Craig Mattick:
Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Today's guest, one of the all-time great girls' basketball players in South Dakota, scored more than 2,000 points in her high school career, was named South Dakota's Miss Basketball. In college, a four-year starter at Kansas State, drafted in the third round in the WNBA, and had a 15-year professional basketball career. She's also in the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. The Sturgis Scooper, Megan Mahoney. Megan, welcome to In Play.
Megan Mahoney:
All right, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Happy to be here.
Craig Mattick:
You were just back in Sturgis recently, for the annual Hall of Fame banquet. You were there for your basketball coach, Mike Friedel. What was that like, with the return trip back?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, unfortunately, Fry ... that's what we call him. Fry couldn't make it. He had already booked a trip to Mexico with his wife, before he knew that he was getting inducted, so he was soaking up the sun while we were up there. But no, I was honored and happy to go up there, and kind of speak about Fry and speak on his behalf. And he was a great mentor to me during kind of those formative years. And great coach and a great person, so yeah, I was happy to be able to be up there and support him, even if he was on the beach.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. What did Coach Fry mean to you during those years at Sturgis? What did he do for you?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Well, I mentioned this at the Hall of Fame ceremony. I'm forever thankful to him for taking a chance on bringing me up as an eighth grader. I know, at the time, he took a lot of grief and [inaudible 00:02:18] from some people around, maybe some parents. And so I'm just thankful that he took a chance and brought me up. And I think Fry and I had a mutual respect for each other. Obviously, he was a tough coach, but we knew that he loved us as players and as people, and he cared about us. So I think that as a team, we wanted to do well for him, and as well as him wanting the best for us.
So yeah, I learned a lot through Fry. And he also kind of let me be me, on the court as well. Which, not to mean I just did whatever I wanted, but just kind of let my instincts play out on the court. So yeah, Fry was definitely an instrumental part of my development and career.
Craig Mattick:
When did basketball become important to you at Sturgis?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, I have an older brother, Ryan, who's four years older than me. And so I always wanted to be out playing with him and his friends, whatever it was, tackle football, or basketball, or baseball in the yard. But I think my dad, I want to say when I was maybe ... Geez, I don't even know. Third grade, maybe. He poured a concrete pad and put a hoop out. And when I was younger, it felt like it was huge. And now when I go back to it, I mean, we're talking about, I don't know, 20 by 12 foot concrete pad. But me and my brother, we used to put the halogen light out at night, and we would play one-on-one and shoot. So it became a passion pretty early on, for me, anyway.
And then I did play with the boys, and play against the boys up until about eighth grade, seventh ... No, it would've been seventh grade. So yeah, it kind of had become a passion of mine pretty early on.
Craig Mattick:
You mentioned you were on the varsity as an eighth grader, you were a second team all-stater as an eighth grader, which was pretty awesome. Was there the deer in the headlight look when you're an eighth grader on the varsity?
Megan Mahoney:
I think early on in try outs, there's a little bit of intimidation factor, just being that young, and maybe not being embraced by everybody right away. But for me, once I got a little more comfortable, I mean, it was basketball, it was competing. I wanted to do well, I wanted to win. I wanted to help my team. So that might be a question for Fry, for Friedel. I don't really ... you know what I mean? Maybe like I said, early on during tryouts. But once the ball got rolling, it was just competing and getting out there, trying to win games.
Craig Mattick:
Megan, you could play any position on the floor. In fact, you were one of the very few players in the state who could play point guard at six foot. When was that growing spurt for you?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, height-wise, I think I was probably 5'10", 5'11" in seventh or eighth grade, so height-wise, I peaked kind of early. As far as the skill level, when I was coaching ... you know, I've done camps and training and stuff. One of the biggest things I've pushed was ball handling. No matter your size or what position you think you're playing. Nicole Ohlde, who I played with at K-State, she was 6'5", our center. But sometimes during presses, she would bring the ball up, and she had great handle. So I think that was something that helped me, in being versatile and playing different positions, was being able to handle the ball.
