Chantell Alford, CGS’11, Earns Admirers On, Off Court
Women’s Basketball Feature: Character Builder
Chantell Alford Earns Admirers On, Off Court
March 10, 2011
By Scott Weighart, Special to GoTerriers.com
BOSTON – Facing the Boston University women’s basketball team in the America East semifinal on Sunday, Binghamton faced a difficult decision.
If the Bearcats attempted to handle America East Player of the Year Chantell Alford (CGS’11) with one-on-one defense, odds are that they would have received a demonstration of why the sophomore led the league in scoring this season with 15.2 points per game. So they opted to double-team the West Hartford native whenever she drove to the net.
The upshot was that Alford set a new career high with seven assists, matching the Bearcats’ total as a team in that contest. Meanwhile, BU’s Alex Young was on the receiving end of many of those passes out to the perimeter. She buried 14-of-21 shots–tying the school record with seven three-pointers–for a career high of 37 points. After trailing 22-20 at halftime, the Terriers raced off with a convincing 59-44 win.
“I don’t really think that was the game plan; it just worked out that way,” Alford says. “Coach likes to have us penetrate and have the defense collapse. Eventually, that left Alex wide open. Just kept finding her, and she just kept knocking down shots.”
For the umpteenth time in Alford’s nearly two years as a Terrier, head coach Kelly Greenberg marveled over her performance. “She did a great job,” Greenberg says. “She played the point for us. She distributed the ball. She got huge layups when we needed them, and she played great defense.
“I thought the play that was huge on Sunday came with seconds left in the half. We had said, `Let’s get the last shot,’ so she went to take a shot and a girl on the other team stripped her. Most players her age would’ve put their head down or whatever. [The girl] who stripped her was going to make the layup, and who was right there to make sure she didn’t? Chantell. She missed [the layup], so they didn’t get any momentum going into the half. And I said at the half, `That’s going to go a long way for us.’ That’s character, and that’s Chantell. Chantell Alford really does have a lot of character.”
Meeting Alford, you can see why Greenberg raves about how she has grown up on and off the court since arriving on campus less than two years ago. Many athletes have it drilled it into them that they need to be humble when talking to the media–always giving credit to teammates, showing respect for opponents so you don’t end up saying something that will end up on locker room bulletin boards before a game.
No one has ever needed to remind Chantell to come across as humble. In fact, she could work on being less so at times. “It’s hard for her to talk about herself,” Green berg says. “She’s just so humble, and at times she’s too humble on the court. Sometimes she does really need to take over the game. But she is just a sophomore. “
It’s easy to forget how relatively young she is when you look at her stats. In addition to leading all of America East in scoring, she ranks in the top ten of an assortment of categories: field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, 3-pointers made, assists, and steals. That versatility led to her being named to the America East All-Conference First Team as well earning honors as Rookie of the Year in 2009-10.
Those accolades were just an appetizer for this year’s selection as the AE Player of the Year. Predictably, she shrugs it all off. “We just push each other hard every day, and we’re able to show it on the court. I have to thank my teammates for those awards because without them it wouldn’t be possible. “
Ironically, attention was one thing that the Connecticut native received very little of when it came to being recruited as a high school student. Hard to believe, but BU was the only school that showed interest in the player who is now tops in her conference.
“I really think that AAU is where recruiting happens these days, and she wasn’t on a well-known team,” Greenberg says. “Then she did get over to a team going into her senior summer, the Connecticut Starters. They’ve been around forever on the AAU circuit. But by then a lot of people have made up their mind about who they really like. I’m very happy that she wasn’t out there early because this has been great for BU.”
Now Alford and her Terrier teammates are setting their sights on something that would be even greater for BU–an America East championship and the program’s first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2003. “I’ve never been more ready, ever,” Alford says. “I know that the whole team is really excited. Hopefully on Saturday we can come up with a big win.”
If they pull off the victory, Alford says that it will be a tribute to the team’s mentality. “We’re a fun group, but we still are able to go on the basketball court and work hard. We have a great work ethic, and we get down to business.”
Greenberg has never had to work too hard to encourage her star sophomore to get down to business. “She’s just been wonderful to coach. She listens. She gets better every day–doesn’t say a whole lot. She’s a great teammate. [Her teammates] are doing all the laughing, and they’re loud, and she’s just along for the ride. She’s a great young woman to be around. You can tell she was raised properly and has a tremendous amount of respect for everyone and for the game of basketball. It’s been a joy to coach her.”
Hopefully this joyride will include the first of several league championships and NCAA appearances for the character-building star that so many programs overlooked.
Boston Globe: Terriers’ Alford Already the Top Dog
Chantell Alford was profiled by Monique Walker in the Boston Globe on March 5, 2011.