No one had ever done what she had done. No, not some feat of basketball excellence, although those would soon come along as well. This was a feat of cultural proportions, one that no one had ever accomplished before.
When 5-foot-4 guard Shinko Ono came to the University of Evansville to play for the Aces from 1998 to 2002, she became the first Japanese basketball player, men's or women's, to compete for an NCAA Division I university. The Japanese native came to the US a full seven years before the first male Japanese basketball player played for an NCAA Division I school.
And Ono didn't just "play" at the University of Evansville; Ono excelled, becoming one of the best players in program history and garnering MVC freshman of the year honors in 1999.
Ono's recruitment to Evansville began with a chance meeting with Aces' women's basketball head coach Kathi Bennett before Bennett even arrived on campus at UE. Hosting a camp for international basketball players, Ono's high school team, Kakumei, was one of three Japanese teams selected to participate in the camp in Wisconsin.
"There was a camp in Wisconsin," said Ono on her first interaction with coach Bennett. "I went there with the team and I met her (coach Bennett) and we just played ball and I went back to Japan. At that time, coach Bennett came down here to coach in Division I, so I got a chance."
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Cutting down the nets after winning the MVC Tournament
As one would expect, the transition from Japan to the United States would be tough to make, but on the court, Ono had little issue adjusting. In her first season, Ono averaged 8.6 points and 4.1 assists, helping power the Aces to an MVC Tournament championship and the first NCAA Tournament bid in the program's history.
 "It was different, I guess, but coach Bennett, I feel like, was the same as my coach who was coaching me (in high school)," said Ono on how she acclimated to American basketball. "I just came down and I felt like it wasn't hard, I just got in and I tried and she understood me a lot, so it was not too hard for me."
Over the subsequent seasons, Ono continued to have an impact on the Aces, becoming a member of the 1,000 point club at Evansville, finishing her career with 1,022 points. Ono still sits second in program history in steals (230) and tied for second in career three-pointers made (204).
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Shinko Ono as a senior in 2001
Ono's impact wasn't just made in the United States. After her collegiate career, Ono became the first player in UE women's basketball program history to sign a professional contract, returning to her native Japan to play for the Japan Energy.
Despite a short stint in professional basketball, Ono has remained involved with the sport as a current youth basketball coach in Japan.
"I learned a lot from here and I know that communication and the individual skills, those are really important, so I talk to them about what I did," mentioned Ono when asked what she has taken from her time at UE and applied to coaching in Japan. "So, I just want to talk to them. Of course I coach them, but I want to talk to them a lot."
Ono's groundbreaking journey to the US was covered, not only by local media in Evansville, but also by Japanese media who made occasional trips to Evansville to cover Ono and the Aces.
"Well, I was the first time a Japanese player had come down here to play in NCAA Division I. That was the reason why I was picked and they came down here and was talked to," said Ono on having media from her home country travel to cover her.
On February 1, Ono made her first trip back to Evansville in 15 years for the 20th anniversary of the 1998-99 women's basketball MVC Tournament championship and celebrated the anniversary with her teammates. The team was honored at halftime of the Aces' women's basketball game against Indiana State on February 1 and Evansville's men's basketball game against Valparaiso on February 2, as well as spending time together during an alumni breakfast prior to the Aces' men's basketball game. Despite the 20 years that have passed since the 1998-99 season, the members of the team have still remained close.
"Nothing's changed. I love them and they love me, too," said Ono when asked what its like to be back together with her teammates. "I feel like a family. I seriously couldn't speak any English at that time, but they helped me a lot. I just feel like family with the coaching staff and everyone and the other staff, too."
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1998-99 MVC Tournament Championship takes a team photo at the Women's Basketball Alumni Breakfast.
Ono has paved the way for numerous other Japanese women to make the same journey, including Ayako Nakane, a member of Evansville's 2008-09 MVC Tournament Championship team.
"Now, there are about 10 players who have come down and played division I," mentioned Ono on her impact in Japanese women's basketball. "So, its nice to see that media that came down here and talked to me and showed how I was doing here, so that's the reason many people are coming here and playing in the US."
In Ono's path have come student-athletes who have followed Ono's legacy by taking new steps of their own. In 2013, Rina Hill became the first Japanese woman to play basketball for an SEC school. Ono's legacy won't just live on in the record books at the University of Evansville, but as a groundbreaking woman in the sport of basketball.
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