Not many girls got to routinely shoot around with the NBA superstars of the 1996 USA Dream Team. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have left the same impression on the players as 9-year-old Kristi Toliver did.
“She was shooting around with guys like Kevin Johnson, and they were amazed with her skill level at the time,” said Kristi’s father, George Toliver, who was in Atlanta as a referee for the ’96 Summer Olympic Games.
Now 10 years later, Kristi has made her mark in the ACC, and is prepared to make her mark on the rest of the nation as she heads into her first NCAA tournament. Playing the same style of basketball as Johnson, Kristi, who is already starting in her freshman season, is one of the main reasons that the Terrapin women’s basketball team has one of the more promising outlooks in recent memory.
Kristi grew up with basketball in her blood. Her sister Carli played basketball at Lehigh, and her father George played at James Madison from 1969-1973, and later became an NBA referee in 1988. He stopped reffing games after the 2003-2004 season and is currently the supervisor of officials for the NBA Developmental League. Because of George’s job, Kristi received many opportunities as a kid to see basketball played live at an extremely high level.
“I grew up watching the NBA ever since I was little,” Kristi said. “[I went] to All-Star games, and saw the Dream Team play, so I grew up around the game.”
“It was like taking a kid to the candy store,” George said of his daughter’s excitement when she attended games with him. “From a parenting standpoint, it was important for me to provide those opportunities for her that a lot of people don’t get.”
When George wasn’t on the road refereeing games, he was at home studying game film, which Kristi would view with him so she could learn basketball from watching the best players in the world.
“She had a high aptitude, interest, and great passion for the game,” said George, who also coached Kristi in AAU for one season. “I told her, ‘Don’t be average; be the best you can be. Instead of sitting on the couch, get out in the driveway and work on your game.’ She loves the game, so that was easy for her to do.”
In high school, Toliver was showered with accolades, including Parade, WBCA, and McDonald’s All-American honors, and Virginia State Gatorade Player of the Year. She scored over 2,500 points in high school, but with a deep and balanced Terp lineup, Toliver has had to convert from the freakish scorer to a playmaker and ball distributor for the Terps. She has been able to adjust, as she has averaged over 11 points and 4 assists per game, and has started most of the season.
All of Kristi’s time spent around basketball helped her become the player she is today. Kristi feels like a lot of her knowledge and skill can be attested to her dad.
“He definitely taught me a whole lot early on,” Kristi said of her father, “Just being around the game with him, and him being able to point things out to me, has helped me see things, and has helped me with my court vision, seeing the flow of the game.”
With his new job freeing up more time to see his daughter play, George has only missed three of the Terps’ games this season. But what does he think when he sees Kristi arguing a referee’s call?
“I never felt even as a referee that players shouldn’t ask questions,” George said. “There is a whole process of communication that is necessary, and the ref should listen to what the players have to say.”
So if a call doesn’t go the Terps’ way, expect to see Kristi giving her best plea in an appropriate way to whoever is officiating the game.
“[My father] told me the right way to talk to the refs,” Kristi said. “No ref is going to be perfect. If you have something to say, there’s a right way to say it. Go up there, approach them, pat them on the back, and don’t be too overly aggressive with them because they don’t like that. You definitely don’t want the refs not on your side.”
So far, Toliver has kept the refs on her side, and had good luck with referees throughout the season. The freshman guard averages less than two fouls per contest and has fouled out in just one game this season.
Kristi may have learned about coaxing the refs, work ethic, court vision, and persistence from her father, but there is one piece of her George’s advice that Kristi puts before any of those.
“He just taught me to respect the game, and I think that’s the most important thing.”
Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com.
