Inductees

The crazy thing about her career is that, while her resume eventually would feature All-State status and later 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in college, there was a winter when the game went on without her.

Pat Colon, you see, got cut during tryouts ahead of her freshman season of high school. And you think that was a gut punch? Put it this way: for years, she had held her own against older brothers and their buddies on the basketball playground – the Big Boy Court, she always called it.

“There was no crying,” she said of that humbling experience. “If you get knocked down, you get back up and you went back to work. And when I got cut, it was my fault.”

Talk about going on a mission. Colon surged to standout status at Cape Girardeau’s Central High School and then at then-NCAA Division II Southeast Missouri State University. Which is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Colon with the Class of 2021.

At the end of her final game in 1987, she had scored 2,034 points and grabbed 1,003 rebounds in her collegiate career.

In state history of NCAA Division I or NCAA Division II programs, only two other players have achieved 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their careers: University of Central Missouri’s Tammy Wilson (2,104 & 1,205) and Truman State’s Carol Jarrad (2,009 & 1,184).

Colon’s point total stood as SEMO’s record for nine seasons after her final game – it’s still No. 2 all-time — while her rebounding total is still No. 1.

Fittingly, Colon later became the first woman – and only the second basketball player in SEMO history – to have her jersey (No. 54) retired. That came in 1994. At the time, she held 13 school records.

This from a four-time all-conference selection who pushed SEMO to four NCAA D-II Tournaments, two MIAA regular-season championships and the 1987 MIAA Tournament title. Her teams were 88-28 overall, including 44-14 in her final two seasons.

And her senior season was impressive, considering Colon returned after giving birth to her daughter in March 1985. Her comeback was fueled, in part, for what it would mean to her daughter years later.

“No matter what curveball life throws you, whatever you want to accomplish, you can,” said Colon, a 1984 All-American by the Women’s American Basketball Association and Spaulding. “I went back with a vengeance because I wanted my scholarship back and I wanted to graduate. You have to have that determination to do it.”

It’s no wonder Colon – now the Chief Deputy Officer of Cape Girardeau County – became a success story.

For one, she said Central coach Marsha Balsman was right to cut her.

“I was a clown,” Colon said. “After that, I swore I would never ever get cut again. When I went back, it was all business.”

Colon earned All-State twice (1981, 1982) and, as a senior, carried Central to the brink of the Final Four. She also wore jersey No. 54 – which were the second numerals of her older brothers’ jersey numbers, 25 and 24. Willie and Mike and their buddies had toughened her up on the Big Boy Court.

“And we’d play until it got dark. We’d drink out of the hose, have a brief recess and went right back at it,” said Colon, who also played pick-up football games and, in high school, threw the shot put and discus.

In her senior year, Colon made official visits to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas-San Antonio while Ole Miss, Missouri and Florida were strong pursuers. UT-San Antonio’s coach was actually at her parents’ house when the TV news reported that Colon had signed with SEMO.

With her dad in poor health, staying home was far more important. Besides …

“It’s not where you play. It’s how you play,” said Colon, the youngest of eight children.

Overall, she credits many for her success, including youth coach Bobby Everage, high school coach Mike Litzenfelner, college coaches Angela Beck and Ed Arnzen, and teammates. To Colon, their passion for the game had to be matched.

“Saturday mornings, I’d be the only one out there (practicing). And long before games, I would look down at the backboard and look at my spot, and that’s where I knew I was going to work,” Colon said. “That came with playing with the boys – I learned how to post them up, fight for position with elbows tight. … And I could drop-step with the best of them.”

What a career it was.