Craig Mattick:
A lot of playing time as a eighth grader, a lot of playing time As a ninth grader. You get to be a sophomore, you go ... I think you went 19 and 4 that year. You got to the state championship game. Sturgis had not been there for a long time, to that championship game. In fact, only the second time ever Sturgis got to the finals. But the loss was against a Sioux Falls Roosevelt team that would eventually win 111 games in a row, five straight titles. What do you remember though as a sophomore with that title game versus Roosevelt?
Megan Mahoney:
I remember us, we had a good squad that year. We had some good players as well, and we believed that we could beat them. We were not going into that game scared. It was just a battle. They were loaded, and it felt like they just kind of had weapons all around. They were a buzz saw. They were a dang buzz saw for my whole career, and we couldn't quite get past them.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you guys were a buzz saw too, because you guys were winning a bunch of games. You go to your junior year, you win 20 games. Of course, three losses that year, and all of them were to Roosevelt. Wow, darn Roosevelt. They just keep getting in the way, for you guys. But, you know what? You get back to the state championship game. So what's going through your mind after those two years, the state championship games? I mean, today, it feels a lot different than back then, but what was going through your mind at that time?
Megan Mahoney:
I think I was just seeing red. And I don't mean Roosevelt red. I just remember being so determined, that I'm going to do everything in my power to win this game and take these guys down. Like I said, we believed we could. We knew they were the "top dogs," but we believed, going in, we weren't playing scared. But the details of the games are a little murky now. I just remember going in uber-focused, and just uber-determined to take them out, which obviously we didn't quite get that done.
Craig Mattick:
You won so many ball games. Who were some of your teammates during those two years you made the state tournament finals that helped the Scoopers get there?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, So our center was Brittony Hubbard. She was probably 6'2", lefty. Miaken Ziegler, she was our forward. She was a tremendous athlete. I think she went on to play basketball at School of Mines, and maybe did track too. Megan Little, she was a great three-point shooter. Yeah, those were some of the main ones that kind of were the nucleus of that team those couple of years there.
Craig Mattick:
Megan, coming into your senior year, everybody across the state knew that the battle for the girls' AA title was going to either be with Roosevelt or Sturgis. You go 16 and 2 in the regular season. Those only losses was to Lincoln and Roosevelt. But that senior year, you eventually get named South Dakota's Miss Basketball, Sturgis' fourth straight trip to the state tournament. Didn't go the way you wanted though. You beat Huron in the first round. But then semifinal night, Mitchell comes in, and Mitchell wins that game. Just a frustrating weekend for you there, with state basketball.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, that was pretty heartbreaking. That was years ago. I don't know. They had a good team. And I don't know if we weren't quite as focused as we should've been, or what the situation was. Yeah, I do remember feeling absolutely devastated after that loss. And I had already committed to Kansas State at the time. And I remember, the assistant coach, they had been following it, and they had called right after the game. And I remember being on the phone with assistant coach to K-State, just crying my eyes out, because I was so heartbroken and so disappointed. Because obviously, that goal was to get back to the championship, and likely be playing Roosevelt, and to just get one more shot at them, but didn't go as planned.
Craig Mattick:
K-State still wanted you though.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
They certainly cared what you did, but they still wanted you. You averaged almost 20 points and 10 rebounds a game in your high school career. You went 86 and 25 as a Scooper. Curious, because teams had to stop you if they were going to beat Sturgis. How many defenses did you see trying to stop you from scoring?
Megan Mahoney:
I can remember some, quite a few box-and-ones and triangle-and-twos. There was some zone in there. Back then, I wasn't much of a three-point shooter. That didn't kind of come into my career until a little bit later. So clogging that lane up, I think, trying to shut down the drive and post moves. But yeah, I think we saw a little bit of variety of all the defenses.
Craig Mattick:
By the way, you also played volleyball. You played volleyball four years. Was that kind of a big-time breakaway from basketball, by playing volleyball?
