She inherited the height, the passing ability and the shot. She learned the physical play and basketball intelligence.

But what Keri Laimbeer received the most from her father, Bill, a two-time NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons and current head coach of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock, had to be the attitude that doesn’t tolerate losing.

‘I hate to lose,’ says Keri, a freshman center on the Syracuse women’s basketball team. ‘I hate feeling down on myself. I hate getting down on my teammates.’

Bill puts it more succinctly: ‘Losing sucks.’

Consider that attitude a family value. It landed Bill NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 as one of the nastiest members of the Pistons’ ‘Bad Boys.’ Keri might not have drawn physical blows from opposing players in high school like her dad did, but she won three Michigan state basketball championships at Detroit Country Day, including two as a starter.

Her solid perimeter shooting complements an extremely physical inside game. She poses matchup problems because she’s a threat to hit a three-pointer or post up.

‘She’s a multi-faceted player,’ says Frank Orlando, Keri’s coach at Detroit Country Day. ‘She can play inside with the best or she can also play as a 4 or a 5 (power forward or center). She’s very similar to her father.’

Those comparisons never stop when you grow up playing basketball in the same state in which your dad became a star. Bill began his coaching career by taking over Keri’s AAU team, the Michigan Monarchs, when she was younger. He used it as an opportunity to stress team fundamentals and basketball knowledge.

Keri often faced players older and better than herself, including some on her own team, so she learned to get other players involved through passing.

‘That’s one of her great strengths,’ Bill says. ‘It’s not important for her to take every shot or be in every play. She knows that it might be more important for other people to take more shots and she gets them involved. It’s a team game and she understands that.’

Bill coached Keri five years until the WNBA called 10 games into the 2002 season. Keri’s continued interest in basketball gave Bill added motivation to coach the Shock and advance the women’s game even farther.

He guided the Shock to a WNBA title in 2003 and earned Coach of the Year honors. Keri often went to games and spent time around the team, watching practices and picking up pointers.

Throughout high school Keri knew she wanted to play college basketball but the interest didn’t start until she started her junior year. Detroit Country Day produces D-I caliber players every year so Keri had to bide her time on the bench.

That year, though, she earned all-state second team honors from the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, earning a reputation for her own play rather than her famous father.

During the state quarterfinals that year, Detroit Country day faced top-ranked Renaissance. Detroit Country Day had lost a number of starters from its previous championship team the year before, so most people picked Renaissance to win.

Early in the game, Keri stepped outside and took a three-pointer Orlando felt she just couldn’t make.

‘I thought this girl should never be shooting this shot,’ Orlando says. ‘But she nailed it.’

Keri’s play led Detroit Country Day to an overwhelming 71-33 victory and a state championship two games later. People began noticing Keri for her all-around game, unusual for a player of her height.

‘Keri was always a clutch performer,’ Orlando says. ‘In the bigger games she was always a big factor. She was a go-to player.’

That summer, she began receiving interest letters from several colleges, including Syracuse. Keri clicked well with assistant coach Matt Luneau and she liked SU’s academic options.

When she went on her official visits, though, she left behind her famous 6-foot, 10-inch father. She wanted to make the decision on her own.

‘I didn’t want my dad there,’ Keri says. ‘He brings so much attention.’

‘As a mother, I kind of thought I would go, but sometimes having her dad along, he attracts attention,’ says Chris, Keri’s mom. ‘Then the visit becomes more about Keri’s dad than Keri. We have a clear understanding of the dynamics. We’re used to it.’

When Detroit Country Day traveled to road games across Michigan to cities like Saginaw or Flint and Bill came to watch, fans hounded him for an autograph. Instead of just watching his daughter play, Bill became an attraction.

He understood his daughter’s desire to visit schools on her own. In fact, Bill pushed her to do it because he did the same thing when he was recruited.

‘The parents aren’t what it’s about,’ Bill says. ‘The parents can’t tell the kid what to do.’

Instead, Bill gave Keri advice, questions to ask and certain things to look for. He also spent some time talking with Luneau and head coach Keith Cieplicki and researched their coaching background.

Bill liked that Cieplicki didn’t tolerate players that skipped classes or had academic problems. He also liked that Cieplicki wouldn’t tolerate prima donnas on his team.

It’s basketball ‘the right way,’ Bill says.

Still, Bill and Chris left the decision up to Keri, who soon became infatuated with Syracuse. At the beginning of her senior season, her parents had to force her to even consider other schools, because Keri’s mind was set on Syracuse.

‘I got along really well with the girls,’ Keri says. ‘It’s close to home and it’s in one of the best conferences. I’m excited to be here.’

Cieplicki is especially excited to have Keri aboard. After a six-game win improvement in his second season as head coach of the Orange, Cieplicki wants SU to move above .500 this year.

‘We have to have people that know how to win, not just people that know how to play,’ Cieplicki says.

Having a player like Keri, who’s won at every level and in Cieplicki’s words is not afraid to ‘bang the heck out of people,’ will certainly help. She’s been around the game since she was born. What she lacks in physical talents, speed and leaping ability, for example, she makes up for it by anticipating situations and knowing the game so well, Bill said.

Keri has one person to thank: her dad.

‘He was a great teacher,’ Keri says. ‘He taught me so much. He taught me how to be a winner.’

Published on November 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm