By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Laurie Pirtle has high standards when it comes to point guards. She was one herself at Ohio State, and she knows the value of having someone steady and dependable at the position.

So it means something when Pirtle, in her 17th season at the University of Cincinnati, says 5-foot-9 senior K.B. Sharp "is probably the best point guard I have ever coached."

Said Pirtle: "I just have never had one as good at ball handling, as good a defender, as good at running plays and remembering all the plays."

Junior shooting guard Valerie King is a returning first-team all-Conference USA player for UC, and sophomore Debbie Merrill was the league's freshman of the year and a second-team all-conference selection last season.

Those two captured most of the headlines and accolades over the past two seasons, especially last season when the Bearcats went 27-5 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"Many coaches that I talk to in our league and elsewhere think K.B.'s the reason we're so good," Pirtle said. "I really think K.B. makes us tick."

King, who played against Sharp in high school, agrees.

"There's no other point guard I'd rather play with," King said. "She is everywhere on the court. She is awesome on defense. She can score any time she wants. She'll get you the ball when you're open."

Understand this about Sharp: She is happy King and Merrill are in the spotlight so she can "remain in the shadows."

Sharp is laid-back and no-frills. She makes easy passes, nothing fancy. Her biggest fear is having the ball stolen.

"She's a lot better offensively than a lot of people know," Pirtle said. "What she's doing for the team is what you're supposed to do as a point guard. But we want her to score a little bit more and be a little less unselfish. Val and Deb will get theirs; we run plays to them. K.B. can really, really create her own, and we want her to do that."

Unselfish? When she was coming to UC out of Columbus Bexley High School, Sharp didn't mind that the Bearcats had two point guards on the team ahead of her - Tish Perry and Candice Roberson.

Sharp told Pirtle she wasn't ready to play point guard at the DivisionI level and volunteered to help out at another position. She did, coming off the bench at small forward for 31 games and averaging 5.6 points.

"I didn't even think I was going to play (as a freshman)," Sharp said.

But she took over at point guard her second season, and the job has been Sharp's job for 64 consecutive games. She has played at least 40 minutes 39 times and needs just 28 assists to become the program's all-time leader.

She already owns the school's single-season record of 205 assists and the single-game record of 13.

"I'd rather pass and see someone score," Sharp said. "That makes me feel better."

This year, Sharp is being asked to be more vocal, to lead not only by example but also verbally.

Last season, she was third-team all-Conference USA and was named UC's most outstanding player for the second straight year. This is her second season as a team captain.

Oh, there's something else that's important to know about Sharp. She has a lucky Cabbage Patch Kid named Lasetta, who was given to her by her parents for Christmas when she was 2.

Everyone in the program talks about Lasetta as if she were, well, a real person. Sharp doesn't sleep without her and keeps Lasetta in her locker during every game except the NCAA and Conference USA tournaments, when she sits with Sharp's mother in the stands.

Sharp introduced Lasetta to Pirtle during her in-home recruiting visit. "I was going to be best friends with Lasetta because I wanted (K.B.) to come play for us," Pirtle said with a smile.

"She is part of us." Pirtle says of the doll. "She is sort of real."

Pirtle even held a Senior Day for Lasetta on the bench last season during Senior Day at DePaul.

When Sharp was a freshman, Lasetta underwent surgery (performed by Sharp's aunt) and got a new body. She was sent to Sharp at UC in a box - with holes poked out so Lasetta could breathe.

"That's my baby," Sharp said. "She's like my security. She reminds me of my family. She makes me comfortable. I'm still a little kid."

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