Collegian Editor
Introduced to the game of hoops by her godfather, redshirt junior Brittany Wilson never imagined how much of an influence basketball would actually have on her life. Wilson was only eight years old when a basketball was first put into her hands, and now it seems like the leading scorer for the La Salle women’s team can never be seen without one.
Despite making her varsity high school basketball team as a freshman, Wilson never grasped how good she was until she started receiving letters from the top-tier programs in the nation. Although her name would be spoken of favorably in high school, Wilson was oblivious to the praise and was just in the moment of playing the game to which she felt attracted from an early age.
“No one ever sat down with me and said how amazing I actually was. I just used to hear people say it, so I automatically assumed I was decent,” Wilson said.
From Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year for 2008 to leading her Bay View team to three consecutive state championship games, Wilson used her unprecedented success to continue her hoop’s journey with the Northeastern Huskies.
For two straight years, Wilson’s transition into the NCAA was flawless. She led her team in nearly every category from points to steals in her sophomore year. In her eyes, Northeastern was her second home as her team’s bond on and off the court seemed impenetrable.
Even though life at Northeastern seemed like paradise, her team’s unbreakable cohesion didn’t always indicate in the win column. Wilson’s preconceived notion was that every team’s chemistry was this strong, but she would soon find out that other universities differed.
With an opportunity for new possibilities, Wilson made the difficult decision to take her talents elsewhere and become a La Salle Explorer.
The main catalyst of this complex choice was none other than Coach Jeff Williams, who was in pursuit of recruiting the Rhode Island local long before she went to Northeastern. Before Williams began his coaching career at La Salle, he was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh where he had a fair share of success in the NCAA tournament along with propelling some of his players to the next level. When Williams started a new chapter at La Salle, Wilson became his first recruit to join him on the sideline.
“Coach Williams and I actually talked before I even went to Northeastern,” Wilson avowed. “His history speaks for itself with the success he had at Pitt, and I wanted to become a part of that.”
Knowing it would be difficult to get acclimated to a new environment, Wilson was still looking forward to the new obstacles that awaited her in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Wilson’s conversion to La Salle would be the worst year of her life according to her.
“Everything was so different. I had to sit out a year, and had no friends,” said the former Bay View star. “It was very difficult to start brand new and fit in with a team that I didn’t know.”
To add insult to injury, Wilson’s rocky road became bumpier after finding out she would have to change her jersey number. Wilson, like many athletes, had always played with the same digits on her uniform since she could remember. For Wilson, that number was 14. Wilson thought it was guaranteed that she would be wearing the same jersey number after speaking with Coach Williams about it.
“I was upset when I saw one of my teammates with my number on. I’ve worn No.14 my whole life” Wilson stated.
To alleviate the situation, Coach Williams informed Wilson that he wanted her to wear No.1. The number was symbolic to him, as she was his first recruit ever. Although her junior teammate Ebonee Jones sports her old number to every game, Wilson is pleased to know how special her number is to her coach.
“I still prefer No.14, but No.1 is cool; I like it,” Wilson said jokingly.
Now as a captain of a team who currently stands sixth in the division compared to their dismal preseason projection, Wilson feels more at home in Philadelphia. Whether it is her team’s continuity which is building each game or her individual goals, her stay at La Salle is panning out much better.
“It took a while to build chemistry because she [Wilson] has a different style of play coming in as a transfer,” junior Nadia Duncan said. “Brittany’s biggest attribution is scoring…Ashley scored a lot of points, and Brittany is taking her place and coming up big for us.”
The average of 14.1 may be a bit undermining to Wilson’s astonishing performances this year, as she’s recorded over 21 points in five games along with her season-high of 31 against Fordham. Though her individual honors are important to her, Wilson’s biggest goal is to improve her team’s chemistry on and off the court, so they can one day reach the dream of heading to the NCAA tournament.
With the 23rd toughest schedule in the country, it would be irrational to assume Wilson in her first year along with the six new freshman would mesh together seamlessly. Wilson understands that nothing is given to you, which is why she is determined to foster relationships with each teammate in hopes that their relationship will bear resemblance to her comradery back at Northeastern.
“For the team that has never played together, I think we’re doing well,” said Wilson. “We have some of the most athletic guards in the conference and I’m sure we’ll reach our dream in the end.”
Even with all the success on the hardwood this year for the women’s basketball team, Wilson’s fondest memory are the connections she made with her teammates off the court during the summer.
waltersj1@student.lasalle.edu
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