While most NIU students’ biggest concern over last summer was to improve their tan line or ask “Where’s the next party going to be?,” Toby Meeks worked daily brushing up on her shooting, dribbling and attitude.

The NIU women’s basketball point guard decided after the 1986-87 season—of which she played in 23 of the 27 games and started in none—that she wanted to play more. And now she is.

“Toby’s attitude has improved, and she’s learned our system—that’s a tribute to her,” said coach Jane Albright. “She’s learned how to use her strengths and cover up her weaknesses.”

Her new outlook of the game has swept Meeks off the bench and earned her time in all 20 games of the 1987-88 season to date, 10 of which she has started in.

“Over the summer I set a few goals—I wanted to play point, and I hoped to gain a starting position,” Meeks said. “My goal was to start by Dec. 5, and I believe that’s the day I started. I was pretty proud of myself.”

While the 5-foot-7 sophomore might appear calm starting at the glamorous point guard position in a Division I school, Meeks admits that at times the intensity on the court builds up frustration.

“I know that as the point guard, everything revolves around me,” Meeks said, “and with the position I play, I know I have to be intense. When I’m not intense, I hate it and (my teammates) hate it too.”

Another frustrating situation Meeks feels the team is coping with is the result of their youth—an 8-12 record after Saturday’s loss to Miami. Although NIU is starting four sophomores on the average, Meeks doesn’t like to use this reason as a crutch.

“It’s very frustrating because we’re young—I don’t like using excuses, but it’s a fact,” Meeks said. “We know there’s a brighter day ahead. One day there will be four seniors out there. Then we’ll be a great team.”

All great teams start with great players, and players of any caliber must begin from somewhere. In Meeks’ case, her career started with others telling her she couldn’t play.

“When I was in fourth grade, I used to hang out around the playgrounds, and the guys would kick me off the court and say, ‘Go away—you’re just a girl,'” Meeks said.

Thanks to older cousins with words of confidence, Meeks went on to Aurora East, where she averaged 19.3 points per game her senior year and led the team in assists (67) and steals (74).

Meeks doesn’t limit her skill improvement to just basketball. When she isn’t practicing her hand-eye coordination on the backboards, she’s using it on the keyboards.

When the students on Meeks’ dorm floor hear rapping and singing, “They know where it’s coming from,” said Meeks, who has been playing the piano since second grade.

If words of advice could be engraved in stone for all high school players, Meeks would advise three things: education comes before basketball, practice basketball daily and listen to all the advice of others—an obstacle Meeks had to conquer.

“One of my biggest problems was always (not) listening,” Meeks said. “Coach Albright turned me around and kept me going by telling me what she thought I could do and couldn’t do. She told me what I needed to do to be an asset to the team.”

Albright said that for Meeks, this year’s season is uncomparable to last year’s season, and her future seems to be looking brighter.

“She’s got a real upbeat personality,” Albright said of Meeks. “If she improves as much as she did last year, she’ll be a great, great player.”