Few players can ever hope to turn basketball into a career.

Tiffiani Slaughter, communications junior, doesn’t hope to make it that far. She currently plays center on the IUS women’s basketball team.

She said she wants to work with people as a sales representative.

“I really want to be a pharmaceutical sales rep,” Slaughter said. “My cousin at U of L said she likes it. I thought it could be easy.”

Her job would involve promoting medicines and handing out samples.

She said she hopes to graduate next year with her degree. She said balancing school and basketball is putting a strain on her life.

One reason is because her commute to IU Southeast is a long one. She said she has to drive from her home in Middletown, Ky., which is about 30 minutes away.

She started college at University of Louisville, where she majored in economics.

“I hated it,” she said. “Economics was the worst class in the world. I had to do something else.”

After a year there, she decided to switch majors and enroll at IU Southeast.

She’s been working at Cosco for more than a year now. She said this was her first job and didn’t want to work anywhere else before.

“I just want it to be over,” she said. “Some days I get tired of going out of town, going to school, going to work and having practices. I just want to graduate.”

She’s been successful with basketball so far. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the IUS women’s basketball team defeaed St. Francis, the fourth ranked women’s basketball team in the country.

Slaughter said they led the whole game, but she never expected to win.

She also said the team is positioned to the win the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this year.

One of the team’s advantages this year is the addition of new post-players. These players are bigger and are better playing inside. Slaughter said this is really helping the team out.

Slaughter said she practices for about 2 hours during four or five days a week. This packs her schedule though. She misses the first half of practice just because she has to be in class.

“I think the coach understands some of the juniors and seniors can’t be there for every practice,” she said. “There are a lot of us that have to be in certain classes, even when the team is practicing.”

Robin Farris, women’s basketball coach, said Slaughter has a lot of potential, however, he said he’s looking for more consistency.

“When she’s on, she can score for us pretty well,” Farris said. “Still, she gets in foul trouble during a lot of our games.”

In the game against St. Francis, Slaughter had 11 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes. She sat out the rest of the game because of foul trouble.

“I think she loses concentration,” Farris said. “I hope she can do a little better if we don’t play her as many minutes.”

He said if she develops her skills, Slaughter could be the best post-player in the KIAC.

Slaughter said she basically rebounds and shoots lay-ups a few feet away from the basket.

Another thing she’s working on is how she handles the ball. She’s left-handed, so dribbling with her right hand is more difficult.

Farris said she has to be able to use her weaker hand.

Slaughter said she would like to work on her outside game, including long-ranged shots.

If the team wins the KIAC, they would go to Sioux City, Iowa, for the national tournament.

The team’s next game is on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., in Indianapolis, Ind., against IUPUI.

By JOSEPH DEVER
Staff Writer
jwdever@ius.edu