If you go to the University of Virginia, you don't have to look far to find a dominant athlete who's a hard worker with superstar potential.
Virginia women's basketball player Brandi Teamer, a freshman who yesterday earned ACC rookie of the week honors for the fifth time this season, stands taller than her six-foot frame in assuming a leadership position early in her collegiate career. Her recent 22-point, 10-rebound performance in a win over N.C. State on Sunday exemplified the way in which she has played on a consistent basis since getting into her comfort zone - hard-nosed and with a relentless determination to win. It was her 11th career double-double, a category in which she continues to lead the conference.
Teamer admitted she has seen notable improvements in the way she and her teammates have approached the sport this season.
"At the very beginning everybody was timid. We were all new to this and didn't expect to compete," Teamer said. "Now I have higher expectations, and it has a lot to do with the coaches and everybody changing a couple of key things."
In terms of personal inspiration, Teamer pointed to an early-season occurrence when coach Debbie Ryan asked her to write out a list of expectations for herself and for the team. It was something of a checklist of what should happen, and throughout the course of the season the two have referred back to that list to see how everything is moving along.
Already considered an All-America candidate in her freshman year, Teamer leads the ACC in rebounds with 9.1 per game. She has started every game and ranks second on the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game, but leads Virginia in ACC competition with 18.3. Coaches across the conference have noted her accomplishments throughout the season.
"Teamer's very strong," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said. "She maneuvers her body well, and I love the way she uses the glass. The shot looks the same every time it goes up."
Yow also added that, in being considered for post-season individual honors, one should look closely at how far a player carries her team. After Sunday's victory the Cavs stood in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference.
There's no question Teamer prepares well for these contests, doing whatever it takes to get her in her zone.
"Before I leave [my room] I listen to old songs," Teamer said. "I have to listen to one of them an hour or two before the game too, so I guess I'm a little superstitious."
Above all, having Ryan ease her into the team structure has made Teamer more prepared. Teamer stressed Ryan's impact on the Virginia women, praising her patience and her ability to make a young team very comfortable, one step at a time.
A turning point for Teamer came after a 34-point pounding at Duke Dec. 6.
Teamer played just 16 minutes in that game and was held to single digits in both scoring and rebounding, a rarity considering the way she's playing now.
"I made a big adjustment after the Duke loss," Teamer said. "We don't have a lot of senior leadership, only Telisha [Quarles], so someone has to pick up the load."
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From then on Teamer never scored less than ten points and has been able to reach a comfort zone in addition to being expected to carry a large part of the leadership load in each contest.
"I think that [Teamer] has learned to diversify her game enough so that if she's not scoring inside she can pull the defenders outside, and then they have to worry about her taking them off the dribble," Ryan said.
Ryan added that when Teamer does get down in the low post, stopping her is a challenging task for all opponents because she is focused and concentrates tremendously on finishing her shots.
The Cavaliers have to be thankful to have a leader emerge and receive national recognition in only her first year. Expect a bright future for the Cavaliers and much improvement if they can continue to get players to step up as Teamer has.
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