Point by point
Briann January, Heather Bowman, Katelan Redmon.
Brittany Kennedy has been in the shadows since she stepped into the starting lineup for the powerful Lewis and Clark basketball team as a freshman, which suited her just fine.
“For me, it’s team first,” said Kennedy, who is following her former teammates to the next level by signing with Oregon State. “That’s why I like point guard, to get more people involved. Signing is cool, but it’s not in my head I don’t have to do anything. I have to help my team and my coaches. I still have the same job.”
Plenty of people have noticed Kennedy’s contributions as the Tigers have won three trophies, including the last two championships at the State 4A tournament.
“I think of all the kids, and all the talent we’ve been blessed with, I truly believe she is my hardest-working kid,” Tigers coach Jim Redmon said. “From the time Brittany stepped on the floor, she’s done all those little things only coaches see. She hasn’t got her name in the paper scoring 20 points a game, but at day’s end she has won so many games for us with all the little things she’s done.”
Until now.
“What we are lacking right now is that go-to kid,” Redmon said. “We’ve been extremely blessed with Briann, Heather and Katelan. We’re going to look to Brittany to do that. In those cases when we really need a bucket, she’s going to have to be that person. … In today’s world, I’d say she has an average outside game. I wouldn’t count her as a shooter – she hasn’t done it. That’s where her work ethic is going to develop that even more.
“Her college coach (LaVonda Wagner) said it best: Brittany is a pass-first, shoot-second player. Some of that is how we teach it, but we’ve had all this talent so she hasn’t had to be a true scorer.”
The 5-foot-8 guard is fine with that.
“I am working on my shooting. My coaches the last four years have told me to look to shoot. Coach Wagner and I talked. The first year I’ll be a shooting guard. They have two point guards there to mentor me, so sophomore year I’ll be a point guard.”
Increased scoring, which Kennedy added seamlessly this summer as the Tigers won the rugged Oregon City high school tournament, won’t take away from her other duties.
“She’s my eyes and ears on the court,” Redmon said. “She calls our plays for us. … I feel good we’re on the same page. Another thing, if there’s a loose ball, if there’s anything she can even remotely get her hands on, she goes for it. She puts her body in jeopardy in those situations. And she’s a shutdown defender.”
Kennedy’s athleticism comes naturally – sister Jennifer and brothers Gerald III and Brandon were all good-to-great high school athletes. How she acquired her pass-first attitude eludes her.
“That’s a good question,” she said, while pointing out twin brother, Blake, went down a different path, preferring drama and music. “I’m always pass first, shoot second. They didn’t, (but) that’s always been the mentality to me. I look to help other people score before myself.”
The Tigers were third at state when Kennedy was a freshman and January (now at Arizona State) was a senior. They followed that with state titles when Bowman (Gonzaga) and then Redmon (Washington) were seniors. Now it’s Kennedy’s team.
“Individually, there is pressure regardless,” she said. “I know where I’m going, I have to play this year to better my team and better myself for the next level. If it comes out to a blessing I’m as good as them, that’s good.
“We talk as a team, we know pressure is there. If we take it one game at a time, we’ll be good. You can’t let the media, or even the kids at school, get to you.”