Stringer ready to be cheerleader

The Hall of Fame coach of the No. 23 Rutgers women's basketball team is known for spending most games sitting down, rising only to complain, criticize and basically express intolerance to imperfection.

During Wednesday's 60-51 victory at Villanova, she essentially spent the entire game on her feet. But instead of displaying frustration and disapproval, more times than not she was encouraging, clapping, instructing and generally, well, being positive.

Who knew?

Well, Stringer WAS a cheerleader in high school. Why?

“I wanted to play,” said Stringer. “I would have played the rest of my life.”

But in the mid-60’s, organized basketball for girls in her hometown of Edenborn, Pa did not exist. Instead, girls were expected to be cheerleaders. “You were a second-class citizen,” recalled Stringer. “Not that you weren’t able to [play basketball]. You weren’t allowed to. I remember this one grandmother telling her daughter that girls would have knots in their legs if they played. That’s a shame, because it made you ashamed to play.”