One of the best
Abbey women's basketball standout India French-Adams took a shot on Belmont Abbey and it was all net.
It’s hard to believe that one of Belmont Abbey College’s best women’s basketball players took a chance and visited Belmont on a whim.
India French-Adams knew she would be attending Virginia Tech and staying close to her Virginia home. Still, she wanted to visit two friends -- men’s basketball player Harry Black and volleyball player Yolanda Travis. She ended up falling in love with the campus.
“I came, and it was far enough away from home,” French-Adams said.
That trip led to great basketball and great memories in four years. She scored 2,223 career points (second-most in school history) while being named a four-time all-conference player and one-time league player of the year (District 26). At one point in her freshman season, her team won 23 games in a row.
STUDENT LIFE
That basketball skill came with a good helping of Abbey education.
French-Adams recalls her great teachers, several monks including Fr. Christopher Kirchgesser, Brother Paul Shanley, Fr. John Oetgon, Abbot Walter Coggin, and Fr. (now Abbot) Placid Solari. Coggin died in 1999, and Oetgon passed a decade later.
Her vivid memories of Fr. John were almost like they could have happened yesterday. The former college president, teacher, basketball supporter, and monk piqued her teaching career interests.
“Fr. John set me straight,” French-Adams recalled. “He was one of the reasons. I’m not intimidated, but he (definitely had me nervous).”
More than 20 years later, she remembers two college-defining moments with the late monk. French-Adams learned from Oetgon, who took his classes very seriously and was a stickler for student punctuality.
“I was late to class one day, and the door was locked,” she said sheepishly. “I remembered that I didn’t want to be late, and then I walked up, and the door was locked. I knocked on the door, and he opened the door. Then I kind of whispered, ‘Can I come in please?’ Then he raised his eyebrows, nodded, and let me in.”
On another occasion, she fell asleep in class after a late night early in the semester. When other professors were handing out syllabuses on the first day, Fr. John dove into his coursework, and she rested her eyes a little too long at one point.
“He dropped that big ol’ Shakespeare textbook on the floor. I never fell asleep in class again,” she laughed.
Determined to find the balance between her studies and court play, she found success early on. Her favorite teams were the first two years, including the freshman team that went to the NAIA District 26 championships.
“We were undefeated all the way up until the High Point game when I had a really stupid turnover that I carry around after all this time. Belmont Abbey women's coach Elaine Kebbe told me to hold the ball, and I thought I knew better. I saw (teammate) Seleta (Moore) running down the court, and she looked open. I passed it, it was a turnover, and we lost.”
The Lady Crusaders won the conference and the district championships, but she pines on about the missed undefeated season. When former teammate LeeAnn Tuttle passed away last year, and members of the team reunited, French-Adams said Kebbe was still bitter about the play, remembering it like it was yesterday.
Former classmates and friends agree French-Adams was a dominant force on and off the court.
“India was always friendly and confident,” Tommy Murphy said. “But she was always known on campus for her skills. When we were at the Abbey (89-93), the women’s team was excellent. Probably one of the best teams in Abbey history and because of this their games were popular with the students. India was dominant on the court. Every game, she was the best player.”
Former teammate and friend Meredith (Allen) Goodlatte said that she and Adams were the only freshmen on the team that season. They became fast friends with post-season successes and all-conference honors in their freshman and sophomore years.
“India was by far the most passionate player I have ever played with,” Goodlatte said. “She had a unique gift to motivate anyone and inspire us all to be better. She just had this presence on and off the floor which made me always want to be around her. India had talent from her family, but she worked harder than anyone. She gave 110 percent.”
As for her pro nephews Stephen and Seth Curry, French-Adams has cheered them on over the years. Reporters and alumni remember the brothers hooping it up in the Wheeler Center after games with basketballs and even wads of paper with trash cans.
“India was by far the most passionate player I have ever played with,” Goodlatte said. “She had a unique gift to motivate anyone and inspire us all to be better. She just had this presence on and off the floor which made me always want to be around her. India had talent from her family, but she worked harder than anyone. She gave 110 percent.”
“I take full credit (for their skills),” she laughs.
Another big reason her time at the Abbey worked out was that her brother-in-law, Dell Curry, played with the Charlotte Hornets in the fall of 1988 in an NBA expansion draft. She committed to Belmont Abbey in the spring, and now with Curry and her big sister, Sonya, in Charlotte, she had the strong support of family in the Wheeler Center stands.
“We all came here together, which was kinda cool,” she said. “It wasn’t planned, but it worked out that way. (Sonya and Dell) were kinda like my parents because they were so close and came to many of the games. Their kids came and shot around. I don’t know if that time (in the Wheeler Center) influenced them, but wherever there was a hoop, they were going to play. The officials and the coaches let them run around and play, so that was awesome. But my family’s pretty close-knit, and we kind of travel in a huge pack, so every chance they got, they traveled to the Abbey to support me. They even had some of my teammates over at their house for certain occasions.”
French-Adams looked to expand her playing career post-Abbey as the WNBA was starting up.
She tried out for the Charlotte WNBA team at the urging of Dell. The team had started up in 1997, several years after French-Adams played college ball.
“I played a little bit after college,” French-Adams said. “A little bit of semi-pro and club ball. I played with a couple of people who played in the WNBA. I know for a fact that if there had been a possibility, that would have definitely been an aspiration.”
She also thought about playing overseas, but she said that seemed out of reach at the time. “I feel pretty confident that I would’ve competed on another level,” she said.
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
French-Adams went on to graduate from the honors program with cum laude honors.
After earning her English degree, she went on to receive her Masters in Education at Endicott University. Now, she is the head of school at Huntersville’s Phoenix Montessori Academy. She married Tiffany French in 2015 and her future may include a doctorate degree.
She looks back at her Abbey time fondly. The school honored her Abbey playing days during a Dec. 2, 2014 game.
“It was a lot of fun,” French-Adams said. “I was very thankful for the opportunity. I felt like the time I got there was pretty competitive. It was probably the hardest I’ve ever had to work to get playing time. I grew up a lot. I learned a lot. Once I got there, I learned what the college was about. To know some of the monks there, I felt pretty proud to be part of that program. And then I realized we did some things we hadn’t done before, and it made it kind of special.”
While alums and friends wonder why the Abbey Sports Hall of Fame has not recognized her playing days, she would rather see the teams she played with honored first.
“I don’t feel slighted,” French-Adams said. “I was inducted into my high school hall of fame. I definitely love the Abbey. I hadn’t really kept up with it much or know if the Hall of Fame is still happening. There’s a whole slew of athletes, players, and coaches who came before me, who definitely deserve to be considered ahead of time. I would like to be there one day.”