Keeping up with the Doleacs

There is nothing like the college experience. Even if you are fortunate enough to go on and play basketball in the NBA. So says Michael Doleac, who has been kicking around the NBA now for nine years and has one year left on his contract with the Miami Heat.

Starring for the University of Utah back in the 1990s, Doleac recalls that time as the best team he has ever been on.

"Your teammates make it exciting," he says. "That Utah team was the best team." Of course he was referring to the camaraderie with the other players in the locker room and the relationships forged during those glory days. And to close out his senior year, he was a main cog in the team that made a big splash at the Final Four, eventually losing to its nemesis, Kentucky.

And the best relationship to come out of that time was with his wife, Shannon, whom he met while he was a senior and she was a freshman just arriving on campus from New Hampshire as a gymnastics recruit.

"The athletes all hang out together. But it was during a summer class in organic chemistry," Shannon said, that their relationship really began to blossom. But Doleac went on to play in the NBA and she competed for five years on the gymnastics team, including one redshirt year.

She went on to claim a master's degree in nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, and he was playing in New York when they began dating again. "It was only a short drive to Boston," he said.

Now married for two years, the couple make their permanent residence in Utah and they have an apartment in Miami during the basketball season. "The first year was a big adjustment," said Shannon. "It was helpful that all the other wives were thrown together in a new city."

The Doleacs often go out with other team members and their wives," Mike said. "Jason Kapono is a good friend. We do things with them (his wife also) in Miami, and I also hang out with him when we are on the road."

She also enjoys cooking and with her nutrition background has become very good at it. Mike says, "She makes everything fresh. She makes a variety of fresh salsas. And one of my favorite dishes is fish tacos."

To stay busy while Mike is away, Shannon has formed her own nutrition consulting business. "I am working on a nutrition-recipe book," she said.

She explained that this type of business is flexible and can be portable to other cities in case Mike ends up playing for another team. And Mike isn't ready to retire anytime soon. He will play this gig as long as his big body holds out. And when it doesn't, he may go back to studying organic chemistry and other pre-med classes. Originally a pre-med major at Utah, he still entertains the idea of going into medicine.

"That is still on my mind," he said.