COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The best girls basketball player from Colorado is now one of the best in the world representing Team USA.
Lauren Betts, who was the number one overall recruit in the 2022 high school class, is no stranger to USA Basketball. The former Grandview High School star earned gold medals with the U16 and U19 teams, and now she's earned a spot on the USA AmeriCup team with the best college players in the country.
"I was super grateful, super happy and I called my parents immediately. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening,'" she said. "I think this is definitely the confidence boost that I needed, so I'm just really grateful to be here."
And the team is grateful to have her 6'7" frame protecting the rim.
"A lot of people don't defend as much as I do," Betts said. "I obviously love to block shots, so people are very intimidated to go inside, so I like to just scare people a little bit."
The rest of the team includes Janiah Barker, Chance Gray, Abbey Hsu, Rickea Jackson, Raven Johnson, Deja Kelly, Rayah Marshall, Charisma Osborne, Laila Phelia, Angel Reese and Jewel Spear.
Washington State women's basketball head coach Kamie Ethridge was tapped to lead this 12-woman team into Mexico. She's impressed with the young center through training camp.
"She's an impact player. She's a dynamic big that's going to have an advantage," Ethridge said. "She brings something that a lot of countries don't have, so we need to be great at putting her in those positions to be affective."
That's how she describes Lauren Betts when she's donning the USA across her chest. But when she has to game-plan against her in the Pac-12 season?
"I hate her. I don't like anything about her. I think she fouls all of the time, I think she travels, and I think the refs give her every advantage," Ethridge joked. "She's just one of those talents that we can't mimic, our practice guys can't mimic what she brings. She brings a part of the game that is so special and she's getting better and better every single time she's in the gym."
That intangible specialty that she brings to the game made her a hot commodity when she hit the transfer portal from Stanford. Betts chose to take her talents to UCLA for one specific reason.
"I think the coaches have been super helpful with just bringing my confidence and just making sure they recognize me as a human first, and so I'm just really grateful for all of the positivity they brought to the sport," Betts said.
And if she needs a quick hit of positivity, a simple reminder is etched into her shoes.
"It says 'You are enough,' and it's just a little reminder to me that I'm more than just a basketball player, that I'm valued as a human and it's just nice to have it on my shoe. Every time I get a little down on myself in a game, I can just look at my shoe and it's a really important reminder for me," Betts said. "For any athlete, just to remind yourself that you're more than just your sport, that you're valuable as a human and you bring more to the table than what you bring to the court."
The team will compete at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup July 1-9 in León, Mexico.