Basketball star encourages children to pursue dreams

Although she loved playing basketball in high school and college, Allison Feaster didn't dream of becoming a professional.

"When I was in high school, there were no professional leagues for women, and I did not know I could play basketball in Europe," said the WNBA player, who met with a group of children at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center on Tuesday.

The valedictorian of her 1994 class at Chester High School in Chester, S.C., Ms. Feaster was the state's all-time leading scorer in girls basketball before her record was broken about four years ago.

She played basketball at Harvard University and is the only Ivy Leaguer in the WNBA.

"Of my teammates from Harvard, none play professional basketball. They are lawyers, movie company executives and doctors," she said.

As a teen and young adult, Ms. Feaster wanted to go to college and get the best job she could. She wanted to do something to help her mother, who raised four children while working several jobs and going to school.

Ms. Feaster graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and had been offered a job at Merrill Lynch when she was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

She and her husband, Danny Strong, who plays professionally in Europe, have one child.

Ms. Feaster said she likes to talk to youths about pursuing their dreams, but with her playing schedule, her time is limited. She spends October through May in Europe and plays with the Indiana Fever the rest of the time. She finished the WNBA season Sept. 23 and was scheduled to fly to Italy last Friday.

In addition to speaking at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center, she also spoke at the Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School on Tuesday morning. It was a first for her.

"This morning I spoke at JET Middle School, and I was almost in tears. I've waited my professional life to come back to South Carolina and be able to tell my story," she said. "To interact with those girls in the gym, that's what it's all about for me."

Officials with the ShadeTree Home for Girls in Edgefield coordinated Ms. Feaster's visit.

Reach Charmain Z. Brackett at charmain.brackett@augustachronicle.com.