POLK, Shawntinice

The Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona September 27, 2005 Arizona standout center Shawntinice Polk dead at 22 TUCSON -- One of the nation's top young women's basketball players, Arizona center Shawntinice Polk, collapsed on campus Monday and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, officials said. The 6-5 Polk hadn't been working out or practicing when she collapsed about midmorning Monday. "There was not a workout involved, there was not a practice involved, she just was not feeling well" when she arrived at the McKale Center, athletic director Jim Livengood said. Polk, 22, had some issues with asthma, Livengood said, but he declined to say whether the collapse was asthma-related and said it was premature to talk about a cause of death. 0002000003F7000002DD3F1,Polk's body was taken to the Pima County Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy, a spokeswoman said. "We lost a dear, dear friend in Shawntinice Polk this morning," said Peter Likins, the university president, his voice breaking. "She's a young woman whom I personally have come to know and love for the years she's been here. She's a very, very special human being who overcame a lot of obstacles to realize her full potential -- a beautiful, beautiful person whom I will cherish for the rest of my life," Likins said. Polk's teammates and other university athletes were grieving, he said. Polk was a star at Arizona. She was the school's career leader in double-doubles (46) and blocked shots (222). She was named to the All-Pac-10 first team three years in a row, beginning with the 2002-03 season. She was an honorable mention AP all-American selection as a freshman and sophomore before playing through much of her junior season with a knee injury. She still averaged 12.7 points and 8 rebounds a game. Polk, who preferred being called by her nickname "Polkey," also played on the USA Young Women's team that won the 2003 gold medal at the FIBA World Championship for Young Women in Sibenik, Croatia, finishing third in scoring on that team. "This is a terribly sad, heartbreaking day in Arizona women's basketball," Wildcats coach Joan Bonvicini said. "I can't put into words the pain and sadness that we're all feeling right now. "We all love Polkey. Our thoughts and prayers are with Polkey, her family and our Arizona family." "This is one of those kinds of times that anybody connected with any university, athletics or otherwise, dreads the most -- and that is when you lose somebody -- particularly when it's hard to explain and hard to understand," Livengood said. "Shawntinice Polk, those of you who didn't know her, that's your shortcoming," he added. Livengood said her smile and "everything about her was infectious." He recalled meeting her when she came to the university on a recruiting visit, "this very, very tall lady from Hanford, Calif., who absolutely had a smile that looked more like our Grand Canyon, and had a personality to match. And I'll never forget that." Polk, he said, was "the consummate team player" who cared about everybody. Likins remembered meeting Polk her freshman year. "I was a kid at Hanford myself once, a long, long time ago, and so I was tickled to see a kid from Hanford at this university," he said. Polk had come into his office to tell him she was determined to become a good student at Arizona -- before any talk of basketball -- he said. "I was so taken by her. She was shy, but at the same time a wonderfully appealing young woman, and I became persuaded that she's going to be OK in this place." An assistant principal at Hanford High, which Polk attended, described Polk as a star whom the whole town loved. "You just never saw her without a big smile on her face, and when she came to town she always came back to school to visit," assistant principal Leslie Steffen said. Polk is survived by her mother, Johnny Little, four older brothers and two older sisters.