Sophie's Story Part 5: Everybody's All-American
1/5/2019 12:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Sophie Cunningham strolls into Jimmy's Steakhouse, a restaurant on Columbia's south side, sporting black sweats and Birkenstocks. She greets everyone with a hug and a smile. No autographs on this night, just a chance to catch up with old friends.
"She's part of our community, and we've watched her grow up," said the restaurant's proprietor, Jimmy Aslanidis. "Years ago, I can remember driving home and passing her house on my way. There she was, outside shooting baskets at 10 o'clock at night."
to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006
Cunningham carries herself with a combination of compassion and confidence, leaving no doubt she is comfortable with who she is — the hometown hero who helped elevate Missouri women's basketball to national prominence.
"It's why she came here," MU coach Robin Pingeton said.
If you've never seen her play, she is arguably the most versatile player in MU women's basketball history. She can play positions 1-5. In her senior campaign, Cunningham is on every major award watch list, including the Wooden Award and Naismith College Player of the Year. She received All-America honorable mention honors in both her sophomore and junior seasons.
Now a local legend, Cunningham is well known far and wide by people with any connection to Missouri or women's basketball. Here is a sampling of their thoughts.
- Former Missouri and NBA basketball player Jon Sundvold recalled seeing the 6-foot-1 Cunningham play in high school: "I had fun watching Sophie at Rock Bridge and was thrilled she always wanted to attend Mizzou. Am I ever surprised what she has done or will do? Never."
- Matt Winer is a Mizzou alum and current studio host for NBATV on Turner Sports: "I've watched her play two or three times, and I was so impressed with her feel for the game. She's not just a jump shooter, but a shot creator. She's a complete player."
- Jimmy Dykes is a former women's coach at Arkansas and a current ESPN analyst: "Her approach changed the whole culture of Missouri basketball. There is zero backdown in her. She's elevated the toughness of the whole league."
- Katie Frerking was a four-year starter at Auburn who competed against MU in Cunningham's freshman season and is now a graduate student manager for the Tigers: "She will play harder than you. She will never be limited. There's not a coach in the country that wouldn't want her on their team."
- Cuonzo Martin is the Missouri men's basketball coach: "I just love her talent and toughness. It's great the way she energizes the crowd. As a coach, you love to see that in a player."
- Jim Sterk is Missouri's athletic director: "In all my years in college athletics, I've never seen an individual impact a program more significantly. She helps engage the entire state. She is one of their own. It is impactful and important."
That importance is not lost on the 22-year old who has become the face of the program. She embraces the role and its responsibilities. She even started her own fashion trend with the way she wears her shorts with the legs rolled up.
"I had trouble pulling my hamstrings, so I had to wear these compression shorts under my uniform," Cunningham said. "I hated the feel of them on my legs, actually anything on my legs, so I just started rolling my shorts up. I've done it ever since."
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If Cunningham's sartorial style was almost accidental, her overall impact was intentional. The once sparse crowds at Mizzou Arena have swelled, and the fans seem to feed off Cunningham's emotion and energy. That was on full display last season, when a record crowd of 11,092 packed Mizzou Arena to watch the Tigers upset 11th-ranked Tennessee.
"That doesn't happen without Sophie Cunningham," Sterk said.
Cunningham has built a special bond with this fan base, openly engaging every chance she gets. She feels an obligation to give back to those who support the Tigers. She circles the court after every home game, giving high-fives and thanking everyone for coming out. After postgame press conferences, she returns to the court, still in uniform, to sign autographs for the long line of admirers waiting to meet the Columbia icon.
Superfan Brian Garner made an extra attempt to connect with Cunningham after the Tigers beat UMKC this season. He has a tradition of Missouri athletes signing his prosthetic leg.
"We communicated back and forth on social media leading up to the game," Cunningham said. "That was a special request, and I wanted to make sure I made it happen."
Coolest pics of the yr. @sophaller of @MizzouWBB signing the leg. Thank you Sophie for the time and being a great sport. pic.twitter.com/pWycn1KE6h
— Brian Garner (@JCBarnstormers) December 7, 2018
Requests have come in many forms as fans find creative ways to capture Cunningham's attention. Last February, The Antlers, the MU student cheering group, asked if she would be their valentine. Her response was "yes," but it came with one condition. The Antlers had to give her chocolate-covered strawberries first. They obliged.
"She has a lot of loyal fans," Aslanidis said. "Kids and grown-ups, they all come to see her play."
Columbia Mayor Brian Treece is among those fans. After a retired journalist deemed Cunningham the real mayor of the city, Treece played along, inviting her to his office where she could be "Mayor for a day."
"Like so many in our community, I watched Sophie grow up," Treece said. "She is the perfect ambassador for Columbia, Mizzou and the state. I'm so proud of her."
She has a natural way of relaxing people and bringing an entertaining element to almost every situation she encounters. Whether it's her self-proclaimed 'goofiness' or her indescribable dance moves, she is at her best when she is having a good time. Few athletes consider weightlifting a 'good time', so Sophie tried to spice things up with her own song selections.
"We now have country music Fridays in the weight room," beamed Cunningham. "Country music is real life. If a song is about farming or the USA-I'm all in."
If you're looking for a sample of the playlist, Nelly's "Country Grammar" did not make the cut, any song by Johnny Cash, Kenny Chesney and Thomas Rhett does.
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She has won on so many levels — from besting the boys on the soccer field as a preschooler to becoming the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and leading Missouri to three straight NCAA Tournaments. Her legacy is in place and has played an integral part in the future of the program.
Freshman point guard Akira Levy said Cunningham played a role in her decision to attend Missouri.
"Absolutely," Levy said, "who wouldn't want to play with an All-American?"
Which leads to one last personal goal. Technically, she is not an All-American. She has been close, twice receiving honorable mention. Missouri has never had a women's basketball player on the first or second team.
"She certainly deserves it," Pingeton said. "After all she has done here, that would be the perfect way to cap her career."
For a person who has always played for Mizzou, and not herself, becoming the university's first All-American would be a crowning achievement, but it wouldn't define her.
"We just want her to end her career satisfied with everything she's accomplished," said her father Jim Cunningham.
"Sooner or later, the ball will stop bouncing," Pingeton said. "But with her background, her work ethic and attitude, that kid is going to be very successful in everything she does."