Megan Mahoney:
I really, really enjoyed playing volleyball. It's, for me, a totally different sport. Don't have the contact and the physicality, but I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I wasn't playing basketball year-round, and so it was kind of a good change of pace for me. And we had some decent teams, and had a lot of fun playing volleyball.
Craig Mattick:
Your senior year, you're chosen South Dakota's Miss basketball. The Gatorade Player of the Year, the USA Today South Dakota Player of the Year. Huge accolades for you, Megan. What were you thinking when you were getting all of these awards your senior year?
Megan Mahoney:
I mean, they were pretty cool. I was honored to be chosen for those. But at the time, I don't know, it's just what I did. I just love to do it. I just love to compete, I loved to win. I had committed to play on at the next level, and so I was super excited about that. So I'm very appreciative of all those awards and everything. And maybe I appreciated it more a little later on in life in my career as well. But at the time, it's just what I loved to do. I was just passionate about it, and liked to compete. So it was nice that that was acknowledged, I guess.
Craig Mattick:
What lured you to Kansas State?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, to be honest, I had made up my mind early on. I thought that I was going to go to Colorado State. I wanted to follow in Becky Hammon's footsteps. And I had been to camps down there, and I loved it down in Fort Collins. I didn't take all my full five visits that you could take. I kind of just thought I had my mindset.
And K-State just hung around, hung around, hung around. They actually saw me ... we were in Kearney, Nebraska, and they were there watching a girl on the other team that we were playing, who ended up being my teammate at K-State. And they saw me there, and started contacting me. And yeah, they just kind of kept hanging around. And I was honest with them. I said, "Look, I'm probably 98% sure that I'm going to go to Colorado State."
Craig Mattick:
Oh.
Megan Mahoney:
And the assistant finally said, at one point, she goes, "Is the door open even a little?" And to be honest, I was kind of getting annoyed. I was like, "I told you." And I'm like, "Maybe it's cracked open." She goes, "Okay, we want to bring you down." I said, "Okay." So they flew a plane out to Sturgis. I didn't even know Sturgis had an airport. They picked me up in a K-State charter plane, and flew me down to Manhattan. And I really felt like I was going begrudgingly, just, "I guess I need to go."
And I went down there, and I fell in love with the girls, and the team and the atmosphere. And at the time, they weren't very good, but the girls that they had already signed for my class, and two of the freshmen they had, were very good. And so they kind of were having this rebuild. Planted this vision and this goal in my mind of where they're trying to go and what they're trying to do, and how I might fit into it.
And I remember calling my mom from K-State, and she probably thought I was calling to ask them to come get me, because I wanted to come home. And that is, when my mom tells that story, she goes, "I did. I thought you were like, 'Mom, I hate it. I need to come home. Can you come get me?'" And I called her and I was like, "Mom, I think I'm changing my mind." And she was just flabbergasted, because she knew how set I had been on going to Colorado State. So yeah, so I ended up changing my mind, and it was probably the best decision I could've made for my career, because we did have some success there at K-State, played with a few other girls that went on to play in the WNBA and overseas. And ultimately, I think that gave me the opportunity to play on after K-State.
Craig Mattick:
You started and played in a 129 consecutive games. I mean, they knew that you were a big-time base for the program right there. And as a freshman though, at K-State, when did you feel comfortable playing at that college level?
Megan Mahoney:
Definitely an adjustment. The speed of the game is a lot quicker. You're playing against people who are as strong, or not stronger than you, faster. So there's some adjusting. It was kind of crazy though. My freshman year, we started one senior and four freshmen. No, sorry, a senior, sophomore, and three freshmen. So we were quite young, but we had a really good core group of girls, and just kind of gelled and played well together. And yeah, it took getting used to, some of the preseason games. But the big 12, that was no joke. And the [inaudible 00:17:02] have switched around quite a bit since then, but there were some great teams in the Big 12.
