Shanna Zolman shows off the sweet jumper that was her calling card.

The drive that made Shanna Zolman a hero on hardwoods throughout the Hoosier State as a high school All-American still burns deep.

It’s just that her passion now is to bring peace and joy to those that are hurting.

Zolman, the pride of Syracuse, is very content with her life away from the game she loved for so many years.

The former Wawasee High School star retired from the WNBA two years ago. Zolman, who now lives in Seattle, is “more than busy” as she puts it working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and doing mentoring and counseling with college athletes.

“I totally love what I’m doing now and God has given me a passion for this,” said Zolman in a phone interview Friday. “I love it and it is what God wants me doing. There’s not much I miss about basketball. It’s been an easy transition (to stop playing) for me.”

“I did practice this season some with the Seattle Pacific women’s team. I loved that because it accelerated my relationships with the players there. But, I find that my body hurts after about an hour now. The thing I do miss about playing is the camaraderie with my teammates. But I get that with what I do now.

“My passion is working with college athletes and I love working with people who are hurting and trying to help and encourage them through my faith. There’s just so much darkness in the World and in a lot of these people’s lives. My job is to bring light to them through my faith and encouragement.”

Zolman, who played for her father Kem in a storybook prep career, also travels a lot doing speaking engagements. She is also involved in chapel services and Bible studies for college athletes in the Seattle as well as summer camps.

Zolman is set to speak in Milan on Sunday and then be in the area for the next week as she serves as Chaplain for the NCCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Grace College March 19-22.

Shanna Zolman wrapped up her WNBA career playing for the Tulsa Shock.

“Indiana and Syracuse will always be home and always will be very dear to my heart,” said Zolman, who went on to play at the University of Tennessee for legendary coach Pat Summit. “I will always be a Hoosier at heart and will always be a Country Bumpkin.”

Zolman still has vivid and fond memories of her high schools days at Wawasee, where she set the state’s all-time scoring record with 3,085 points in an All-American prep career.

“My high school days were the best,” recounted Zolman, who turned 30 this past September. “They were the most enjoyable. The whole experience was just very special to me.”

Zolman, an amazing guard who was known for a dead-eye jumper and her tremendous free throw shooting ability, has one prep memory that is still burned into her mind.

“My favorite memory from all my playing days was the game at North Side Gym,” Zolman recalled.

That “game” as she calls it was one a crowd of around 5,000 fans came to one of the true cathedrals of basketball anywhere in the United States on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002, to see Zolman score 50 points points to break Stephane White-McCarty’s state scoring record.

“I remember every moment from that day,” said Zolman, who led the state in scoring all four years at Wawasee High School. “The crowd, the atmosphere, how classy Elkhart Memorial was. Everything. It was like everything just lined up perfectly that day. The only regret I still have is that my brother (Josh) was not able to be there that day to see it.”

Zolman, the daughter of Kem and Lynette Zolman, scored 1,806 points for the Lady Vols.  She then played for San Antonio and Tulsa in her WNBA career, which included several serious injuries including a pair of torn ACL’s in her knees before retiring in 2012.

Zolman says her message to young student-athletes is a simple one.

“It’s primarily about their identity,” Zolman said of working with people. “The message is that God created them for a purpose. I tell them to let me help show you who you really are.

“It’s all about being encouraging. There’s so much more to life than sports.”

Well said.

Faith and family have always been at the forefront of Shanna Zolman’s life. She is shown above with her parents Kem and Lynette and brother Josh and his family.