Maria Stack, former Columbus East girls’ basketball star and Miss Basketball of 1980, speaks to a group of young basketball players during the Columbus East Girls Basketball Kids Camp at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., on Tuesday, 7 June 2022 .
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
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Former Columbus East basketball champion Maria Stack has returned home to where her basketball journey began.
Stack had the opportunity to speak with the kids at the end of the June 7 session of the Columbus East Girls Basketball Kids Camp led by Coach Danny Brown and the Olympians coaching staff.
The session began with Brown showing the kids many basketball drills and skill demonstrations. At the end of the session, the floor was given to Stack.
Stack spoke to campers about his past, playing basketball, learning from his mistakes and making the most of their opportunities.
“Make sure you have a passion for whatever you do, whether it’s basketball or playing the piano or singing or whatever,” Stack said. “Find something you love and go out there and work hard at everything you do. That would be my thing, whether it’s basketball or what have you.
Stack was one of the first pioneers to put women’s basketball on the map in Columbus. Growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, women’s basketball hardly ever existed in schools. Both Stack and her mother helped develop women’s basketball locally.
When women’s basketball was up and running, thanks to the passage of Title IX in 1972, Stack said there was some pressure to live up to expectations to prove opponents wrong.
“A lot of people got jealous. When I was in sixth grade, I scored 20, 25, 30 points in six-minute quarters. There was a bit of jealousy and nastiness, but it never bothered me where it discouraged or derailed me. I kept my focus because I like to play. I never really thought about it,” Stack said. A good thing is that when we did that, the sixth year team went undefeated, so we won the division and the tournament. We made a statement. “
Stack said that during his time in high school, the high school gym was like a second home. He added that many people did not know he had a key to enter the school, which was within walking distance of his home. He spent that time in the gym honing his skills and trying to improve the things he needed to work on for the next game.
“It’s my house. I’ve spent many, many hours here,” Stack said. “It’s my playground. I’ve been here every hour and the caretaker even told me how to turn on the lights and make sure to turn them off when I leave.
Stack was a tri-sport athlete. She won Miss Basketball honors in 1980 while leading the Olympians to the state title game at the old Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, where they fell to Southport in overtime. She was the East’s all-time leading scorer with 1,518 total points. That record stood for 42 years until it was broken by recent graduate Koryn Greiwe in a match earlier this year.
“I think we left a legacy,” Stack said. “Even though we didn’t win the state tournament, everyone is still talking about that game. It’s been 42 years and it’s something you will never forget. It was easier, it didn’t hurt that bad. In the end, you have to work and put things into perspective. I’m just happy to be here and be a part of it.”
After high school, Stack went on to play at three colleges, earning NAIA All-American honors while at the Gonzagas.
Stack was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. He currently resides in Franklin and works as a human resources manager at NTN Driveshaft in Columbus.
Stack is grateful every day to have had the opportunity to play basketball for the girls.
“When I was in middle school, I asked these other women to come and tell me how lucky I was. I thank my mom everyday,” Stack said. These women that I know for sure have not had the opportunity to play. We should be grateful to the people who came before us because they laid the foundations. “
Stack also saw how far women’s basketball has come since her days on the court as Title IX celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“Compared to where we were, hopefully when they have kids, their kids will go on and improve and make girls basketball stronger,” Stack said. “He’s grown and grown every year and you see him get better every year.”
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