Craig Mattick:
You scored 1,300 points in your career, about 600 assists. What was your role for the Wildcats those four years?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Well, my coach, I know, in one interview kind of dubbed me Elmer. She kind of said I was like Elmer Glue. Because there were three Kansas girls that they called the big three, three-point shooter Laurie Koehn, our post player, Nicole Ohlde, and then Kendra Wecker. She was like a beast of an athlete, forward player. She did track, they wanted her to be a decathlete. So when I came in, I was supposed kind of be a wing player, two, three.
One of our point guards that came in with me, she tore ACL early on, and so they moved me to point. So I kind of moved around, played some points, most of the time, on the wing, some. Even played the four a little bit. My friends used to joke, I was kind of like the ketchup packet to the Big Mac meal. You need that condiment. So I guess I did a little bit of everything, Craig. It was help facilitate, bring the ball up, score here and there, rebound. But I wasn't the main focus, I guess you could say, because I did play with some great players.
Craig Mattick:
What was some of the most memorable events you remember while being at K-State, either playing in a venue, or maybe a particular game?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, I definitely remember we had some early success in the preseason, and then a couple wins in Big 12. And we would get to the gym about two hours before the game. And I remember the first time after there was some buzz around our team, and we'd pull in, and there was a line of people waiting to get into the game. I mean, just cars already there, or before we got there, lined up to get in. And then we get in and get dressed, and we're down shooting around. And I remember they opened the doors, and there were students just running. They looked like just a trail of ants running down, diving across bleachers to save seats and stuff. And that was pretty cool.
Our Bramlage Coliseum, I want to say it held maybe 12,000. And so that was pretty neat. And I don't know if we sold out, but it was close to being sold out for, I think, majority of games from that point onward. So that was pretty darn cool.
And then my junior year, we beat Texas Tech, I want to say at home, to win a share of the Big 12 title with Texas. And that was the first time, if I recall correctly, that K-State had won, or won to share the Big 12 title. And so I remember I jumped up on the media tables and was hyping the crowd up. And I know there were some fun pictures of that, but that was a pretty cool moment as well.
Craig Mattick:
You had an awesome career at Kansas State for the Wildcats. Your last game though, in college, it's the Big 12 championship game.
Megan Mahoney:
Well, semifinal.
Craig Mattick:
You tear your Achilles though, right, in the game?
Megan Mahoney:
Mm-hmm.
Craig Mattick:
How did that happen?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, I had been having lower back pain throughout the whole year, that I was battling with. And at times back then, I think it was a quick fix, get a cortisone shot and keep playing. So I had been getting cortisone shots for my back, and lo and behold, that can deteriorate your tendons. And so my Achilles had been hurting kind of leading up to that as well. But I remember I shot a free throw, and I missed the free throw, and I just kind of stepped back to go to the rebound, and it felt like someone kicked me hard in the calf, and I just went down. And I knew. I knew it was torn.
So that was a pretty big bummer. But yeah, sorry, it was a championship game, you're right, which was against Baylor, which they did go on to win the national championship that year. But yeah, it was a pretty big disappointment my senior year, having to go out with an injury and miss the NCAA tournament.
Craig Mattick:
In your years, it's Sturgis, and then the course of the years at Kansas State. Did you have a lot of injuries, or were you pretty lucky in getting away from some of those?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, to be honest, I was. All through high school, nothing serious. At college, a few minor things here and there. The back injury that I had, and then the Achilles, my senior year. So I made it four years without anything crazy. And then professionally, actually, I played 12 seasons, and then tore my ACL after 12 seasons. So I mean, I had teammates that had several, multiple ACL tears and surgeries. So I was pretty blessed and grateful to make it that long without anything "serious."
