Hand's Milestone More Than Just Points

By Andrew Gilman | SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. -- Nothing has been easy for Whitney Hand.

Not Tuesday against defending NCAA champ Texas A&M. Not at any point in her career.

Although there was a time that it looked like it would be.

Just a junior, one that has a college degree and is working on a second, Hand scored 11 points and surpassed 1,000 points for her career Tuesday becoming the 26th player in Sooner history to reach the milestone.

Oklahoma 64, No. 14 Texas A&M 55 | Tuesday, Feb. 21
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"I didn't even know," Hand said. "I wasn't even aware of it until the timeout. I don't know if I ever really even thought about it until it happened."

Hand developed her elite skills far away from any standing ovations like the one she received Tuesday night. She shot hundreds, possibly even thousands, of shots after practices in empty gyms. Often alone. More often until her fingers bled.

As a highly recruited high school player from Fort Worth, Texas, Hand was expected to be the kind of player who could score -- a lot for the Sooners. And in her first game, she started and scored 11 points. She went on to start all 33 games that season for OU and averaged 9.2 points per game. Hand went on to be named the conference Player of the Week four times. She was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. She wowed Bob Knight when the Sooners upset Tennessee. She captured national attention with an enthusiastic personality and a wide smile.

But just five games into her sophomore year, she tore her ACL. And the resulting rehab extended an extra five months after her knee didn't heal properly. Instead of being a major-scoring threat for the Sooners her sophomore season, she missed the rest of it and half of the next. At times, she wasn't sure if she would be able to return to basketball and be effective.

After 401 days, Hand returned and totaled a then-career-best 24 points and 11 rebounds. Hand went onto average 12.6 points last season and, admittedly, never felt better than 80 percent.

And this season?

"I think I'm back to being comfortable," she said.

Even on a night where Hand certainly wasn't at her best -- just 5-of-14 shooting -- she contributed more, getting seven rebounds and helping the Sooners to a 64-55 win over the defending national champion Aggies.

As for being comfortable, Hand has averaged 16.8 points her last five games. She is averaging 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this year and said she's not the same player she was a freshman, pointing instead to the fact that she's grown up, learned more and appreciates the game in a different way.

"I think I'm just having fun out there," Hand said.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Hand's Milestone More Than Just Points

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