Jessie Shetters whispers softly in a teammate’s ear.
An otherwise tense moment dissolves, her teammate grins and chats with Oregon’s mainstay in the post. When an injury sidelined the 6-foot-6-inch center in the middle of January, Shetters relied on a positive mindset.
The sight of the Portland native whispering an inside joke has been a common sight in recent weeks with Shetters missing 10 games and having a smaller role in two others as a result of a stress fracture in her lower back.
“I respond better in situations when I’m in a good mood and I’m not tense and so I try to give that to other people too because you can tell when things aren’t going well and people are stressed out,” Shetters said.
Shetters is tentatively set to play in Oregon’s second round game against California Saturday in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament in San Jose, Calif.
Oregon’s close-knit family atmosphere helped Shetters through the missed games. She also benefited from her friendship with roommate and guard Cicely Oaks, who has a sharp sense of humor.
“She doesn’t always say the most appropriate things at times, but it’s kind of those things that gets you off the funk that you’re in and gets you laughing and thinking about positive kinds of things,” Shetters said.
“In practice, I just goof around so whenever I kind of make (coach) Bev (Smith) mad or do something where she’ll call attention to my behavior, then that kind of make’s Jessie laugh a little bit,” Oaks said in early February. “I’m rebellious. I’m a rebel.”
Shetters stayed involved, helping with drills in practice, and keeping her spot on the court for chest bumps during the announcement of starting lineups.
“That’s the fun stuff,” said Jessie’s mom, Teri, who’s traveled from Portland to see all of Jessie’s games. “These guys, they’re kids and I like to see that kind of fun that they have. It kind of takes the pressure off. Jessie loves Mac Court and she loves the fans.”
Setback in her senior season
Shetters suffered the stress fracture in the loss to USC. She made it through 28 minutes in a four-point, three-rebound performance in Oregon’s 79-71 double overtime loss. Shetters sat out the next game at UCLA, before playing in Oregon’s next two home games with the Arizona schools.
When the pain failed to subside, Shetters, who struggled to make it through a practice, had an MRI taken. The results showed a stress fracture and team trainer Tom Embree called Shetters to tell her the news. She was in study hall and says she was fortunate to have her teammates there to reassure her.
“That’s tough when you’re a senior and that’s hard,” Embree said. “But there’s a sense of relief in knowing what it is.”
Embree acknowledged the rarity of Shetters’ stress fracture in her back – the first one he’s seen in a basketball player in 20 years – and one that is more common with runners in sports such as track or cross country.
Her injury is in the SI joint, or Sacroiliac joint, which sits between the sacrum and the ilia in the pelvis. Pain can be felt in the hips and lower back.
Shetters rested and took pressure off the injury. She eased into swimming and biking and finally practices.
“We’re still gradually getting back into things,” Embree said. “The status of Jessie is essentially based on what she tells us. At this point, there’s no (chance) of something happening that she could require surgery.”
Shetters made small appearances in what could have been her final appearance at McArthur Court against Stanford and at Washington State. She looms as an x-factor Saturday in a difficult defensive matchup of Cal post players Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker.
Shetters missed the previous two Cal games this season when Hampton posted 13- and 27-point outings, respectively.
“She’s such a presence,” forward Eleanor Haring said of Shetters. “Anytime you have her on the court, it’s like a little confidence boost. She just vacuums up all the rebounds and she’s such a big defensive presence that she really draws a lot of attention.”
Teammates have noticed Shetters’ efforts and her decision to play through the pain.
“It definitely says something about her passion for the game and her willingness to sacrifice her body and this team,” guard Kaela Chapdelaine said. “She’s a tough kid and she’s coming out and giving us what she can and that’s all we can ask of her.”
Staying nearby
Shetters’ deep bond with her mom, Teri, led her to stay close to home and look in-state. She visited her mom’s alma mater, Oregon State, only to look farther south to find a home in Eugene with Bev Smith’s program.
Shetters made official visits to Oregon, Oregon State and Washington. Schools across the country expressed interest, including UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, Vanderbilt and North Carolina State.
Shetters contrasted with her sister Jenny, who left for Cal-State Northridge. Unhappy with the program, Jenny transferred during the 2002-03 season and considered playing with Jessie, looking at Oregon and Oregon State before the pair decided it’d be best to play at different schools with Jenny Shetters choosing New Mexico.
“We talked about it, how it would have been fun, but I don’t think we would have survived practice because somebody would have been bloodied everyday,” Jessie Shetters said.
For Jessie, what could have been a slow transition turned into an intense cram session when Cathrine Kraayeveld, the team’s leading post player, went down five games into Shetters’ freshman year in 2003-04.
“It was like ‘Hey, let’s get after it, let’s go,’” Smith said. “She wasn’t really ready for it, but Jess is the kind of kid that she’ll put herself in that situation if it’s going to help her team.”
Shetters had flashes of success, but struggled, and her confidence took a hit. She says she still questions her confidence at times, being less assertive on offense and bypassing open shots in favor of a pass to a teammate.
She started 11 games her freshman year, averaging 12.4 minutes per game, before seeing her minutes dip as a sophomore to eight per game when Kraayeveld returned.
“I always had the ability to do it, I just never thought I could and that’s been the biggest thing for me is this year, I realized ‘OK, you deserve to be out here,’” Shetters said. “‘You worked hard and I need to get it done.’”
The confidence boost and increased playing time equaled a small breakthrough her junior year and career-high averages of five points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season.
Kraayeveld, one of Oregon’s biggest stars and an WNBA veteran, dropped by recently to take in a practice and reconnect with former teammates.
“I feel like that that’s the way that I’m going to be when I leave is that I’m going to want to come back and see the people that I left,” Shetters said. “She was always that role model for me and I always look up to her and I still do.”
Looking into the future
Shetters commemorated her mom last summer with a rose tattoo and her mom’s initials at the bottom. The rose tattoo, placed on her back and near her left shoulder, is her second tattoo with the other saying ‘You will not defeat me” in Latin on her lower back.
“I think it’s very tasteful and thank God it’s not a skull and crossbones, but a rose is very nice,” Teri Shetters said.
Jessie Shetters is open to playing professional basketball. Shetters has high arches in her feet, a foot condition called Pes Cavus, and small feet, which, with her 6-foot-6-inch frame, has her questioning the extra pounding on her already tender feet.
“It is demanding, but at the same time, I think that your body kicks into a gear where it’s just like ‘You have to get this done, you’re going to get it done’ and once you get through that, you’re fine. But at the end of the season every year, it’s just like ‘OK, I can sit down now,’” Shetters said.
This season, she thought, was it. That she can continue her basketball career is int
riguing to the lighthearted Portland native. And after playing in a community heavy on athletics, Shetters is ready for the next step.
“I like Eugene just because it’s not a big city and there aren’t any other places like Autzen Stadium and Mac Court,” Shetters said. “I think I am going to miss that a little bit just because even to come in to (Mac Court) and just be able to stand in here when nobody is in here, it just feels like home and I’m going to miss it.”
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