Lauren Yearwood, who helped Canada to the quarterfinals of the 2014 FIBA under-17 world championship in the Czech Republic last year, is fired up to be a Duck next year.
The 6-foot-3 forward and future Duck was the highest touted recruit coming out of Vancouver Island since 2011, mostly for her ability to face the basket and play down low. She figures to have an immediate impact for head coach Kelly Graves next season as one of the program’s three incoming freshmen.
Yearwood shared some thoughts with the Emerald last week as she winds down the final days at Oak Bay Secondary High.
During your visits to Oregon and other colleges, what stood out to you about the Ducks?
There wasn’t really anything that I didn’t love. Everything kind of fell into place perfectly. Loved the team, the coaches, the location, just the all-around atmosphere was just so exciting and positive. I was just really drawn to it right away. It is a really good location from where I am, because it’s not too far from home. Just everything about it. It’s really exciting.
What most excites you about playing college basketball this fall? Is it further exciting to know that you’re a part of the transformation process and where Graves hopes to take it?
I think there’s so much potential. The team has the potential to go so far. With that coaching staff, they are determined to take it so far, and they definitely will take it really far, which is really exciting. But while we’re doing that, it’s in a great atmosphere with great teammates, great coaches. It’s just an all-around positive experience as well as hopefully successful.
Do you have any early goals for next season either for the team or you personally, a year from now?
I definitely want to keep building on momentum that they finished up with last season, like that great win against Stanford. I really want to start off with some good wins, just keep building on our chemistry and getting a really solid group together. For me personally, I’d like to be able to get playing time, but at the same time, I feel like the players that play ahead and are older than me will teach me a lot. I’m hoping to grow a lot as a player and learn a lot from them.
I’m sure you know about Jillian Alleyne and her prolific success she’s had. What do you hope to learn from a player like Jill?
I look up to her already so much. She’s an inspiration to me. I really hope she’ll teach me a lot in the first year and that I’ll follow in her footsteps when she leaves. I know that when I go to practice, she’s probably going to kick my butt — push me around a lot, which will probably be pretty frustrating, but it’ll be good for me. I’m excited for the opportunity and have that privilege to play against her.
What kinds of challenges do you kind of foresee at the NCAA level?
I think the physicality will be a big thing for me — definitely a big jump from high school and playing against girls a lot older and stronger. I think it’s going to be a big adjustment for me and definitely something I’ll have to overcome and get used to.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
