"You can't laugh without smiling"
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Grace Duggan, Media Relations Student Assistant
If you asked Mizzou freshman guard, Carrie Shepherd, where the University of Missouri-Columbia was located, going into her junior year at South Permiscot High School, Shephard would have not been able to tell you.
"At first I really didn't know where Mizzou was. I didn't know anything about the program," said Shepherd. "My aid said, you should think about looking into them, they are in the SEC and interested in you," and the rest is history.
Hailing from the small town of Steele, Missouri and with a deep-rooted faith, Carrie believed that she would make the right decision in what college she attended. "I decided that God would put me wherever he wanted me to be," Shepherd said.
Shepherd has grown up as the baby of the family as she has one older sister and two older brothers. Despite being the youngest, Carrie claims to be her Mom's favorite.
"I am the best one and my mom can testify to that too," says the freshman. Carrie's mom is also her role model in life. The Mizzou guard does not hold back when she talks about the influential relationship she has with her mother.
"She is my everything," Carrie said. "I play for her a lot."
Carrie is thankful for the easy transition between her hometown of 2,000 people to Mizzou with over 35,000 students.
"There are a lot of things that I didn't really think about, those small things are what makes the transition between Steele and Columbia so comfortable," said Carrie. "Everyone around here is so polite, the thank yous, the yes ma'am's and everyone here says, `hey, how are you doing'."
With the season in full swing, the freshman has a routine for game day that involves Michael Jackson, a pregame pep talk with her mom, and focusing on the game ahead. Off the court, Carrie loves food, playing Xbox and making people laugh. Her personality is light-hearted and caring. Bonding with her teammates and feeling the family atmosphere has been one of her favorite aspects of Mizzou, thus far.
On the court, Carrie sees the game pace being much faster than the game she played in Steele, Missouri. Only standing at 5'-4", the freshman believes that it helped her adjustment when she realized the athleticism had increased drastically from high school to SEC basketball. "Big girl basketball" is the way Carrie described college basketball so far.
In the end, Carrie is always the player smiling and making people laugh. "I like making people laugh because everyone deserves to smile," Shepherd said. "You can't laugh without smiling," and in true Carrie-form, she wanted to put a smile on the faces of those that have made an impact in her life by sending a shout-out to some very special people.
"Shout-out to Steele, Missouri, my AAU Coach Chuck, all of my high school coaches, my dad, Steve Shepherd, my church St. Paul, everyone who has helped me and shout out to the boot heel of Missouri."
