While a new era of Stanford women’s basketball looms, uncertainty surrounds how a once legendary program will fare now that it is in a rebuilding phase. A handful of star power is gone, along with a Hall of Fame coach riding off into the sunset and being replaced by a rookie head coach. Doubts about whether or not the Cardinal can stay in the upper echelon of college basketball have risen significantly. But in relying on their remaining veterans, namely forward Brooke Demetre, conquering the task will be much more manageable.
The changes will be massive this season, which can understandingly be overwhelming, but in her senior year, Demetre is embracing it all and is excited to experience what is next in store.
“It’s my last year so it’s the perfect time to try everything new out with the ACC,” Demetre said. “Kate [Paye], our new head coach, she’s been here so it’s not too much change. But, I’m just really excited. I’m excited to start playing games and to see how everything pieces together.”
The Pac-12 was one of college basketball’s best conferences but so is the ACC, with teams such as Notre Dame, NC State and Virginia Tech dominating college basketball last season. And now getting the opportunity to face those teams regularly, Demetre sees it as a chance for the team to really put themselves to the test and get better as a program.
“I’m excited,” Demetre said. “I’m excited to play new competition. I know the Pac-12 was extreme scouting report so it’s kind of nice that we get to play new teams that don’t know us as well. They’re fast, they’re athletic and they’re tough so it’s going to be good for us to really battle.”
College athletics have been constantly changing over these last few years, with the massive conference realignments being just one example of how anything can happen in today’s sports scene. But one thing that Demetre and her team have learned is that if they stay locked in on their own goals and stick to what they know how to do, then success will not be hard to find.
“Our main thing which Kate always reminds us is to really focus on ourselves as a team,” Demetre said. “If we really focus on ourselves, work on what we know how to do, then it doesn’t really matter what situation we step into as long as we’re solid as a team. So I think just really honing down on what we need to do to get the job done and just focusing on ourselves.”
Throughout her career so far, Demetre has been a valuable role player to build around former stars such as Cameron Brink and Lexie Hull. However, with Brink gone and the program now left without any real big name superstars, it is Demetre’s goal to step up and become that star on the offensive side.
“Stepping up as more of an option within our offense but still finding my shots within our offense,” Demetre said. “In previous years, my main goal was to get our star players the ball, but now I’m going to have the ball in my hands a little bit more. So now I’m really making sure my ball handling is on point and my shot is consistent, but doing all that within our offense.”
This year’s squad could very well be one that sees a different player each night be the star of the show, which could sometimes create a sense of competition within the team, but in Demetre’s eyes, that is what makes this team so special, is how everyone just wants to win, no matter how it is done.
“What’s special about this team is that everyone just wants to win and it doesn’t matter how that happens or who has how many points,” Demetre said. “The unselfishness there is really great for us. It doesn’t really matter for us, we just want to win, so whoever puts up the most points and we win, great.”
Expected to take on a bigger role and see more minutes, Demetre has made sure to prepare herself for a heavier workload, including having workouts to improve her physical fitness being more of a focus during her offseason training.
“I’ve really been focusing on my conditioning because I know I’m gonna be out there more, so I need to not get tired at all and be able to withstand that,” Demetre said. “So really focusing on conditioning has been the main thing. Everything else is a routine.”
While she is hoping to accomplish a lot and be the best player that she can for her team, Demetre is making sure to enjoy every minute of this year first and foremost, as with this being her last year of college basketball, her future basketball wise is uncertain after this.
“Have fun,” Demetre said of her goals for the season. “Just have a great senior year, put everything on the floor with no regrets. We always want to win a conference championship so that is definitely up there and then, in the tournament, go as far as we can.”
Being a senior means that there will certainly be a lot expected out of Demetre this year, both performance and leadership wise, and while that can bring about a lot of pressure, she never forgets who she is ultimately playing for and relies on the strong support system that she has around her to help her when needed.
“I rely on my teammates a lot,” Demetre said. “I’m doing it for them and if I’m feeling a little bit more pressure one day, I kind of just go to some other leaders on the team and be like, ‘hey, lift me up a little bit,’ but it’s really just relying on each other.”
Playing in the new conference will be a new experience for many reasons, but for Demetre, it also means getting the chance to play in different places and experience the rich history that ACC basketball has to offer.
“All of them,” Demetre said of where she’s looking forward to playing. “I don’t really travel that way very often but I mean, Duke is going to be cool. Just so much history there with basketball but I think everywhere, honestly. I’m just excited, I love traveling. I love experiencing new things so I’m excited.”
