The raw recruits stood there paralyzed, not wanting to make eye contact with their intimidating Army drill sergeant

	Seeking better leadership skills, Tamara Bowie enlisted in a 35-day Boot Camp in Fort Knox, Ky.

Some glanced nervously at each other. Most stared at the ground. None wanted to step up and answer his challenge to lead the platoon across a stream last summer.

Finally, Tamara Bowie broke the silence and stepped forward.

"Everybody was just standing there looking at each other like we were stupid," Bowie recalled, "so I just went ahead and volunteered."

Bowie was an unlikely candidate. Even on the basketball court, where she was the best player in the Mid-American Conference in 2000-01, Bowie had never been comfortable assuming a leadership role. She'd score the most points or grab the most rebounds, but speaking up and taking charge wasn't her thing.

And that's how Bowie, now a junior at Ball State who helped the Cardinals win a share of their first MAC regular-season title last week, ended up at Fort Knox, Ky. The 35-day boot camp, complete with 5 a.m. wakeups, daily 2-mile runs, M-16 rifles and spit-shined combat boots, was supposed to help Bowie become more assertive. Leadership abilities were the one thing missing from her game, and the 6-foot forward thought boot camp might be the answer.

When Bowie told her coaches she was considering voluntarily enlisting through the campus ROTC, they thought she was joking.

"I thought she was nuts," said Ball State's Tracy Roller, a former Cardinal assistant who was promoted to head coach after Brenda Oldfield left during the offseason. "Doing something like that wasn't really in her character. Summertime is usually when she gets an opportunity to chill out. I don't know very many people who would go outside their comfort zone and go to boot camp."

But Roller's reaction only fueled Bowie's desire.

"My coaches started challenging me, wondering if I could really get through it, and so finally I decided to (enlist)," said Bowie, who is averaging 16.5 points this season. "In a weird way, them telling me I couldn't do it pushed me to sign up."

Bowie, who was voted to the All-MAC first-team for the second consecutive season, first happened upon the idea after she and some teammates saw an ROTC booth at a campus job fair.

"At first it was a joke, but then I went home and really started thinking about doing it," she said. "And then I just thought maybe I should really do this."

Bowie knew she needed to do something. With her junior year coming up, and after winning so many postseason accolades, Bowie knew she would be expected to be more of a leader in her third collegiate season.

	Tamara Bowie averaged 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds as a sophomore in 2000-01.

Boot camp was just the trick.

"I was put in a lot of leadership positions while I was there, and at times we were put in drills where we had to act like the drill sergeant, which made me talk more and communicate better," Bowie said.

"I have a lot more confidence now and it has helped me overcome a lot of things. In the past, maybe I would get frustrated with my teammates or the way I was playing and I would get quiet, fold. My game would go to pieces."

Is she a better leader? Absolutely, Roller says, and it didn't take long for Bowie's new leadership skills to kick in on the court. Against outmatched IPFW four games into the season, Ball State got a little cocky in the second half and its showboating and sloppy play allowed the opponent to chip away at Ball State's lead.

"But (Bowie) grabbed everyone, brought everybody together in a huddle and told them they needed to focus," said Roller, the MAC Coach of the Year.

The Cardinals responded, sinking three unanswered baskets en route to a 44-point win.

"I would have never done that in the past, I would have just went into a shell," Bowie said. "In the past, I always felt like it was never my place to say anything, but now I speak out a lot more than I used to, and I think people respect me more."

Bowie's success on the court came quickly, as well. She didn't begin playing basketball until her freshman year of high school, when her brother convinced her to pick up the game after she grew two inches to 5-9 that summer. In her first season, Bowie says she averaged about two points and 10 rebounds. Eventually, she was her team's MVP and was recruited by Michigan and Michigan State.

But Shala Crook, a high school teammate of Bowie's back in Lansing, Mich., was already at Ball State. Bowie liked what Crook had to say about the school and program, and signed on. In her rookie season, Bowie set the Ball State freshman scoring record with 432 points. As the MAC Player of the Year last season, Bowie ranked first in the league in scoring (18.6 points per game), field-goal percentage (59.1) and third in rebounds (8.4). She scored at least 20 points in 12 of 28 games, notched nine double-doubles and dropped a school-record 40 points on Eastern Michigan on Jan. 27, 2001, en route to Kodak All-American Honorable Mention accolades.

This season, Bowie is averaging 16.5 points, ranks among the league leaders in six categories and has helped lead Ball State to its best season in the program's 27-year history. She scored a team-high 17 points against top-ranked Connecticut in November -- "I was really impressed with her," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the game -- and has season highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Entering the MAC tourney, she had posted 20 career double-doubles, scored in double figures in 70 of 78 career games, and needed just four blocks to surpass the career record (96).

	Boot Camp made Ball State's Tamara Bowie a better basketball player.

Roller said Bowie's biggest strength is her versatility.

"She started as a post for us but now she's playing a lot of guard. She can bring the ball up the floor or play the 5 spot. She's just so smooth," said Roller, whose team is 21-6 heading into the MAC tournament. "She'll probably break the scoring record by the time she's done. But the thing I really love about her is that she's by far the best player to come through here but she knows she needs to get better and not be afraid to work on her weaknesses."

Bowie arrived at boot camp bursting with enthusiasm, but by the third week, she was physically exhausted and the Army's training and disciplined way of life were grinding on her. A typical day began at 5 a.m., and by the time the platoon mastered the day's drills and obstacles, attended class and ate dinner, it was 9 p.m. with just an hour to herself before lights out.

One of the platoon's exercises was the "bold challenge," where the cadets had to spend 24 hours in the woods, awake at all times, then another 24 hours awake cleaning the barracks upon their return.

"I didn't have trouble falling to sleep at night. I think we did a thousand pushups a day sometimes," said Bowie, who bunked with 53 other female cadets in her barrack. "We had to shine our boots every day, get up at 5 a.m. every morning, and I got tired and started doubting myself."

Eventually, things got easier. She still couldn't wait to get home, but Bowie began learning what to expect, and realizing the hard work was paying off. And in the end, nothing felt better than going through the boot camp's graduation ceremony. Well, maybe winning a share of the MAC regular-season title and hopefully earning the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

And now, Bowie knows how to shoot M-16 rifles and missile launchers, and how to build a one-rope bridge 15 feet above water and lead a team of 20 cadets to the other side of the stream -- and when needed, to shout orders at the rest of the platoon.

Would she do it all over again? Maybe. Was it worth it? Definitely.

Coach Roller agrees.

"If I'd made her go, she never would have got anything out of it," Roller said. "But she wanted to go, and I think it's probably the best thing that ever happened to her."

Melanie Jackson is the women's college basketball editor at ESPN.com. Click here to e-mail her any story ideas, suggestions or feedback.