By high school, Hammon was lighting the court on fire as a member of the “Raiders” basketball team at Rapid City Stevens High School. But prior to attending a Blue Star Basketball Camp between her junior and senior years of high school, Hammon was getting very few college recruitment letters—not because of any lack of ability, but because most recruiters were pulling players from organized basketball leagues or camps. Her presence and performance at basketball camp that summer changed everything.

“I’m a survivor,” said Hammon. “I’m somebody who took a small opportunity and really did the most that I could with it.”

After camp, Hammon received hundreds of letters from college coaches who quickly took notice of her skills. But she ultimately chose Colorado State University to be within driving distance of her family. Hammon finished her college basketball career as the all-time leading scorer—female or male—in the region. But, in spite of her record and being named one of the top 10 college players in the country during her senior year, Hammon was not picked in the 1999 WNBA draft.

“I did not come from a good background,” she said. “I came from little Colorado State. People really didn’t want to give me the time of day. I tried to use that as motivation.”

Destination: Madison Square Garden.
Even though she wasn’t picked in the draft, Hammon was signed by the league as a free agent and sent to the New York Liberty’s training camp. “I know players who will hit you as hard as they can just to see how far they can push you, and just to see if you'll keep getting back up,” wrote Hammon in a 2001 article for the Rapid City Journal. “During my first year, of the four hours of practice [each day], I probably spent two of them getting knocked down and getting back up.”