SIUC women’s basketball coach Cindy Scott has been described as intense when she coached. That is a huge understatement. It was never an uncommon occurrence for her to vocalize her objection to a bad call or howl in frustration when her players made a mistake on the court.

In one example of her tenacity as a coach, she fiercely grabbed a ball that bounced out of play next to her. She held onto the ball and pulled some of her players next to her and began explaining the next play. In the meantime, the referee was signaling for the ball, and the players were returning to the court to set up the play.

Scott ignored the official. The official kept looking at her and motioning for the ball. Scott just kept on coaching. Finally, the official had to walk over and personally get the ball from Scott.

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Scott was always an animated figure on the lines. She was gracious in her defeats and exuberant in her victories. She was quiet off the court, but during the game she was determined to win.

Her spirit of competitiveness has come to symbolize what SIUC women’s basketball is all about. She built a fledging program into a successful tradition that has seen three conference championships and four NCAA appearances under her leadership.

She credits her players for her success, but she forgets who brought them here to play.

Scott says she is just a small part of women’s basketball at SIUC nothing could be further from the truth. Women’s basketball has only been in existence at SIUC for 39 years. Scott has been the head coach at SIUC for 21 of those years and virtually all of the national attention the program has gained has come from her hard work.

I can’t count the times I would go to her office to interview her and there she would be, watching a film and taking notes.

Scott studied the game and knew basketball inside and out. She was perhaps the best the conference had to offer.

Take the Jan. 6 game against Illinois State when the Salukis had a one-point lead with less than one second left on the clock. Scott knew she had two fouls to give before the Redbirds went into the bonus. But her players failed to execute and never fouled. The Redbirds won the game by one point.

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However, in the postgame interview, Redbird coach Jill Hutchison did not even know the foul situation and was surprised to find out the Salukis’ strategy.

Scott would never be caught off guard and not know such things as the foul situation.

But she also was successful because she was more than just a coach.

She did little things such as take her players to see movies after practice and have parties for her players. Some players say Scott spoiled them, but I know they all respected her and did what she demanded of them because of what she did for them.

Going to see movies was not going to help her team hit jump shots, but those simple acts of kindness made her players want to play hard for her.

When Scott announced her retirement last week, the players could hardly keep back their tears because of the love they have for their coach. I think that speaks volumes of what she meant to her players.

Scott is not just a small part of SIUC women’s basketball as she claims. She has left behind a legacy of greatness that few can ever hope to achieve. Her mark on SIUC women’s basketball will stand the test of time, and she will always be the measure of success for SIUC women’s basketball.

I hope she finds that job in athletic administration. But wherever she goes, she should know that she will always be missed at SIUC. So long Cindy. You were indeed the best this school has seen.