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"Work hard, and don't look for excuses", C. Vivian Stringer's parents told her, "and you can achieve anything." But her faith and perseverance would be tested many times. A gifted athlete, she was required to fight for a place by using an all-white cheerleading squad in the 60s. In 1981, as her coaching career was removing, her 14-month-old daughter, Nina, was stricken with spinal meningitis. Nina would never walk or talk again. Still grieving, Stringer brought a small, poor, historically black college to the national championships - a triumph hailed as "Hoosiers with an all-female cast". In 1991 her husband, Bill, fell dead of a sudden coronary attack, but that same year, she led just one more young team to the Final Four. Through these dark times as well as others, Stringer has carried her burdens with grace. Given her history, it was no surprise that she led her team to respond to Don Imus' slurs with dignity and courage.Standing Tall is a story of quiet strength in the face of punishing odds. Most importantly, it is an extraordinary love story - love for the overall game, for the players she has coached, for her close-knit family, and then for the husband she lost much too soon.
