Catching Up With: Tracy Gahan

AMES, Iowa ? Former Iowa State women's basketball standout Tracy Gahan is in her sixth season playing basketball overseas and her third campaign with the Adelaide Lightning in Australia. Last season, she helped lead the Lightning to a WNBL championship and was named to the WNBL All-Star Five.

Gahan has lived in six different countries, playing two seasons in Greece, one season in Ireland, several seasons in Australia, and a short term in Turkey. The McKinney, Texas, native has also had a few runs with the WNBA, including a training camp appearance in 2008. She also studied abroad in Italy during the Fall of 2002.

Gahan scored 1,357 points in her Iowa State career, playing for four NCAA Tournament teams between 1998 and 2002. She helped the Cyclones knock off Connecticut to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1999. She graduated in 2003 from Iowa State with a degree in marketing.

Despite her busy schedule, Gahan answered questions from cyclones.com to let fans know what she's been up to lately.

When we last caught up with you, you were playing in Australia in the summer of 2006. Where has your career led you since that time?

“After the summer of 2006 in which I played in Tasmania, I continued my career in Australia and signed on to play with the WNBL's Adelaide Lightning for the 2006-07 season. (The WNBL is the premier women's basketball league in Australia and runs from October through March. The summer I played in Tasmania I was playing in SEABL; a league that runs in the off season of the WNBL.)

“Then in March of 2007, at the completion of my first season with Adelaide, I signed a short-term contract with Botas, a club in Adana, Turkey, and played there from March to May. Basically, I was signed and brought in for the playoffs as obviously I was there for a very short amount of time.

“The following September, I returned to Adelaide for the 2007-08 season. We had a great year and ended up winning the championship, which was the first for Adelaide in 10 years. At the conclusion of my second season with Adelaide in March, I headed to a WNBA training camp with the Connecticut Sun, although I was eventually released.”

Where are you at now? What team are you playing for? What league?

“I am back in Adelaide for my third season with the Lightning.”

You've really been able to travel the world because of basketball. Did you ever dream that this is where you would be and that you would have had all the experiences you have had?

“Absolutely not. To pursue a basketball career after college was never a dream of mine. After being drafted and released by the WNBA's NY Liberty at the end of my senior year at ISU, I actually gave up basketball and decided to travel and study in Italy during the following fall semester because I needed a fifth-year of study at Iowa State in order to complete my degree. Only when I returned to Ames in December of 2002 and started working with Coach Fennelly and the team again did I realize that I was not ready to walk away from basketball just yet.”

What has been your favorite place to either play or to visit and why?

“I get asked this question everywhere I go, but I have to give the same, generic response every time. I have loved every country that I have played in and enjoyed every experience for very different reasons; therefore, it is hard for me to say that one particular place is my favorite.

“Playing in Greece and Turkey provided me with the greatest culturally diverse experiences, and it was incredible to me how welcoming and hospitable these people were even though they were so entirely different to me, not to mention that the food was absolutely amazing.

“Playing in Ireland was an unforgettable experience simply because the people were so warm and no doubt have the keenest sense of humor of anyone I have ever met. I probably laughed more in those eight months than I have in my entire life and I cannot wait for the opportunity to head back there hopefully in the near future.

“And then of course there is Australia; this is my third season with the same club so that pretty much speaks for itself. I have found playing in Adelaide has been the most similar experience to college in that the team is very close and we share our life together on and off the court. I know many of my teammates as well as people I have gotten to know in the community will be a part of my life forever and I honestly cannot imagine the day I will leave and say goodbye for good.”

With your wide array of experiences, how has your world view changed or remained the same?

“My world view has completely changed because having the opportunity to travel the world and live in so many amazing places has shown me that the way we think and live as Americans is not necessarily the ?right way' or only way to live and we should not impose our values and our ideals onto others and expect them to live as we do. Although there are so many wonderful things that America has to offer and I am very proud to be an American, I think we need to realize that we can learn so much from other countries and cultures and we need to be more open minded in regards to the opinions and beliefs of people around the world.”

What has been the most rewarding experience of your professional career?

“The most rewarding experience of my professional career has absolutely nothing to do with anything that has happened on the court. It has been the opportunity to travel the world and meet so many amazing people that will be a part of my life forever.”

What type of role do you play with your current team and how has your role changed through your international career with different teams?

“My role has consistently been inconsistent. My first year overseas (Peiraikos, Greece), I was playing for a very young, inexperienced team, and I was expected and needed to score and was relied on to be the go-to player. (Ironically, this team ended up with the worst record I have ever been a part of so maybe this role didn't quite suit me.)

