Brown rises to expectations

She was the 2005 and 2006 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, not to mention the 2005 Independent School League MVP and a two-time Boston Globe All-Scholastic with 2,358 points and 1,1,52 rebounds in her high school career. She's a player with impressive credentials that have garnered much hype and high expectations. When she enrolled at Boston College in the fall of 2006, there was much fanfare. The hype, however, was not just merely because of her talents as a basketball player, but also because of her appearance and success on the popular Fox television show American Idol. Local hoops star Ayla Brown had reached the final 13 of the competition and some at the Heights were concerned that her focus would be geared toward her singing career rather than basketball.

"There's a lot of expectations that came along with me, especially at the basketball level, and even at the American Idol level," Brown said. "Many people were curious and concerned whether I was going to be focused as a basketball player, especially after American Idol. And I wanted to almost prove [to] everyone that had any doubts in me that I was here, focused and could actually play basketball. And I mean, that's the reason I came to Boston College in the first place. It wasn't to be a singer, it was to prove something and win some titles," she said.

She quickly proved otherwise, putting together a solid freshman season, earning all-ACC freshman team honorable mention. She finished third on the team in scoring with an 8.1 points per game in 27 minutes per game. Brown, a product of the Noble & Greenough School, is a top returning scorer and will be looked to as one of the leaders on and off the court. Even though she is only a sophomore, her role on the squad has become more pronounced.

"I think there's a lot more expectations that come along with being a second year player. I think it's another whole mental barrier that a player must get over, you're not a freshman anymore," Brown said. "You're not put in situations where everything is new. Now everything is a year older, and actually, I like that feeling a lot more. I feel a lot more comfortable out on the court and I fell as though I'm doing things as more of a mature player than I did last year. So I think that's kind of a good feeling."

For Brown, the transition to the college game was tougher than just learning new plays and adjusting to the speed of the game. Head coach Cathy Inglese moved Brown to the power forward position, a spot she had never played in her high school days.

"Well, last year [I played] the forward position because we were lacking so much height and I was one of those versatile players that could play down low. They started me at the four position [power forward] and it was completely new to me," Brown said. "I had never played the four before at all, not in high school, not in AAU. I mean I had worked on my post moves just because I was tall, but I never thought I'd be playing that position at the college level. It was kind of funny, when coach said I was starting at the four."

The personal expectations for Brown will be high this season, but the expectations for the team on the whole are fairly modest. The Eagles finished 10th in the ACC last season, their second in the conference, with a 3-11 record and a 13-16 overall record. The preseason poll has the Eagles picked to finish 11th in the conference, a pick that the team is using as motivation.

"There are still expectations to do well. We were not preseason ranked well in the ACC, we were 11th out of 12 and we all looked at that as a team," Brown said. "It's posted up in our locker room, and every day saying, 'That's not the way it's going to be for Boston College, we're not going to finish 11th.' Whether they put us there in the preseason polls, that's what they have to say, but we are going to respond in a completely different manner."

Brown is one of two returning starters who will lead a very young team, a team that boasts six freshman and three sophomores. The sophomore forward, however, will be switching positions again this year in order to help fill the team's needs, moving back to the small forward position. She is still trying to learn that new position, and is hoping that her experience elsewhere on the court will help.

"I'm actually going back to my old position as a three [small forward]. I'm kind of being pushed into this new role that I've never played at the college level," Brown said. "So it's almost like those same expectations I felt last year are repeating themselves. I feel the same kind of pressure to perform well now on the perimeter as opposed to in the post. I find myself wanting to post up a lot, even though I'm on the perimeter," she said.

In the Eagles exhibition game last Thursday against Athletes in Action, Brown logged a team-high 31 minutes and put up great numbers in that span, hitting 10 of 16 field goals and hit her lone three-point attempt for a team-high 21 points. In addition, she pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Despite only being a sophomore, she's the most experienced player in the Eagles front-court that will likely include senior Rebecca Miles and freshman Carolyn Swords. Senior Kadyia Kentash and freshman Stefanie Murphy will also log minutes in the front court as well.

"Based on the exhibition game, there were so many teammates of mine that scored and it was well divided all across the board. I know I happen to be the leading scorer in that game, but it just seemed as though other people were stepping up in so many different ways," Brown said. "Kaydia Kentesh pulled down rebounds, and made some amazing defensive plays. Veronica Wilson coming off the bench playing five minutes, but getting four points. Stuff like that I don't think we really would have seen last year, and that's what makes our team so different."

The Eagles will have a 13 out-of-conference games to start the season before getting into their ACC schedule, which begins with a road game against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the same team that ended the Eagles season last year. BC dropped a tough overtime game to the Hokies, 60-54 in the first round of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.