Issue date: 1/14/09 Section: Sports

Dominique Sims, a red-shirt junior guard for the Eastern women's basketball team and a mathematics major with a minor in German, said it's difficult to balance school and sports, but having people in the same situation makes it a little easier. "It helps to know other people are going through the same thing," Sims said. "And there are also professors willing to help." (Erin Matheny / The Daily Eastern News)

Eastern red-shirt junior guard Dominique Sims is helping the Eastern women's basketball team off to a solid start in the Ohio Valley Conference as the team sports a 4-1 record in league play. She recently sat down with staff reporter Richard Morse to talk about how she ended up playing basketball at her third different college, her ACL injuries and how she misses Texas weather.

What's it like to be in Illinois with all the snow and ice?

It's completely different. I can't do the weather up here sometimes. It's too cold. I trip and fall. It's horrible. I hate when it's cold here. The summers are nice, it's just like Texas, but the winters are horrible.


How did you end up here from different colleges?

I went to (Texas)-Arlington and played basketball for them, actually didn't even get to play. I was medically red-shirted from a surgery that I had. I didn't really like the coaches or my teammates, so I left there and decided to go to a junior college (Palona College) for a year. This coach was recruiting me the whole time I was in high school and up to my freshman year. We had a good season, we played well. I went on a couple of recruit trips, and I decided to come here.


How hard has it been adjusting to the Division I level?

I feel like the conditioning here is much harder than it was at the junior college level. I was at a D-I school before, but the coach's intensity is much higher here. I would say more or less the conditioning is a lot harder.


Can you tell us about your high school ACL injury?

I injured it three games in my senior season. I found out I couldn't play anymore, so it was kind of devastating. I was going for a steal and my teammate tipped the ball. When I turned around my knee popped out of place. So then I had to get it fully reconstructed. It was hard because my senior season was blown.

I couldn't play anymore for my senior season. You only live once. Luckily, I signed (with UT-Arlington) right before that.


What is in your IPOD right now?

T-Pain. The song I'm listening to the most right now is "Chopped and Screwed" by T-Pain.


What do you miss most about being back home?

Probably the weather, it's a lot warmer there. It doesn't get extremely cold.


What is your favorite home-cooked meal?

My mom has this dish we call 'favorite.' It's this chicken and rice dish. It's a creamy chicken with rice underneath.


If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

Read people's minds. I think it would be really cool to see what's in people's minds.


What is the craziest thing the team has done this year?

The craziest thing we've done is when we were up by 12 at halftime against U of I.

That was the best moment so far, to be up against the odds. It was pretty crazy.


Richard Morse can be reached at 581-7944 or rrmorse@eiu.edu.

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