NORFOLK, Va. – Ticha Penicheiro was just 19 years old and lived on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean when the Old Dominion women's basketball team began to recruit her.
She was raised in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, a small but beautiful beach community on the Iberian coast, and those who know Ticha say she was and remains very close to her family.
As she pondered this offer 4,000 miles away from her home, she lacked the research tools that recruits have today. "There was no internet and no cell phones," she said.
Then ODU assistant coach Allison Greene, who spoke fluent Portuguese, visited her in Portugal and Ticha made a quick recruiting trip to Norfolk.
"But I really didn't know what to expect," she said. "I didn't really know enough about the school."
Nearly three decades after arriving in Norfolk, Ticha is glad she took a leap of faith.
"I enjoyed every minute at Old Dominion," she said. "I made so many friends there. I grew as a person.
"I'd do it all over if given the chance."
Ticha carved out a magnificent career at ODU, where she was the Wade Trophy national player of the year as a senior in 1998 and remains among the most honored and most popular players ever to don a uniform for the Monarchs.
Ticha Penicheiro led the ODU women to 112 victories in her four years here.
Ticha will be honored on Thursday, Sept. 21, as one of ODU's Distinguished Alumni at the Downtown Norfolk Waterside Marriott by the Old Dominion University Alumni Association.
She will join three other alumni being honored at the banquet:
* The Honorable Kenneth Cooper Alexander, a member of the graduating Class of 1990 who is serving his second term as the mayor of Norfolk. A Norfolk native, Alexander is the city's first African-American mayor and also represented his hometown in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.
* Captain Janet H. Days, class of 1999, the first African-American to be named commanding officer of the Norfolk Naval Base, the world's largest naval facility. She was commissioned through ODU's ROTC program and has been deployed to several war zones.
* Doctor Surena F. Matin, class of 1990, who is the Montelone Family Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Urology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,
Texas. He graduated from ODU with a degree in biology and a minor in English.
To register for the alumni event, CLICK HERE
Ticha's name is all over the ODU record book. She is ODU's career steals leader with 591 and is second to Nancy Lieberman with 939 career assists. Although she was a point guard who spent most of her time running ODU's offense, she's 26th among career scoring leaders with 1,304 points.
She led ODU to a combined 112-17 record in her four seasons and the Lady Monarchs dropped a heartbreaking decision to Tennessee when she was a junior in the 1997 national championship game.
Ticha Penicheiro spoke to the ODU women's basketball team last season.
But it wasn't just her play on the court that endeared her with fans. She appreciated the opportunity she had to come play in America and that appreciation was apparent.
She has an engaging personality and never hesitated to sign an autograph, mingle with fans or spend time talking to children. She was truly an ideal ambassador for ODU women's basketball and the University.
After graduating from ODU with a degree in communications, she began a long and successful career in the WNBA, where she played 15 seasons, won a championship with the Sacramento Monarchs and was a four-time All-WNBA choice. She remains second in career steals with 764 and third in career assists with 2,600.
In 2021, she was named one of the WNBA's all-time best players.
Ticha said that giving up playing basketball is always difficult for a player, but she did so seamlessly. She eschewed coaching and or working as a broadcaster and instead became a player agent.
She is director of women's basketball for the Sports International Group, which represents dozens of NBA and college men's and women's basketball players and coaches. Since retiring from the game, she has settled in Miami, Florida, where she says life is good.
Ticha is now a player agent who lives in Miami who says that life after being a player is very good.
"I have played basketball all of my life, but basketball is not who I am," she said. "I'm trying to pay it forward as I work with young players and try to help them in their careers."
She's been successful in brokering new contracts for players. "I'm not a BSer," she said. "It helps having good players."
She is now an American citizen but also maintained dual citizenship in Portugal. She often goes home to see her parents.
"I'm at peace," when asked if she was happy. "I had big dreams growing up as a little girl and I surpassed all of those dreams.
"I'm completely at peace with what I did. I'm happy with my playing career. I'm feel like I'm a mentor and I'm so glad to see women's basketball continue to grow."
She is close with ODU women's head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones, with whom she played with and against in the WNBA and on international teams.
She had already booked a flight to Norfolk for the ODU Alumni Association event when Milton-Jones asked to her participate in a fundraiser on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Ticha changed her flight plans so that she can participate in the Monarch Mingle that afternoon at 5:30 on rooftop lounge on the 24th floor of the Icon Apartments in downtown Norfolk. The entry fee is $100 per person for the cocktail get together. Those who attend will get a preview of the 2023-24 season from Milton-Jones and get the chance to talk one-on-one with Ticha.
That event comes two days after her 49th birthday.
"DeLisha is a great coach, person and friend," Ticha said. "I told her that I'll do anything I can to help her."
Or to help ODU.
"I care so much about Old Dominion," she said. "It's a great honor to be back in Hampton Roads and be able to celebrate everything we did as a team.
"Basketball is a collective sport. No one ever does anything by themselves. Between my teammates, our coaches and our fans, we had so much help.
"It's always good to be back at ODU."
And always good to have her back.
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: Ticha Still Loves Monarch Women's Basketball 25 Years After She Graduated from ODU
