Only a day after making major noise on the court by defeating yet another ranked opponent, the No. 10 Rutgers women's basketball team made significant noise off the court yesterday afternoon.
In front of a room filled with reporters and camera crews, senior guard Cappie Pondexter sat smiling from ear to ear and said she'll put off the WNBA Draft and return to Rutgers next year.
"I have made my final decision and I am definitely happy with it," an excited Pondexter said. "I will be back on the Banks for another year."
Pondexter - who did not compete her freshman season due to NCAA initial eligibility standards - is on her way to earning an additional year of eligibility by fulfilling the NCAA satisfactory requirements.
Pondexter said she has really enjoyed playing with the younger players on the team and is excited to play with the great recruiting class next season. The thought of playing one more year with head coach C. Vivian Stringer is another reason why Pondexter wants to return.
"How can I not be all smiles about her decision?" Stringer said. "She came here when she could have gone anywhere in the country to play. She has clearly demonstrated that she is her own person and that she follows no one."
Pondexter - a 5-foot-9 senior - is the Knights' leading scorer this year, averaging 13.4 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest.
Although many mock drafts have Pondexter as the first overall selection for the upcoming WNBA draft, the All-American says that she's not yet ready to go to the next level, pointing out that the money isn't important to her.
"The money doesn't matter to me because it could be there one day and gone the next day," Pondexter said. "I love basketball with all my heart. College is the best way to compete and it is fun, the next level is a business and I don't think I am ready for that yet."
For now, Pondexter is concerned about only one thing - helping her team to continue to succeed this season. Repeatedly, Pondexter has said the team's first goal is to win a Big East regular season title. That goal is close to being accomplished and then it is on to the next goal, a national championship.
The WBNA, though, is still something Pondexter sees in the future for herself.
"It's been a dream of mine my entire life - I got the WNBA tattoo my junior year of high school," Pondexter said. "Playing professionally is just something that I have always wanted to do. If the WNBA didn't exist, I would play somewhere, the NBA, I don't care."
For Stringer, her teammates and the RU faithful, they'll have the privilege of watching the superstar attempt to rewrite the record books one last season.
"A lot of people from the WNBA were at the Notre Dame game," Stringer said. "I just smiled and said, 'You're not getting her yet.'"
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