She’s happy to assist

Although the sport of basketball is often consumed by an emphasis on scoring, Lewis and Clark girls standout Briann January has never been so inclined.

As far back as the eighth grade, when January played on a 26-0 Spokane league AAU basketball team, she would often pass up a shot in deference to her teammates.

“I enjoy making a nice pass just as much as scoring a 3-point basket,” January said. “If you get an easy layin off a nice pass, it’s so exciting. I love that kind of basketball.”

But her reluctance to become an offensive highlight video has not prevented January from capturing the fancy of those in the know. Three boxes full of college recruiting letters at her home and a scholarship to Arizona State University are testimony to that.

“She does all the intangibles that players and coaches may realize, but most fans don’t,” said LC coach Jim Redmon. “They are not things you can coach. In my opinion they are God-given and she’s made the best of them.”

January will join Central Valley’s Emily Westerberg and Reagan Pariseau, and Post Falls’ Aubree Johnson next year at ASU. She’s part of a five-player recruiting class dubbed by coach Charli Turner Thorne as “The Incredibles.”

“When we recruited Emily, Aubree and Alisha Godette, it was ranked eighth in the nation,” said Turner Thorne. “This is five players instead of three. It’s a truly awesome class.”

For January, her talent has evolved even as she’s starred for four years at LC. Even Redmon said that after watching her play in eighth grade, he felt January was OK, but not outstanding enough to make varsity as a freshman.

It wasn’t until he enlisted her to play on his short-handed summer squad, that Redmon realized he had something special.

“We hadn’t seen that level of speed and quickness,” he said, “but I think also she plays with a purpose. She goes places to get things done and a lot of players don’t do that.”

That is her essence. Competing and winning, being comfortable in a team setting and not calling undue attention upon herself are more important to January than compiling statistics.

“You win by scoring, but there are so many more things involved in being a great team and being part of a great team,” said January. “When I step on the court my main focus every game is to make everybody around me better.”

That team-first attitude was never more evident than her gutsy performance last year at state. She became violently ill as part of a breakout during the regional playoffs in Kennewick. January spent a day in the hospital taking intravenous fluids. Though weak, she joined her teammates in Tacoma.

“I kind of felt personally that I let the team down not being there and 100 percent,” she said. “I did what I could, but could tell I didn’t have the energy.”

Redmon was simply impressed with her willingness to give it a go.

When January took up basketball in the fourth grade, her parents, Barry and Sally, made sure that above all she did so to have fun.

Winning has been the by-product, from that eighth-grade unbeaten AAU team to Spokane Stars successes, including last summer’s 51-1 national powerhouse.

So far during her tenure the Tigers have gone 73-18 with a pair of state tournament appearances and a fifth-place finish when she was a sophomore.

So if it seems January has flown under the radar that is fixed on more high-profile scorers so be it.

Turner Thorne called her the most underrated standout player in the country, adding that the buzz has since increased.

“When you talk about the point guard spot in particular,” said Turner Thorne, “scoring is not exactly the way you evaluate one of the best in the country. From the first time I saw her play at a BCI tournament in Dallas as a freshman or sophomore, I was unbelievably impressed with what she could do and was absolutely won over by her.”

Turner Thorne said the way January gets a team into transition, plays defense and her court awareness reminds her of former Connecticut and current Seattle Storm star Sue Bird.

Yet don’t believe for a minute January can’t score. Even as an eighth-grader if a big shot at a critical time were necessary, January made it.

For three seasons at LC, January’s scoring average held steady between 9.0 and 10.2 points per game.

But responding to Redmon’s request for increased output this year, January has upped her average to 15.0 points in her first seven games this year.

“She’s always been a player who passes first and shoots second,” Redmon said. “At the time it’s frustrating. In the next breath, it’s what kind of team player she is. I’ve never been around someone in the game who gives as much on both the offensive and defense end.”.

As January puts it, she’s never been one to be the star of a team, even if she is. She’s merely following her parents’ advice, play for fun.

“I love the game,” she said. “I love it.”