Craig Mattick:
So Megan, you play five years plus at Sturgis, another four years at K-State, and then comes the 2005 WNBA draft, and you're selected in the third round. You're the 34th overall pick by Connecticut, I mean, did you think your basketball career was over at K-State, or over, just over even before that draft?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Well, to be honest, I didn't really think I would have the opportunity to play on after that. Like I said, I had a few teammates that ... Nicole Ohlde was a year ahead of me, and I think she was third pick in the draft. And then two of my class, Kendra Wecker and Laurie Koehn, there was talk about them, that they were going to be drafted and be able to play. And I wasn't really in the conversation until my senior year. Then my name, I guess, kind of started circulating a little bit.
So that was before my injury. I thought there might be a chance. And then with having the injury, I was kind of like, "Well, no one's going to draft me after a recent Achilles tear." And yeah, Connecticut still took me. And it was kind of ironic, 34 was my jersey number, and I was 34th pick. And so yeah, that breathed some new life into me. And my pro career, I only played two years and didn't get a lot of playing time there, but it was able ... a springboard for me to play in Europe, so I'm very thankful for that opportunity.
Craig Mattick:
That draft, by the way, was in New Jersey. Only the first round was on ESPN2. I'm assuming you were not at the draft site that evening.
Megan Mahoney:
No, I wasn't. I saw it on TV.
Craig Mattick:
Janel McCarville of Minnesota was the first pick in the draft to Charlotte. So you really didn't have a lot of communication with Connecticut prior to that draft?
Megan Mahoney:
There was some communication. Well, before the injury, there was communication. And then there was a little bit of communication after that, but I still wasn't sure. Things change kind of second to second on those drafts, and who's available and who's left, and trading picks and stuff. And I knew it might be a possibility, but I didn't know if that was really going to happen. So I was definitely pretty pumped. I was jumping around on my crutches and my boot.
Craig Mattick:
Kendra Wecker though, she did get picked. Your teammate went sixth overall by San Antonio. Did you ever face her when you were in the WNBA?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Yep, we did. I did play against her. She was actually playing with Becky Hammon, so obviously, that was pretty cool, because Becky had been kind of my idol growing up. So yeah, her and I did play against each other in the WNBA, and we played against each other in Europe. She only played, I think, one season in Spain. And I was in Italy, and we did play against each other over there.
Craig Mattick:
You didn't play that first year in the WNBA because of that darn Achilles injury, but you did play a couple of years for Connecticut. And then in 2006, you signed with a team in Iceland. Now how did that all work out? You're playing the WNBA for Connecticut, and also now, you're going to head over to Iceland. How did that work out?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, so I was actually visiting Connecticut the season that summer that I wasn't playing, and we're sitting watching the game, and I was sitting next to a guy who was Katie Douglas. She was big-time player back then. Her husband, he was a Greek guy, and he was an agent. And so we start chatting. And me, I'm kind of wet behind the ears, I don't know anything about anything. And he starts talking about he's an agent, and so then his wife talks to me. And so I said, "Okay, yeah," so I signed with him to help me find a team. And so he started sending out video.
And yeah, my first overseas team was in Iceland. It was for half the season, so I was still kind of rehabbing. And so I got over there in January. It was short, January to April. It was quite an experience. I mean, I was living in a hostel dormitory type thing. It was cold and dark there, a little bit depressing. I was the oldest. I was probably 22, 23, so there was a lot of younger girls. But it was good for me to get back into a flow and build some confidence back up.
Craig Mattick:
You were on fire. 28 points a game, about 13 rebounds a game. Eventually, you're the playoff MVP, and the foreign player of the year with that team.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Yeah, like I said, to keep things real, the level was not super, super high. It was a professional league, but it was not top-notch. But like I said, it was good for me, coming off a serious injury to get back in the flow and build some confidence up. And then I had film and numbers for my agent to provide for different teams in different countries after that.
Craig Mattick:
Well, after that, things got a little crazy. I mean, you sign a three-year deal with Connecticut, and then in 2008, they trade you to Houston. Do they bring you into the office and say, "Hey, we're trading you," or did you hear it on the news?
