 "Photo: Kristina Naderi")
Imagine a basketball player who scored only 12 points in her entire freshman season. Imagine that same player as the record holder for most points scored in a single season. That player is graduating senior Brittney Taylor.
Head Coach Jodie Gleason remembers when Taylor first joined the team. She did not impress Gleason.
“[She] wasn’t in the best of shape as a freshman,” said Gleason. “She struggled with conditioning and usually came last in drills.” Taylor struggled so much that she decided to step down from the team her freshmen year.
Taylor laughed and said, “Yeah, I just couldn’t take [college level] athletic training when I first came out. So, I left, then came back and wasn’t happy with how much playing time I was getting-- an ego thing. But, with the support of my teammates, I just pushed it out my junior year and tried to make a turn around.”
What a turn around it was. Gleason thinks it is the greatest turn around she has seen in her coaching career. Taylor began to improve in conditioning by playing basketball everyday. She went from being last in drills to leading them.
All of her training led up to the pinnacle of her basketball career at HSU: playing against UC San Diego in a regional playoff game. Gleason believes it to be Taylor’s finest moment as a player.
“She hit three 3-pointers that game and was just an unstoppable force,” said Gleason.
Taylor remembers that game fondly. “My favorite memories are when we win big games-- beating San Diego.” She said, “It’s pretty substantial for me. [I’ve made great connections with] the people I’ve played with all these years. It’s definitely something I will take away with me.”
Luiza Osborne, an English major and point guard on the team, sees Taylor as someone who always puts the team’s glory before individual pride. “I remember one game Brittney got in 33 points,” Osborne said, “but she didn’t care at all because we still lost the game. It really just goes to show how humble she is and how much of a team player she is.”
Taylor not only drastically changed as a player on the court, but off the court, she transformed from an introverted person to an outgoing leader. Gleason said, “She’s an example of what hard work and dedication can do. She was very shy, and now, she’s confident and holds her head high.”
Dan Collen, head of athletics, remembers Taylor’s shy, unassuming manner. “But, now she’s giving presentations in front of classes and being so involved with the community, working with the youth.”
The All-American player worked with Humboldt County youth through Junior Jacks, a summer program that teaches basketball to young girls and has helped build a bridge to the community through her sport.
Taylor, a kinesiology major with a science emphasis, finishes her major this sumer with an internship and plans on attending an evaluation camp in New Hampshire.
Osborne will miss that leadership quality from her teammate. “I am going to miss her. I’m going to miss [how she leads] and just how she’s constantly teaching you quality.”
1 comments