Oct. 29, 2008

By Andrew Zivic, Sports Information Intern

In her 13 seasons as LMU's head women's basketball coach, Julie Wilhoit has taken delight in seeing many of her players go on to greater things after leaving school. While Wilhoit has accomplished much with her players while they have been collegians, she has succeeded in preparing them for life beyond LMU. For a handful of former Lions, that life has consisted of playing professional basketball outside the United States. Currently, there are two Lions who have followed such a path, with Amanda DeCoud playing professionally in Finland and Ashlee Dunlap playing in Australia.

"I think that by the time they come out of LMU they are ready to play at the next level," Wilhoit says. "They get experience in how to prepare and play during a long season. On top of that, our women are educated about the world and they travel quite extensively while they are here."

After completing her LMU career in 2008, DeCoud signed a contract in the fall to play for HoNsU in Finland's top women's professional league. DeCoud is one of the best defensive players to come through LMU, ranking second on the all-time steals list and becoming the second Lion to be named WCC Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, DeCoud was named MVP of the Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Tournament and continued to hone her offensive play as she finished second on the team with 10.7 ppg.

Following graduation, DeCoud continued to work out over the summer until she got the call from HoNsU. It was a whirlwind for DeCoud as she found herself on her way to Finland within a week of first hearing about the opportunity: "The week of hearing the job offer was quite crazy because everything happened so quickly and a bit unexpectedly... After my agent told me about the offer, the coach called me and a week later I was on a plane heading to Jyvaskyla."

DeCoud has more than held her own since arriving in Finland. Even though there are girls in the league from top U.S. schools such as Texas, North Carolina and Old Dominion, DeCoud starts for HoNsU, plays more than 30 minutes per game and has already been named captain of the team.

DeCoud credits LMU's coaches for her development on and off the court, "Since being named captain of my team in Finland, I have been able to improve on the leadership skills I learned from the entire coaching staff at LMU," she says.

An LMU team trip to Australia in May of 2005 also helped prepare DeCoud for a life overseas. "It was that trip that made me realize my passion for traveling, learning new cultures and experiencing different ways of life," she says. "Coach Wilhoit has always influenced her players to go outside our comfort zones, travel the world and expand ourselves as individuals."

Another Lion on the Australia trip was Ashlee Dunlap, who played two seasons at LMU. Dunlap was named WCC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-WCC in 2005-06 after transferring to LMU from San Diego State. Following an impressive first season with the Lions, in which she averaged a double-double and led the team in both scoring and rebounding, she continued her stellar play as a senior when she broke the record for most rebounds in a single season with 295.

Dunlap decided to return to Australia when she was done at LMU and played for the Knox Raiders in Melbourne this past season. She has played well in Australia, averaging 12.5 points and 12.6 rebounds per game during the 2008 season and recently signed on for the 2009 campaign.

Dunlap has relished the opportunity to continue her basketball career. "I like the fact that I had to learn to adjust to a different style of play which took me out of my comfort zone, but in the end I gained a lot which added to my level of play."

While DeCoud and Dunlap are currently the only Lions playing professionally, they are not the first to venture overseas after leaving LMU. Wilhoit has had several other former players play overseas, including Bryn Britton and Bianca Ziemann.

Britton graduated from LMU in 2002 as the Lions' all-time leading scorer and a three-time First Team All-West Coast Conference selection. A serious knee injury at the end of her senior year made it tough for her to continue playing but she persevered and ended up playing in leagues in Luxembourg and Germany.

Between the two European stops, Britton was offered a tryout with the Detroit Shock of the WNBA. She made it through training camp but was cut before the start of the season. Britton had a tough go of it in the WNBA since three teams had just folded, severely limiting the opportunity for newcomers to make a team. After her tryout with the Shock she decided to return to Europe, where she played in Germany until May of 2004.

At the end of that season she was told that she either had to undergo another knee surgery or end her career. Britton made the tough decision to hang up her shoes, but she recalls her years in Europe fondly.

"The experience [of playing overseas] was amazing. The culture was fascinating and the people I met and grew to know have remained close friends of mine. The experiences that I had traveling and learning about new cultures are priceless. If it weren't for my knees I would still be playing," Britton says.

Ziemann speaks just as highly of her experience abroad. She graduated in 2006 and is fifth all-time in games played as a Lion. After leaving LMU she headed to Holland to play professionally. Like Britton, she had a great experience there: "I absolutely had a life changing experience living in Holland for a year. I was very far from family and friends which was very hard but I grew a lot from the distance as a basketball player and individual."

It is that kind of growth that Wilhoit sees as such an important reason for her players to try to play professionally abroad after they graduate. "If you are willing to do it for a year or two, it is a great opportunity to learn about yourself, to learn how to go away and be away from your family and find ways to connect with people when you don't see them for a long time," Wilhoit says. "It is such a great personal growth period."

For DeCoud and Dunlap, their growth period is just beginning. Both are playing well on the court and enjoying their time off of it. Through six games, DeCoud is averaging 13.0 points, 4.8 steals, and 4.0 assists per game while Dunlap was second in the Southeast Australian Basketball League in rebounding and blocks last season. With women's basketball leagues popping up all over of world, Wilhoit's current players have the opportunity to know that their careers don't necessarily have to end when they graduate from LMU.