Megan Mahoney:
I think I got a call from my agent. Yeah, I got a call from my agent. And yeah, I was a bit shocked. I guess, because the kind of style of play that the two teams had, I wasn't sure why Houston traded for me and my style of play. And in fact, I got there and I got cut after a couple weeks in camp, so it didn't work out. So yeah, after that, I had some opportunities to join training camp for a couple other teams. But at the time, it wasn't the direction I wanted to go. I was still playing overseas. I really loved that, I was doing well there. And so the summers, I wanted, ... excuse me. Coming back here and doing camps, and doing a little traveling, and seeing my family. And so I never did get into it after that. In the WNBA, anyway.
Craig Mattick:
So 15 years with Iceland and France, Italy. I don't know if I'm missing a country at all, or not, but you're spending-
Megan Mahoney:
Belgium.
Craig Mattick:
Belgium? You're spending a lot of time in Europe. How long did each season last when you were playing in Europe? And basically, when you weren't playing in Europe, what were you doing during the off season?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, so I would generally head over there late August, early September for training camp, preseason training camp. And that would usually last about four weeks. So the season actually ran from about beginning of October all the way through April into May, the years that we made it to the final. So it was kind of a long season over there with a short break for Christmas, maybe get to come home for a few days or a week, and then head back.
So I would generally, after the season ... I mean, "Hey, I'm already in Europe, I'm going to stay over here for a little bit." So I would stay over and travel for a couple weeks, and then I would come back. And for a while, I lived in Minneapolis, so I would be in Minneapolis, and just kind of doing regular people things, working out and taking my dog to the lake, and paddleboarding. And then, yeah, like I said, I was doing camps in Sturgis, so I'd come back and do camps there and hang out with my family for a couple months, and then it'd be time to head back.
Craig Mattick:
Must have been fun playing in Europe.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, it was.
Craig Mattick:
How did you handle the difference in languages while playing over there?
Megan Mahoney:
To be honest, before I went over to Italy, my first year, I don't know if you remember, they had the Rosetta Stone kind of language DVDs.
Craig Mattick:
Uh-huh.
Megan Mahoney:
I mean, I was on those. I had bought some books and dictionaries. My first year in Italy, there were enough foreigners on the team that we could speak English, so I didn't learn as much that first year. The second season, the team changed, and there weren't as many foreigners, or there were foreigners who spoke Italian, so it was kind of the immersion, kind of forced to learn. And I learned a lot from my little trainer. He was an older guy named Giovanni. And you go in there to get paste, or to get a massage or anything, he didn't speak a lick of English, so you had to learn. So I would go in there when I'm getting a massage or some kind of treatment, and I had my book, and I would go word by word, translation, learning.
So yeah, just kind of the immersion. The basketball terms, you pick up quickly because you hear them on a regular basis. And it got to a point where I was translating for the other Americans, the basketball terms, because I was able to pick it up a little bit quicker than her. So I was doing some of the translating.
But it was kind of funny. Italians, I don't know if you've ever been there, but they can talk, and they can monologue. So I'd go out to a coffee shop, and I'd be like, "Okay, I'm going to try and practice my Italian," and so I'd start to order something. And then they think you can speak Italian, so then they just rattle off. And I'm going, "Whoa, [foreign language 00:32:32], I don't understand. Hold on, slow down." So no, but I enjoyed it. Honestly, I think the nationals, the people there, Italians and when I was in France, they appreciated when foreigners tried to learn, tried to speak it with them, tried their food, just immerse ourselves in the culture.
Craig Mattick:
It's January, 2017, you're playing in the Italian league, and you tear your ACL, miss the rest of the season. May of 2017, you re-sign with that team for the following year, but then right before that, you tear a tendon in your foot. Things are not going well with your body here, Megan, in 2017.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. So like I said, I was on a one-year deal with this team in Italy, and we were having a pretty good season thus. Tore the ACL. I had surgery over there, and I stayed over there in rehab, really hard. At the time, I think I was 33, 34, and so I didn't know if they were going to re-sign me. I'm in the basketball world, I'm an older player coming off an ACL. And I was really thankful for them, they did re-sign me for the next season. And came back, and actually had a really, really great season individually, and as a team.
