Dec. 14, 2009

According to her teammates and her coach, Tiawana Pringle has "issues."

Not the kind that the senior guard for Louisiana Tech would need to see a therapist about; these aren't life threatening or harmful - except maybe to her wallet.

Pringle simply loves shoe shopping and shut eye - and a lot of it.

"I like buying shoes," Pringle said. "If I see a pair, mainly ones with different colors, then I buy them. I especially like Nike Air Force Ones. Rainbow colored Air Force Ones ... colors that no one else would think about. It's my fetish."

Fetish might not be a strong enough adjective to describe the sharp-shooting guard's infatuation with purchasing new shoes. According to Pringle, she owns "about 100 pairs."

Pringle, who is known back in her hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, as Miss Ann - "It's a name my grandmother gave me when I was little," - says her closet and room are filled with boxes of shoes.

Teammate Shanavia Dowdell, who is also Pringle's roommate, said her little buddy has "a problem." Simply put, she's a shopaholic when it comes to footwear.

"Every time we go to the mall, she has to buy a pair," Dowdell said. "If we go today, she will buy a pair, and if we go tomorrow, she will buy a pair. She's obsessed with shoes. And she doesn't even wear them. She'll wear them like one time."

Pringle admits that she doesn't exactly wear holes in her kicks.

"I have a pair I've only worn once because they are an odd lime green color," Pringle said.

When Pringle isn't shoe shopping, going to class or playing basketball, she is normally catching up on her rest. In fact, her tendency to nod off at any time as well as a few other qualities has earned her the label of the team grandmother.

"She's always sleepy. She's in bed by 8 p.m.," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "She can't stand noise. She tells everyone what to do in a grandmotherly way. And everything starts with `Now ... `

"It's her way of presenting herself to the girls. She tells them what to do and how to do it. It's the words she uses and her slow distinct delivery."

Dowdell agrees with her coach's assessment.

"(Tiawana) sleeps too much," Dowdell said. "Whenever we get out of practice, she always says she is going to do something but always ends up going to sleep. We go to the movies for fun. She goes to sleep for fun."

Grandma Pringle just smiles and takes the ribbing like a good sport.

"They call me that because I like sleeping," Pringle said. "I don't like going out to just go out. I'm a home body. They say I act old and say things only older folks would say. I probably do, depending on who I am talking to.

"(Shanavia) teases me about being the grandmother. So does (Tarkeisha Wysinger). Even (our trainer) Michele (Dummett) will say, `TP, that's only something an old person would say.'"

When Pringle was a senior at Southeast Lauderdale High School, Louisiana Tech almost slept on her as the Lady Techsters didn't enter the recruiting process until late in the game, eventually signing her away from Tulane, Alabama-Birmingham, Southern Miss and a number of other colleges.

Tech fans are glad they did. Heading into her senior season, Pringle has seen action in 83 games, making 66 starts at the point guard position for the Lady Techsters with 64 of those coming the last two years.

And although not a prolific scorer, Pringle has done her job by serving as the coach on the floor. totaling 425 points, 238 rebounds, 204 assists and 84 steals through her junior season while also becoming one of the top defensive players on the team.

And along the way, she helped lead the Lady Techsters to a pair of regular season Western Athletic Conference titles. Not bad for a player who said that if the Lady Techsters hadn't offered her, she might not have even played college basketball despite the offers from other programs.

"It wasn't that I didn't love basketball; I just wanted to focus on my academics. I had academic scholarships," Pringle said. "But my mom kept saying, `Why don't you go ahead. You know you'll miss it.' I really wanted to go to Louisiana Tech. I knew it would be a great opportunity for me."

Pringle has been able to do both - play basketball and make good grades. She is set to graduate with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and health promotions this May and plans to attend graduate school pursuing a master's degree in sports medicine or applying for physical therapy school.

Regardless of the direction she goes with her future, two things are for sure - she will be wearing new shoes and she will be well-rested.