 25 years, and followed her from when she was just a kid in Claflin, Kansas, making 1,000 shots a day, through her incredible college career, through her injury-plagued pro career and into her post-career life as she has searched to find the person she is without basketball.
On March 1, a new documentary by Brent Huff called “The Jackie Stiles Story: Anything is Possible,” will premier in her hometown of Springfield, Mo. With that in mind, it seemed a good time to catch up with Jackie, talk a bit about her life and, sure, relive a couple of Jackie Stiles legends (like the time she won the Kansas state track titles in the 400, 800, one mile and two mile on the same day).
Super fun conversation. Hope you’ll like it.
A Few More Words with Jackie Stiles