Quiet leader

Former Oswego standout Teah Gant stars for Wisconsin

In a large ballroom at a Chicago airport hotel, there are faces in the crowd most basketball fans would recognize. Tom Izzo. Bruce Weber. Gene Keady. Coaching stars, present and past.

Sitting at one large round table in the middle of the room is the face of an athlete not nearly as famous as those coaches mentioned above. Yet her impact on the program she represents is just as irreplaceable.

"She has a quiet strength about her, when she speaks, people listen. Like E.F. Hutton," said her coach, Lisa Stone.

"She's what we all call on the court our 'calming factor'", said her teammate, junior guard Alyssa Karel. "When we are really frantic (during a game) and she gets the ball, we all feel relaxed."

The person they speak of is Teah Gant. She plays basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. When approached for an interview, she is uncomfortable with the attention. After all, she was raised to be humble. The hometown where she was taught these lessons in humility? Oswego.

Entering her senior year at Wisconsin, Gant has developed a reputation on the court that mirrors her off the court demeanor. Tough, smart, reliable. Sounds a lot like adjectives one would use to describe the town where she grew up. Raised by her mother, Kim, Gant was the Suburban Prairie Conference Player of the Year in 2006 along with being an all-academic selection. In keeping with her deferential personality, she credits her mom, brothers--Mark, Sean and Brandon--and coaches with much of her success.

"They all helped build my character, as did growing up in Oswego," said Gant. "We weren't always the best team, but it helped me understand different people. Coming to Wisconsin and not being the star taught me to have to work hard to get where I want to be."

Where is that? Captain. Starter. Back-to-back Big Ten All-Academic honors. Accomplishments such as these are not made without sacrifices. An industrial engineering major, a typical day for Gant is up early, go to bed late, with quite a bit of activity in between.

"It's a pretty intense schedule," said Gant. "This year classes are a lot harder. (I have to) keep my priorities straight, schedule out things I need to get done first."

Welcome to the life of a Division I student-athlete. When a scholarship is offered and accepted, the exchange is more than just skills for tuition. It is the transfer of control of one's schedule to the university they represent. This fact illuminates the importance of leadership on a team, of peer-to-peer mentoring. It is a role Gant has developed and now embraces.

Three of her life mentors--civil rights activist Harriet Tubman, former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper and her grandmother--are people she has never met. Yet she studies and applies their lessons.

"It's always good to have people to look up to who are doing positive things for others," said Gant. "Now being a leader for this team, I need to display the same characteristics as those people and help my teammates any way possible."

"Teah really stepped up last year (with her leadership)," said Karel. "It makes it much easier to follow someone when they are doing it themselves."

Those leadership skills will not extend to professional basketball. No, Gant's talents as an engineer will sustain her in life beyond the hardwood. She plans to obtain a master's degree in industrial engineering and get a job in the manufacturing industry. Do her plans also include a return to Oswego?

"Every time I go home, there is something new," said Gant.

Don't rule out Gant coming home. After all, the former Oswego standout is most happy when she is making everyone she comes in contact with better athletes and better people.