Rookie guard stands out among Big 12 freshman
Oops!… she did it again.
In Wednesday’s home loss to Texas A&M, CU’s Brittany Spears earned her third career double-double. With double-digit scoring in all but three games this season, the freshman forward has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12 conference.
Spears has started every game this season for the Buffaloes and leads Big 12 freshmen in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots.
“She’s the type of player that takes whatever comes to her,” head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “She is a very consistent player, and that trait is very uncharacteristic as a freshman.”
Averaging 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a game, Spears is currently the 10th leading scorer and 15th leading rebounder in the Big 12.
Spears is also ranked fourth in steals among all Big 12 players.
The Buffs’ senior captains said they have been very impressed with Spears’ abilities on the basketball court.
“She already does a lot of things so well,” said Jackie McFarland, a senior forward for the Buffs. “She has all the intangibles, so we’ve really just been focusing on getting her to work hard and give 110 percent every time she steps on the floor.”
Senior captain Susie Powers said Spears is a fun player to compete with as well as an impressive young talent.
“She’s so fun to play with,” Powers said. “She’s a huge spark on defense, and she’s consistent on offense. She makes everyone around her better.”
Though Spears’ numbers on the stat sheet draw attention, her personality does not coincide with the attention-grabbing pop singer Britney Spears with whom she shares a similar name. Colorado’s Spears is as soft-spoken and reserved as they come.
McConnell-Miller said that Spears does not say anything in practice and has little expression, but is very dedicated to what the team is trying to accomplish at all times.
Spears, who went to Pasadena High School in California and Notre Dame Prep School in Massachusetts, said for her the biggest differences between high school basketball and college basketball are the speed of the game and the emphasis on defense.
“In high school you could just play offense and still win, but in college you have to really play defense.” Spears said. “In high school we didn’t have any scouting reports or watch any film, we just played.”
Having played her first three Big 12 conference games, Spears said she now knows what to expect from conference competition and has high expectations for the remainder of the season.
“I really like my teammates and my coaching staff,” Spears said. “They have a lot of confidence in me, and they are really helping me to get better.”
Spears said she has been focusing on improving her defense in practice.
“I’ve really been working on reacting to screens,” Spears said. “Going over screens, going under screens, calling out screens, all that.”
Like fellow teammate Whitney Houston, Spears’ celebrity name was a source of entertainment for the team early on.
“We’d sing Britney Spears songs to her like ‘.Baby One More Time,'” Powers said.
Spears said the comedy surrounding her name has died down a bit though.
“They’re used to it now,” Spears said. “They used to make little jokes about it, but now it’s like whatever.”
Spears loves hanging out and fooling around with her teammates, but on the court she said she is focused on playing as best she can.
“As a freshman you have to be very special to be able to excel in this conference,” McConnell-Miller said. “A lot of people evolve into great players in the conference, but for someone to come in and do what she does, you have to be a special player.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brad Cochi at bradley.cochi@thecampuspress.com