“My second year (Panathinaikos, Greece), I was surrounded by much better players and had more of a hard working, ?role-player' type role. We won the championship that year!

“Then I played in Ireland and was again expected to be more of a dominant player and needed to post really good numbers. My team did win the regular season title but fell in the tournament championship.

“Since I've been in Australia, my role has stayed pretty consistent in that I am expected to score and rebound, but the expectations are not mine alone. Each of the past three seasons we have had very talented teams. I believe that last season we had seven different players who were the top scorer on a given night, and of those seven, four or five averaged double figures in scoring. It was an easy team to fit into and for the third time since playing overseas, I was very fortunate to be part of a championship team.”

What was it like to go back to training camp with the Sun? How did that experience come about? Did you enjoy it?

“In all honesty, it was not the experience I had hoped for. I was coming off possibly one of the best seasons of my career (which is basically how the invitation came about as I had several training camp offers), but I was also coming off an MCL injury that I suffered at the end of my season in Adelaide, and therefore I was not able to play the six weeks before I started camp. So from the first day I walked in, it was very obvious that I was one giant step behind the others, and unfortunately I had very little time to catch up and never did. As dismal as I played, I would have cut myself!

“As far as the team and the coaches are concerned, I had a wonderful experience and learned a lot in the short amount of time I was there. The coaches were very encouraging, supportive, and great to play for and the team got along really well. In addition, one of my teammates from Adelaide, Jess Foley, was my roommate at training camp which made the experience that much more enjoyable. Because I really struggled on the court, she was my saving grace off the court and I'm so thankful we went through camp together!”

How often do you get to come back home? How often do you get to see family? Do they visit often?

“Every off season I still go home to Texas and get to spend several months with my family. My older brother Jeff, who was a swimmer at ISU, is now a doctor practicing in Miami so he obviously has not had the time to visit me overseas but I did get to spend about two weeks with him in Florida this past summer.

“My younger brother, Brian, is married and lives less than five miles from my parents' house in McKinney so I got to see him fairly often and we even got to play in a co-ed kick ball league together while I was home. I was also lucky that he did make a trip to Athens and then he and my sister-in-law spent a week with me in Dublin.

“My parents also made it to Dublin, but only my mom was able to visit me while I was playing in Athens and Tasmania. Unfortunately, they have not had the opportunity to see me play since I have been in Adelaide. With the nearly two-day travel time and rising gas prices, it has been virtually impossible for them to make the trip, but I will make it home for Christmas this year for the first time in three years so I get to see them again in about three months time.”

Do you still try to keep up with the Iowa State team and follow what they are doing?

“My parents keep me up-to-date on how the ISU girls are doing and I always follow their progress come tournament time, but that is about the extent of my knowledge as it has been a few years now since I've known a single player on the team. Plus, there is no coverage here so it makes it a bit harder to follow their season. I do keep in touch with Coach Fennelly and try to make it up to Ames about once every two years.”

What are some things that Coach Fennelly used to say that you still remember? Or what was your favorite saying of his?

“Some of the most distinct memories I do not believe he would appreciate me sharing as a few choice words were involved, but my all-time favorite saying was, ?Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.'

“Coach Fennelly was and is one of the most influential people in my life and I know that I would not have had the opportunities or experiences that I have had if it weren't for his guidance, his support, and his direction. My college experience is definitely one that I will always cherish!”

How many of your former teammates do you keep up with? Anything exciting about them that you can report?

“I am so very lucky that I keep up with quite a few teammates. Lindsey (Wilson) and I were fortunate to play together for two years in Athens, and then we reconnected again for those two short months that I was in Turkey in 2007. I finally made my way up to Seattle this past summer and spent a week with her and her family. Very fun.

“Stacy Frese (Huber), Sarah Robson (Braunhausen) and I have gotten together the past few summers. Last year we headed to Sarah's house in Ohio since she was staying put as she awaited the birth of her second child. (She has a daughter, Avery, and now a son, Cole.) Then this summer the two of them came down to Texas to stay with me and my family, and shortly after their visit, Stacy shared the wonderful news that she is pregnant with her second child. (She has a daughter, Sydney.)

“Erica Haugen was able to visit me in Minneapolis when I played an exhibition game with the Connecticut Sun. She continues to work for airport security and lives in the Minneapolis area.

“And thanks to the very popular ?Facebook,' I have been in touch with so many other teammates and it seems that everyone is doing well and enjoying life!”

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