Former South Bend Clay star Connie Murdock honored on Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame team

Connie (Murdock) Sherrod's earliest memories of basketball are fond ones.

It was all about family and fun back then for the former Clay High School hoops star.

"I remember being like eight or nine and going to games with my dad and brother at the Y," Sherrod said in a recent phone interview. "I was on the Celtics. I did not play, but I was around my Dad and my brother like I wanted to be. And I thought that it was so cool that I had a uniform and a head band and sweat bands. That was just a lot of fun for me."

Sherrod came a long way from those early days in South Bend.

She went on to star at Clay, earning a spot on the Indiana All-Star team following her senior season in 1997. Sherrod will be one of 18 players from the Class of 1997 to be honored as part of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary Team later this month. The group will be saluted on April 30 at an awards banquet in Indianapolis. Information on tickets for the event can be obtained by calling (765) 529-1891.

"I was surprised and it was unexpected," Sherrod said of being selected for the honor. "I had not known about the Silver Anniversary team before this. But I was very humbled that they would consider me for this team."

"There are so many players on the team who I played with or against, like Ruth Riley and Katie Douglas, who was a teammate at Purdue. Really, all of them I've known since I was a kid. All of them are good people and it's just an honor for me to be on this team with them."

Sherrod, a 6-2 inside force, was a four-time All-Northern Indiana Conference pick for the Colonials while playing for coach Diane Robertson. She averaged 17.8 points and 13.1 rebounds her junior season to make the 1996 Jr. All-Stars and then 14.8 points and 12 rebounds per contest as a senior to earn All-State honors. Clay went 20-2 her senior season and won both conference and sectional championships.

"Thinking back, I just had a lot of fun at Clay," said Sherrod, who finished her prep career with 1,076 points and 963 rebounds. "To play the game with my friends and just learning and being able to enjoy the game.

"My favorite memory playing at Clay was winning sectional my senior year because that had been our goal. My favorite team was my junior year because that was the most talented team we had even though we came up short. That team had Oquanette Wilson, Mandy Vargas, Shannon Calvin, Alberta Griffin, as well as twins Carmon and Camille Robinson."

Sherrod fell in love with the roundball after trying a couple of other sports as a youngster.

"The first sport I was introduced to at like age six by my mother was tumbling/gymnastics," said Sherrod. "But I was too tall and got kicked out of that. Then it was running track. I was going to be the next Flo Jo, but I always seemed to finish second in my races."

Those two sport's losses turned out to be basketball's gain for sure.

Sherrod went on to play in 35 games over two seasons at Purdue. She helped the Boilermakers win the 1999 national championship on a team that went 34-1 and won its final 32 games. The Boilers, coached by Carolyn Peck, featured Stephanie White-McCarty, Katie Douglas and Ukari Figgs. She then went on to finish her collegiate career at North Carolina Central University, where she averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for a team that went 25-6 and played in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

"Basketball really gave me opportunities to blossom as a person," Sherrod said. "It gave me opportunities to develop life long friendships and develop self confidence."

Sherrod, who recalled former Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw attending one of her middle school games, credited many people with her basketball development.

"I used to play with people like Zayed Henry (from Washington) and Jenea Skeeters (from Mishawaka) in the summer," related Sherrod. "I also played AAU with Lou Megyese from Hoosier Trophies in South Bend, with Rod Creech and with coach Arthur Gregory and the Fort Wayne Lady Legit. I also won an AAU National Championship with Force Ten where I got to play with Stephanie White and Monica Maxwell after my freshman year at Clay. That was probably what boosted my confidence the most following my freshman season. They were two years older than me and are now being inducted individually into the Hall of Fame this year."

Sherrod says that although she does not visit South Bend very often she still stays connected to her hometown and her former teammates.

"I still follow sports in South Bend," said Sherrod. "I followed Jackie Batteast and Skylar Diggins at Washington. And I followed the Washington girls team this season (that won a state championship in February). I grew up when Steve Reynolds (the Washington coach) was playing at Riley and I know about his daughters."

The Silver Anniversary Team also features former NorthWood High School star A.J. Whitehead and former Notre Dame great Ruth (Riley) Hunter. Whitehead led NorthWood to a 25-1 mark and a State Finals berth in 1997, where she won the Mental Attitude Award. She went on to star at Bethel College and is now associate director of strength and conditioning at Wisconsin. Hunter starred at North Miami High School and then led Notre Dame to the 2001 national title before a standout career in the WNBA. She is now a radio and TV analyst for the Miami Heat.

Sherrod and her husband Theron are the parents of a son Theron II who turns five on April 6 and a two-year old daughter Carolyn. She has been an attorney in Chicago for the past 15 years. The former Clay star, who is the managing attorney for a law firm, is still connected to the game. She works with a league in the Chicago area as a volunteer coach and has also helped tutor players.

"Whenever the opportunity is there to work with kids through basketball, I still do that," concluded Sherrod.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Clay High School star honored as part of basketball hall of fame team