ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
WENDY PALMER has been injury-prone at UVa, but she's been a consistent performer.
One of the ironies of Wendy Palmer's injury-plagued college basketball career is she had little history of injury before she arrived at Virginia almost four years ago.
At least that's the way she remembers her days as a three-sport standout at Person County High School in Roxboro, N.C.
``She says she was never injured?'' asked Brenda Moore, the girls' basketball coach at Person County. ``Well, I remember the time she broke a finger one Thursday in practice and we had to play the next night.
``She dressed for the game, but she was on the bench till the end of the first quarter. At that point, she took the splint off her finger, turned to me and said, `I'm playing.'
``Now, you can't just put an injured player in a game like that. You need parental permission. So, her father came down out of the stands - he didn't make a spectacle or anything - and said, `Put her in.'''
Although she didn't have the scorebook in front of her, Moore guessed Palmer may have scored 30 or more points that night. And she knows she never heard Palmer complain once about the pain.
That may be Palmer's legacy at Virginia, where she has not missed more than one game in any season despite torn cartilage in one knee and tendinitis that has required surgery in the other.
``No one ever said I'd be pain-free,'' said Palmer, who will play in her 125th game - out of a possible 128 - when third-seeded Virginia (25-6) plays host to second-seeded Old Dominion (29-2) in an East Regional semifinal at 2 p.m. Saturday.
``After I hurt my knee at Duke this year, I pretty much wanted to give up. It's been a struggle, but, even when things have been bad, they've never been as bad as they've seemed. I think I've played well under the circumstances.''
Palmer, a 6-foot-2 senior, has played well under any circumstances. She recently became the third player in ACC history to be named conference player of the year in consecutive seasons and is the No.3 scorer and No.1 rebounder in UVa history.
``She's been such an incredible force for our team,'' said Debbie Ryan, in her 19th season as the Cavaliers' coach. ``She not only gives you points and rebounds and leadership, but this year she's been our best passer. She's never been healthy, which is the most amazing thing.''
Palmer traces her knee problems to her freshman year at UVa, when she tried to play at 195 pounds. She had been in the 145-150 range as a senior in high school.
``I had never had a summer off before I went to college,'' said Palmer, who was a two-time state champion in the high jump and was conference player of the year in volleyball. ``I was in a cycle where I was always playing a sport, but I came here for the Summer Transition Program and did nothing.''
Nothing, that is, but eat.
She barely could get up and down the floor as a freshman, when she played 18 minutes a game for a team that lost to Ohio State 75-73 in the East Regional championship game.
``That was the first thing I noticed about Wendy - how much weight she had put on,'' Moore said. ``But she took the weight off almost as quickly as she put it on. You could see by her sophomore year that her agility had really picked up.''
So had her attitude.
Frequently sullen as a freshman, Palmer became increasingly extroverted, which was more consistent with the way she was in high school.
``She was always vivacious,'' Moore said. ``If I say she was silly, some people might take it the wrong way because she's nearly 22 years old, but she is a bit on the silly side.''
Palmer uses the term ``adventurous.''
Although she is the daughter of a minister, Palmer has a belly ring and two tattoos - a rose over her left shoulder and a panther on her right chest.
``They're not satanic,'' she stresses. ``I just like to stray from the norm. A lot of people are intimidated by me. I'm outspoken and I'm not shy, but I am a loner.''
Palmer acknowledges she has turned to her religion for strength. As a youth, she frequently would join her father, Melvin, on 100-mile round trips to his church in Charles City.
Palmer's father worked as a lifeguard during the summer, which might account for Wendy's current passion, swimming. She has remained a well-conditioned 179 pounds, but has reduced the pounding on her knees, with regular workouts in the pool that adjoins University Hall.
There have been days when she has outstroked Ryan, an age-group champion in her youth.
It must be an odd sight - the premier power player in UVa women's basketball history and her fitness-conscious coach, who was a one-time antagonist.
``Like the rest of my teammates, she didn't know me at first,'' Palmer said. ``Our relationship has definitely gotten better. It's winded down into a friendship. As it turns out, we have a lot in common. I tried to talk her into a tattoo, though, and she said her adventurous days were over.''
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. Wendy Palmer has played in 125by CNBof 128 possible games in
her University of Virginia basketball career. color.