July 19, 2000

Before Charlotte Sting guard Andrea Stinson was a WNBA All-Star, she was a standout at North Mecklenburg High (N.C.). Stinson helped her school win the state title in 1986 and got the Vikings close to the crown during her other two years on the squad. In one stretch, Stinson's North Mecklenburg squad went 66-1.

Stinson's coach at North Mecklenburg was Carroll Mizelle, who is now in his 27th season of coaching the Vikings. Here's what he told SchoolSports.com about his days with the current WNBA star.

SS.com: How did Andrea respond in big game situations when she played for you?

Coach Mizelle: The same way she does right now with the Sting. When the game is on the line, she wants the ball and I wanted her to get it. It didn't bother her to have pressure on her.

In her three-plus seasons with the Sting, Stinson has a scoring average of 15 points per game. She has also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

	Stinson has averaged 15 ppg in her WNBA career.

In this week's WNBA All-Star game, in which the West team beat Stinson's East squad, 73-61, the Sting guard scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and had one steal.

SS.com: What has allowed Andrea to become a major WNBA star?

Coach Mizelle: It's a lot of things. She's got a lot of God-given ability. It was just there. And she worked hard all those years to cultivate it. In the summer, when kids were swimming and going on vacation, she was playing basketball.

SS.com: Did you ever think that Andrea would one day be a professional player?

Coach Mizelle: Back then, you really didn't think about that. (The WNBA didn't start until 1997.) I guess it was just a goal to play in college. There were a couple of leagues in Europe, but no one ever thought about that.

SS.com: What attribute did Andrea have in high school that she has carried over into professional basketball?

Coach Mizelle: There wasn't a day that I went to the gym that I didn't see something phenomenal. Her body control, how strong she was, she was a great passer. It was just the little things that other people don't think about.

SS.com: What part of Andrea's game have you seen drastically improve since her high school days?

Coach Mizelle: That's a hard one. We didn't have the 3-point shot when she played in high school, nor did we have the girl basketball. She was doing all of this with the big basketball. Probably her outside shot, if anything.