Carter	Farris
Ford	Powell
Walker

The great state of Louisiana has produced five talented WNBA players that are on the current Detroit Shock roster. Just as the NBA Detroit Pistons in 2004 had the North Carolina connection with Head Coach Larry Brown, Assistant Coaches Dave Hanners, John Kuester, and Pat Sullivan, and Rasheed Wallace, the Shock match the Carolina connection of the Pistons with their own Louisiana bond.

Five of the 12 current players on the Shock roster graduated from a college that is in the southern state of Louisiana. Guard Elaine Powell graduated from Louisiana State University in 1997, forwards Ayana “Bird” Walker, Cheryl Ford, and Amisha Carter each graduated from Louisiana Tech in sequential years. Walker graduated in 2002, Ford in 2003, and Carter in 2004. Interestingly, Walker played two years alongside Cheryl Ford until she graduated and then Ford played one year alongside teammate Amisha Carter. The other member of the Louisiana Five is forward Barb Farris who was a member of the Tulane Green Wave as she graduated from Tulane in 1998 before joining the Shock.

Even though all of the players were in the same state together, they did not get to see much of each other’s play because they were all in separate conferences. In fact, “Bird” mentioned that the biggest rivals for the Lady Tech’s were the powerhouses of Connecticut and Tennessee. “Louisiana is where you find the great talent,” boasted Walker.

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QUIZ TIME: You Vs. Shock Forward and Louisiana Native Barbara Farris

Now lets test your knowledge about the great state of Louisiana. Take out a piece of paper and a pencil and answer what you feel is the best answer to the questions below. After you finish we will see if you know more than Shock forward and Tulane graduate Barb Farris knows about the state that she attended college in.

1. What is Louisiana’s State Bird?

A: The Brown Pelican
B: The Red Falcon
C: The Yellow Roadrunner
D: The Blue Hummer

2. What is Louisiana’s State Flower?

A: Daisy
B: Magnolia
C: Crazy Daisies
D: Mum

3. What is Louisiana’s State Insect?

A: The Honeybee
B: The Horsefly
C: Prane Mantis
D: Termite

4. What is Louisiana’s State Drink?

A: Milk
B: Iced Tea
C: Mudslide
D: Coca Cola

5. What is Louisiana’s State Crustacean?

A: The Crawfish
B: The Starfish
C: Shrimp
D: The Blue Angel 6. What is Louisiana’s State Amphibian?

A: The Green Tree Frog
B: The Iguana
C: The Red Leaf Frog
D: The Humpback Iguana

7. What is Louisiana’s State Reptile?

A: The Alligator
: The Boa Constrictor
C: Southern Crocodile
D: Mississippi Mongoose

8. What is Louisiana’s State Tree?

A: The Irish Cottonwood
B: The Bald Cypress
C: Bamboo
D: Weeping Willow

9. What is Louisiana’s State Mammal?

A: The Black Bear
B: The Cow
C: Razorback
D: The Black Spotted Cow

And the bonus 10th question is a little tricky and only the diehard Shock fans will receive points on this one:

10. Of the five Shock players that are from the great state of Louisiana, which players wear the number 21? A: Elaine Powell
B: Cheryl Ford
C: Amisha Carter
D: Ayana Walker
E: Barb Farris

Well…how do you feel that you did? Shock forward Barb Farris answered 7/10 questions correctly. So be sure to check your answers below to see how you measure up to Barb and her knowledge of Louisiana.

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ANSWERS: 1. A, 2. B, 3. A, 4. A, 5. A, 6. A, 7. A, 8. B, 9. A, 10. C