And then it was after that season that I was having foot problems, and I hadn't signed anywhere. And I signed with a team in Antwerp, Belgium. So I get there, and it's pre-season, and I tore the tendon in my foot, so had to have surgery there. And at that point, I was ready. I mean, I had been on the fence about retiring, prior to the ACL. And I didn't want to go out on an injury like that, so I rehabbed hard, came back. But after the foot injury, I was really tired physically and mentally. And so I had the surgery over there, rehabbed for a little bit, and then it was time to move on.
Craig Mattick:
Body ran out of gas.
Megan Mahoney:
Yep, it did.
Craig Mattick:
The WNBA is a lot different today than when you were in the league, Megan. But there aren't a lot of players from the USA who played some 15 years in Europe. What were some of the big highlights of you playing in Europe, that you sit back when you're relaxing and think about that time when you were in Europe playing ball?
Megan Mahoney:
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the people, teammates, fans, friends. A lot of the teams I played for were in kind of smaller cities or towns, so it wasn't stadiums full of people. It might've been a couple thousand. But they were diehard fans. They were diehard fans, and they really followed their teams faithfully. And just the culture and the people, and the friends I made along the way, that'd be the first thing that comes to mind.
Second, when I played in Taranto, so southern Italy. And you say it, "Taranto." We won three Italian league championships when I was there. And I remember the second one we won, we actually clinched and won at home, and it was just pandemonium. I mean, they stormed the floor, and they have their horns and their drums, and people are crying and they're hugging us. And so it's really special to them.
And that city in Taranto was a little bit more of a poor-ish city, and they had a big steel factory there, Ilva. And there was a lot of contention there, because it provided a lot of jobs for people, but the pollution was harming and hurting people. And so we were just kind of like a beacon of light and hope, I feel like, in that city. And so I really enjoyed playing there for those five seasons. And obviously, we had a good team and had a lot of fun there.
And another one was when I played in France, we played a Belgian team in the Euro Cup Championship. And it was the first time our club had been to this, and the Belgian team, I believe. And it was going to be played in Belgium at their gym, but there was so much demand for the game that they had to move it to a bigger arena. And so I think they only allowed our fans 500 tickets, and then the rest was ... I mean, they did the whole show. They had the smoke, and the dancers, and the mayor spoke, and it was this huge deal. And we went into their place and we beat them for the Euro Cup Championship, and that was a really big deal for the club and our town, and so that was really special.
Craig Mattick:
You talked about your teammate from K-State, Kendra Wecker. You played against each other in Europe once in a while, but you had a number of former college players that you knew, that eventually, you would run into each other playing ball in Europe.
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, Nicole Ohlde played over there. Laurie Koehn played over there. Girls that I played against, obviously too, that was, being in Europe ... I mean, there were girls that did dual, did the WNBA and played professionally in Europe. But there were some of us that didn't play in the WNBA, that this offered us an opportunity to continue our career and play at the professional level and have some good success. So it was fun to come across other Americans that you knew or had played against in college too over there.
Craig Mattick:
Were you ready for what was next when you retired? I mean, did you have a job ready for you back in the States?
Megan Mahoney:
No, I didn't. And that's a topic that comes up I think for professional athletes about when you retire, what are you going to do? And I didn't. I didn't know what I was going to do. I knew I had wanted to come back and do some coaching and training. But actually, I'm a realtor now. I'm coming up on six years. But when I was in Belgium, I had surgery on my foot, and I'm there rehabbing. And I emailed my now broker, Steve Anderson, who he played basketball as well at Central, and I knew him from high school.
Craig Mattick:
Rocket City Central.
