WASHINGTON - For public consumption, Vicky Bullett told the MCI Center crowd that came to pay tribute to her last night that she was at a loss for words to sum up her collegiate and professional basketball career.
But words, like points and rebounds, have never been a problem for Bullett, and they flowed on this night when she was honored by the Washington Mystics, the team she played for in her final three WNBA seasons.
When asked what people would say about her stellar career, which includes two Olympic appearances and a 1988 gold medal, Bullett, 35, laughed and said, "That girl is crazy."
"I hope they say good things. I'm just another story. Everybody has the same story. You grew up 8 years old playing in the back yard, and your high school coach and college coach were your inspiration. It's the same skit. I've followed the path that I wanted. I was successful and I'm proud of myself. I have no regrets. If I had to do over again, I would do it here."
Bullett, a 6-foot-3 forward, is third on the all-time WNBA list in blocks (288), fourth in steals (353), and eighth in rebounds (1,191). And Bullett not only never missed a game in her 186-game WNBA career, she also started every one of them.
"That's what I have taken from her, the intensity that you bring even when you get up there in age," said Chamique Holdsclaw, her Washington teammate for three years. "I have never seen anybody who could shoot the ball like she could from the high post. It's an automatic respect factor that you earn from the younger players because every day, you're out there playing. She gave 110 percent and was intense about it."
Long before she was a Mystic, Bullett was the best player in Maryland women's history, leading the Terps to three Atlantic Coast Conference titles, as well as a berth in the 1989 Final Four, the last time the program reached the national semifinals.
Bullett is the all-time leading scorer (1,928 points) and rebounder (968) and remains one of two players in the program's history to average better than 20 points in a season.
"She's been the consummate teammate and consummate professional," said Christy Winters-Scott, who played with Bullett for three years at Maryland. "She is who she is, both on the court and off, and she's an excellent, excellent example of what it takes to be a champion."
Bullett was one of the WNBA's original players, and was assigned to the Charlotte Sting in 1997, for which she played three seasons before she was traded to Washington in 2000. She was an integral part of the two Mystics teams that reached the playoffs, in 2000 and last year, the only winning season the team has ever had. She retired after last season.
"Since the first game I came [to MCI Center], they [Mystics fans] have been saying it [that she should come back]," Bullett said. "My dad said, `Vicky, you need to dress up and go and help those kids,' so I try to stay away from his house."
