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Sky’s Pondexter pushes for title on court, citywide healing off it

Chicago isn’t short on young men who have become household names in basketball. Walk past any patch of blacktop in the city and you’ll see kids donning jerseys of those who inspire them: Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Dwyane Wade and others immediately come to mind.

But what about girls who need hoops role models? There are many players who fit the bill, though the name that floats to the top of the list is Cappie Pondexter.

The West Side native and Sky guard took another step on her journey toward legendary status last week when Rutgers University retired her No. 25 jersey. She is the third Scarlet Knight on the women’s side to receive that honor and the first black woman.

“I’m so thankful to God that he has allowed me to play the game of basketball and accomplish all these amazing things,” Pondexter told RedEye. “And I promise you, I never imagined any of this. All I said growing up as a kid was I want to play professional basketball, that’s all I said. And God has allowed me to do so much more than what I imagined and dreamed and am still probably going to accomplish. So I’m definitely thankful and I’m excited to see this jersey go up at Rutgers University. You know, as an African-American female, this is big for me.”

Raised by a single mother, Pondexter grew up in North Lawndale. Like many neighborhoods in Chicago, that community area has been haunted by violence. North Lawndale saw 24 homicides in 2015 and has seen 31 so far in 2016, according to Tribune records.

Pondexter credits her mother, Vanessa, with shielding her from potential dangers.

“My mom sheltered me throughout my elementary and high school years,” Pondexter said. “She really didn’t allow me to roam around Chicago like that. She always knew my whereabouts. I grew up in a very religious background, so the kind of things that most kids get away with, I wasn’t really able to. I went from home to the gym, home to after-school programs; my mom had close tabs on me. I really didn’t have to go through too much. [She taught me to] just stay out of harm’s way, she taught me right from wrong and I just needed that to make sure I was always on the right track. She is my backbone.”

When she got to Marshall Metropolitan High School, Pondexter planted the seeds of her legacy under the guidance of coach Dorothy Gaters, a legend in her own right.

“She was a competitor,” said Gaters, who has led the Commandos to eight state championships, including one with Pondexter in the fold, in the 1998-99 season. “The first time she came over to our gym, our best player was on the floor. So I tossed a ball out to see if the kids could do basic things with the ball. She gave the ball to the other girl and just got in a defensive stance. That’s still very fresh in my mind. I just thought, ‘Wow, she’s a competitor.'”

In 2001, Pondexter became the first player to win back-to-back Illinois Ms. Basketball Awards. At Rutgers, the point guard was a 2006 All-American and finished her career there second all-time in scoring (2,211 points), sixth in assists (470) and tied for ninth in steals (213).

There would be more highlights to come, however.

Selected by Phoenix with the second pick in the 2006 WNBA draft, Pondexter’s 11 seasons in the league have been star-studded. A seven-time All-Star who has won two WNBA titles (2007 and 2009), Pondexter was the Finals MVP in 2007. She won an Olympic gold medal in 2008, and last season she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history for the league’s 20th anniversary.

“When they named the top 20, just to see the other amazing female athletes I was around, I grew up watching them, so just to be a part of something special like that, it really shows me that I did put a lot of hard work in,” Pondexter said. “… There’s still so much that I want to accomplish. I want to win a championship here in Chicago. That’s like a dream-come-true moment right there. To be able to say I’m still top 20 and still have more left inside of me, it gives me a lot of hope and hopefully I can change lives at the same time.”

Changing lives in her hometown is a plan that almost wasn’t, until a phone call altered the course of her career.

“Actually when [then-Sky general manager] Pokey [Chatman] called me, I was about to sign to L.A.,” Pondexter said. “She kinda planted the seed, and I was like, OK, it makes sense. I took a few days and thought about it before I actually signed with Chicago. My mom and dad are getting older, and my grandparents [are as well], so I just thought it made sense for me, especially to finish my career to be back home, be around where I started.”

Where she started is where many young girls are right now. The platform Pondexter has from her status as a pro athlete and businesswoman—she co-owns 4 Season Style Management—allows her to influence youths through camps and personal conversations at practices across the city.

“It was a big inspiration for her to come here and let us hear her story, not just as a player but as a person,” said Terrinique Battle, a senior forward at Simeon Career Academy. “She doesn’t let anyone tell her what she can’t do, and even if they do, she proves them wrong. A girl that played basketball made it out of Chicago, made it to the WNBA, made it overseas, and I play basketball, too. It makes me think I can do the same things she did, since I’m going through the same stuff.”

Someone else who can empathize with Pondexter is the Bulls’ Wade. Professionally, both are trying to bring a championship to their hometown teams before their respective careers end; Wade is 34 and Pondexter is 33. Personally, each has lost family members to violence. In fact, each had a cousin who was killed this past August.

Part of their desire to give back stems from having lost loved ones far too soon.

“We talked about [how we can help],” Pondexter said. “It was right around the time I lost my cousin and he lost his cousin, so it was like, ‘Yo, we gotta do something, man.’ ‘Cause honestly the people need it, the kids need it, and we have that power to make a difference, so I think it’s important that we do figure something out together.”

From her outreach to schools in the city to the camps she launched this summer, part of Pondexter’s legacy will be in the lives she touched by sharing her story.

“That’s something that I want to continue to do because the females, they don’t really have that role model, that female role model presence; the guys do,” she said. “So I definitely want to make my presence known in that area. I want to continue to speak to the young women in urban communities because they need to understand what it’s like to be able to follow your dream and see that firsthand, because a lot of times they don’t see it, they don’t understand it because it’s not around them. As a young kid who grew up in a single-parent home, my mom took care of me by herself and we grew up in the urban community, so I know what it’s like firsthand.”

Annie Costabile is a RedEye contributor. @AnnieCostabile