The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Paul Fusco

Tracy Harbut has earned a lot of nicknames during her Syracuse career, more than she could ever remember. When she tried to list them all, Harbut slumped her entire body against the wall of Manley Field House where she was sitting and started thinking.

And thinking.

For 15 excruciating seconds of virtual silence, the only sound came from the track runners' feet thumping against the rubber inside the arena.

Then she started laughing uncontrollably, perhaps to break the ice, or maybe because she actually could not remember five years worth of inside jokes with the SU women's basketball team. But either way, she started laughing.

Finally, something got her going.

"They call me Smiley, that's one of them," said Harbut, when she finally regained her composure. "We were lifting weights two years ago, and (strength and conditioning coach Will) Hicks came up to me and was like, 'You're always laughing and smiling even when you're lifting weights. I'm going to call you Smiley.'"

After remembering one, the rest came pouring out: T-Mac, Sopa, Mexi and now Pretty Ricky, the nickname this year's squad uses, invented by sophomore forward Nicole Michael, Harbut's roommate last season. Funny thing is, a majority of the team only knows Pretty Ricky, not the four she listed or the others lost with time.

Considering how long Harbut's been with Syracuse, perhaps it's not much of a surprise. She's basically the team historian, having been involved with Syracuse basketball for three coaches' tenures. But after suffering through four years of losing and a devastating knee injury that sidelined her all of last year, Harbut decided to put off graduation and return to the team for her fifth season.

Her reward? A chance to play for a team that has already won 18 games, equaling the win total of the last two seasons combined. In four seasons, Harbut has played in three Big East tournament games and won just one. Forget about the NCAA Tournament.

Now she could finally get that chance.

"She's been here for a while, and she's seen everything," SU coach Quentin Hillsman said. "She's been here longer than me! She's been in every situation here, and you just hope we can end the season very positive for her and end the season with some wins and postseason play."

After she tore the right medial collateral ligament, partially tore the posterior cruciate ligament and fractured a bone in her right knee during a practice in October 2006, Harbut redshirted her senior season. But by the end of the academic year, she had enough credits to graduate with a degree in health and exercise science. Though she had one more year of eligibility, she had to decide between returning for a fifth season and applying to graduate programs in physical therapy.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools