RUSTON - Cheryl Ford couldn't hide that shy smile that Louisiana Tech fans have come to know over the past four years when the 6-foot-3-inch center was selected Friday with the third overall pick of the first round of the 2003 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock.

Ford, who was in attendance at the draft that was held at the NBA Entertainment Studios in New Jersey, instantly smiled, turned and hugged her mother Bonita when her name was announced by WNBA President Val Ackerman.

The Summerfield, La., native's selection as the third overall pick marks the highest a Louisiana Tech player has ever been selected during the seven year history of the league, surpassing Betty Lennox who was selected No. 6 overall in the 2000 WNBA Draft.

"I am so excited to have gone this high," Ford said. "I just didn't think I would be going as high as No. 3, but it's a big thrill. I just want to keep doing my best and giving it my all so I can help Detroit. It's great going to a team that is coached by such a great former NBA player like coach (Bill) Lambeer"

Detroit head coach Bill Lambeer said Ford's selection would help bolster the Shock inside game that also features Ruth Riley, Swin Cash and former Lady Techster Ayana Walker.

"When I took over the team last year, we were very small and needed to get bigger and that is what we have done with Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley," said Lambeer, referring to Detroit's selection of former Miami Sol center Riley in the dispersal draft Thursday. "Cheryl is a great rebounder and that is what we got her for ... to get our there and get every rebound she can possibly get, run the break and play defense. She will need to work on her offensive game over time."

Tech head coach Kurt Budke said it should come as no surprise that Ford was Lambeer's No. 1 choice.

"We should have figured that a coach like Bill Lambeer who was a great rebounder when he was in the NBA would want a great rebounder like Cheryl," Budke said. "It makes perfect sense. Detroit needed a little more power and they got it in Cheryl."

Walker, who played with Ford at Tech for three years prior to being selected by the Shock in the second round of last year's draft, said she was happy to be reunited with her old rebounding

"It will be wonderful playing with Cheryl again," Walker said. "Coming from Louisiana Tech, we both know what it takes to win. I know she wanted to go to a team where she knew somebody and this will allow me to be there for her. I think she will fit well into Coach Lambeer's system. He likes to play an up-tempo style, and he likes for his post players to run the floor, which Cheryl does very well."

Ford said she was extremely pleased to be joining Walker in Detroit.

"It's super being back on the same team as Bird," Ford said. "It will be great going this level with somebody that I played college ball with and are good friends with. It will help make my adjustment to the WNBA that much smoother."

The two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year averaged 15.7 points and 12.9 rebounds a game as a senior leading the Lady Techsters to a 31-3 mark and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Ford recorded 24 double doubles and pulled down 438 rebounds in 2002-03, the second most in a single season in the history of the program.

During her first two years at Tech, Ford averaged a respectable 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while making only 19 starts. The talent and ability were both their for the former three-time all-state selection; however, many wondered whether the desire was.

"For her first two years it was like pulling teeth training with her in the summer," said Ford's father Karl Malone during an interview with ESPN2 Friday after his daughter's selection. "She would say, 'Dad, remember I'm not Daryl. I'm not a boy, I'm a girl.' I said that I understood that but if she wanted to get to the next level that this is what it was going to take. I told her that she needed to decide how good she wanted to be and this last year or two, her teammates accepted her as their leader. She realized she could do it."

During her last two seasons at Tech, Ford exploded onto the national scene, averaging 13.6 points and 10.9 rebounds a game while starting 59 of 64 contests for Tech.

"(Earlier this year) I asked her, 'When you walk out onto the court, do you feel like you are one of the best out there?'" said Malone. "She said, 'Well yes.' I said, 'Well, you should feel like that, now go out and prove it.' She has been able to do that the last two years."

Ford joins eight former Lady Techster players to give Louisiana Tech nine current WNBA stars, including Teresa Weatherspoon and Vickie Johnson of the New York Liberty, Betty Lennox of the Cleveland Rockers, Tamicha Jackson of the Phoenix Mercury, Alisa Burras and Takeisha Lewis of the Seattle Storm, Monica Maxwell of the Indiana Fever and Walker.

"It does mean a lot to our program," Budke said. "It keeps Louisiana Tech where it belongs among the nation's elite. I'm so proud of her."

Tulsa guard Allison Curtin was also selected in the first round with the 12th overall pick by the Houston Comets, giving the Western Athletic Conference two of the 12 first round picks. Besides the Southeastern Conference, which had six former players selected in the first round, the WAC was the only other conference with more than one.

Techsters in the WNBA

Cheryl Ford Detroit Shock
Ayana Walker Detroit Shock
Takeisha Lewis Seattle Storm
Alisa Burras Seattle Storm
Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty
Vickie Johnson New York Liberty
Betty Lennox Cleveland Rockers
Tamicha Jackson Phoenix Mercury
Monica Maxwell Indiana Fever