The spark plug

By Dena Beth Krischer - Daily Sports Writer

In perhaps her greatest performance yet, sophomore guard Alayne Ingram went head-to-head against Michigan assistant coach Eileen Shea in a game of P-I-G.

It was about 6 p.m. on a Wednesday evening and practice had ended about a half hour earlier. Ingram was still in her practice gear, taking shots from as many obscure spots on the court as she could and sinking them all - as if the motion were entirely innate.

"I'm going to score 40 one time," Ingram said about the number she sports on her jersey.

The number, which she chose as a freshman on her Waverly High School varsity team, is somewhat of a tribute to her father Michael Ingram, the basketball coach at Lansing Community College.

Coach Ingram wore No. 40 when he played in high school, but she didn't know that when she picked it.

"She's a gym rat," a smiling Michigan coach Sue Guevara said, watching as Ingram practically schooled Shea in P-I-G. "She's in here working all the time on her shot."

Now that she's over 60 miles from home, the Lansing native has formed a bond with the 92 x 49 feet of wood in Crisler.

It's her new playground - her new backyard.

But nothing compares to the hoop in her backyard at home.

"That was the spot for me," Ingram admits. "Every day when I got home from school, I would be outside shooting for at least two hours. That's just like home. It always feels comfortable in that court."

Ingram got her first chance to be a baller when she was six years old. She went with her father to basketball camp for older kids and he "let" her play.

Since then, practically the only thing that's prevented her from playing her game was a sprained ankle she suffered in the 72-69 loss at Wisconsin on Jan. 20.

Now after a one-game hiatus, she's back on the court and is more unstoppable than ever.

"I would have died if I couldn't play," Ingram said.

Michigan's season might have died if Ingram couldn't play.

Without Ingram, the Wolverines would be without more than 16 percent of their scoring.

Without Ingram, the Wolverines might not be in second place in the Big Ten and on their way to maintaining a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Desperately Seeking Susan

When she was only in sixth grade, Ingram received her first recruiting letter from Guevara, who at that time was an assistant at Michigan State.

"I've known Alayne a long, long time," Guevara said. "She would call me when she was 11 years old and we developed a close relationship."

Growing up in Spartan country - where the Breslin Center is considered a cathedral and basketball games are like religious ceremonies - it's a wonder that Ingram managed to slip through Michigan State coach Karen Langeland's fingers.

Michigan State "just wasn't right for me," Ingram said. "I lived seven minutes away - that's how long it took me to get to campus. A lot of people in Lansing are always asking me why I didn't go to Michigan State."

Maybe it's because Michigan State doesn't play the right tune.

"I'm always the first one running out and when I heard 'The Victors' play (at my first game), that was one of the greatest moments of my life," Ingram said.

Ingram's decision could also be attributed to her favorite color - blue. And the idea of wearing green for four years wasn't one of Ingram's top priorities.

"Michigan State is my biggest rival," Ingram said. "They're always out for my blood, trying to tell me I should have gone there because they're the better institute.

"But you know what? They're not. And that's how I feel."

Maybe that's because the Spartans lack one thing in particular - the right coach.

Guevara "was the only one who really made contact with me when she was at Michigan State," Ingram said. "She's made such an impact on me and when she got this job, I took that as a sign. I just knew she'd do real well wherever she was at, so I followed her down here."

But she'd never say that to her coach's face.

"We go 'round and 'round about that," Guevara said. "She's always saying, 'Oh no she wouldn't (have come to Ann Arbor), no she wouldn't.' Oh yes, she would have. There was no way she was going anywhere else."

Guevara said there was no way Ingram was going to play for anybody else, either.

"If I had stayed at Michigan State, her butt would have been at Michigan State," Guevara said. "If I had become the head coach at Central Michigan, she would have come with me to Central Michigan."

For Ingram, Guevara has become something of a surrogate mother.

"She understands me," Ingram said. "We can talk about a lot of stuff. It's just good that she's here, I feel like I have somebody taking care of me."

"She's my daughter," Guevara said. "Her mother had her, but she's mine."

Baby keep your head up

Every so often, when things aren't going according to plan, there's got to be something or someone to get the sparks flying.

For Michigan, Ingram is that spark plug.

Ingram has been described by her coach and her teammates as the team's "pumper-upper," an "emotional leader," or simply the one to point her teammates "in the right direction." Namely, towards the basket.

"Alayne is our emotion," Guevara said. "She tries to get everybody all jacked up and ready to play. She's a talker."

Apparently, she talks a lot, and according to teammate Raina Goodlow, Ingram's the one that really knows how to get the team going.

"She's always talking," Goodlow said. "She's always staying on us. Sometimes when you don't feel like practicing, she's always running her mouth and pumping us up every day."

Ingram admits she is somewhat of a spaz on the court.

"They all know me," she laughed. "I'm crazy."

But even the spark plug needs to be recharged - sometimes it's going to take more than a few motivational words from her teammates. Sometimes, it takes a little music.

"When we're on road trips, I listen to Kirk Franklin," Ingram said. "He's got these songs about keeping your head up no matter what. If I'm not shooting well, I can get really down on myself. His songs help me remember that I can take another shot and that it can go in."

If and when her shots continue to go in, is there a possibility that Ingram might continue onto the next level?

"I think that it's sweet that we have an NBA for women," Ingram said. "My dad and I used to talk about it when I was younger, about me playing in the NBA because we didn't have the WNBA back then.

"He was always telling me I could do this, I could do that and now that I have the opportunity. I'm really trying to get better so I can be there one day. Because I don't know what I want to do."

If the next level doesn't work out, Guevara would like to see Ingram follow in her footsteps yet again and stand on the sidelines.

"I think Alayne is going to be a very, very good coach - if that's what she decides to do," Guevara said. "She's a coach's daughter and she understands the game. That is an avenue that I really think she should pursue if it doesn't work out playing at the next level."

Any other alternatives?

"I like to talk," Ingram admits. "Maybe I'll go into public speaking or public relations or something like that."

That is, of course, if and only if her game doesn't work out.

"As much as I love basketball right now, I hope that I can keep getting better and love it the same way in three years." Ingram said. "If I do, I'm going to want to play. It just depends if I love it the same way as I do right now."