Megan Mahoney:
Yep, Central and UFC. But I had emailed him about, "Hey, Steve. This is Megan. Hey, I'm coming back. What's available for gym space? What would it cost to build one? Is there anything available?" So he's sending me an email back about gym space. And then the very bottom of his email, he just threw in there, "Hey, you ever thought about getting your real estate license?" And I was like, "Nope, never. Never thought about it." So he just was like, "Well, you should think about it. Hey, when you come back, why don't you come and just shadow me a little bit, and see what it's about? I think you'd like it, and it'd give you some flexibility for coaching."
So I came back in ... it'd been November of 2018, and I just kind of started hanging out with him, and going to showings and listing appointments. And I was like, "Okay, this doesn't seem too bad." So yeah, I did my schooling online at my own pace, and passed the first time, and got my license in April of 2019. And I love it, and I'm very thankful to Steve for just dangling that carrot, because it was not something that had ever crossed my mind. And apart from coaching, I wasn't really sure what I was going to do.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you had a stint as an assistant coach with the Sturgis Scooper Boys in 2018. What was that like?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, so I had originally wanted to go back and help the girls program. I'm not sure what happened there. That kind of fell through or never got to fruition, but anyway. So the men's coach at the time, the coach, Derris Buus, he was like, "Hey, we'd love to bring you on." And so I was actually player development. They already had their coaches for their teams. So that was fun, that was enjoyable. I enjoyed that stint.
Coaching boys and girls is a little bit different. So there's usually no lack of confidence in boys. But I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed doing that. And then I did a couple summers of coaching at AU, girls and boys. Steve Anderson and I coached some freshmen boys, his stepson, one summer, with Rapid City Christian boys that were on there. And that was a lot of fun too. So I've had some opportunities when jobs have opened up, people have contacted me. But for right now, it's not in my wheelhouse at the moment. I really enjoy real estate and doing that. But I'll never say never, I guess, is what I would say about coaching in the future.
Craig Mattick:
You were inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. What does that mean to you?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah, that was really an honor. At the induction, there was a lot of older folks from different sports, and so that was pretty cool, to just hear their stories, and hear a little bit about what they did and what they accomplished. But yeah, I mean, it's definitely an honor. These are the best athletes that come out of the state. And so yeah, I felt really honored to be there, and that my name will be etched in that forever.
Craig Mattick:
What do you think of the WNBA today, and specifically Caitlin Clark?
Megan Mahoney:
Yeah. Well, to be honest, I don't follow it as much as I would like. Summers are a busy time for my work. But yeah, I mean, she's revolutionized the sport, and drawn a lot of attention, positive and negative. But I think it's drawn attention to the game. There's a lot of viewership, I think. And not only her. I mean, she's kind of been the face of these last couple seasons. But I think that just, it's grown so much. And especially for young kids, not just girls, but girls and boys, to look up to women who are working hard and succeeding, and doing their thing. I think it's pretty cool.
Craig Mattick:
What did it mean to be a Sturgis Scooper? All those years, playing basketball, even playing volleyball at Sturgis. And eventually, you're playing in front of thousands of people in arenas. What did that life in Sturgis mean to you, to prepare your routes to everywhere you've been?
Megan Mahoney:
To be honest, I lived in Piedmont, and so there was the option to go to Stevens. And my brother had decided to go to Sturgis, and there were people in Rapid wanting me to come there. And I had made some friends in Sturgis, and on the seventh grade team, made friends, and had a lot of fun there, and so made the decision to stay in Sturgis. And yeah, like I said, I had a great high school experience and career with friends and sports, and the memories made with Friedel and the team. And even though we couldn't quite get that coveted title, we had a lot of success. And like I said, it was just kind of a springboard for me, in basketball, to go to the next level and take that next step.
So yeah, I'm happy. I'm a small town girl that was able to go places, and I'm always appreciative of that.
Craig Mattick:
In Play with Craig Mattick is made possible by Horton, in Britton, where smiling at work happens all the time. Apply now at Hortonww.com. If you like what you're hearing, please give us a five star review wherever you get your podcast. It helps us gain new listeners. This has been In Play, with me, Craig Mattick. This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
