Before the season, Stanford women’s basketball senior forward Cameron Brink caught up with CardinalSportsReport.com about how she’s feeling about the upcoming season.
VIDEO: Cameron Brink is optimistic about Stanford WBB bouncing back in 2023-24
On being a senior, Brink said it hasn’t fully sunk in yet. She’s excited to step into that leadership position and is doing all she can to cherish this last year.
The biggest things that Brink has been focusing on is her strength, shooting, and ball handling, though strength seems to be the biggest focus of those three. She’s spending a lot of time in the weight room, doing all she can to finish better through contact. She knows she’s going to get beat up a lot inside, something that teams tried to do to her last season.
On top of getting stronger, Brink said learning to make the right reads is crucial to success in scoring through contact. Passing out of double-teams is something she’s working a lot on as well. She’s confident in the shooters that they have, which takes a lot of pressure off of her when she’s working hard on the block.
Looking back on last season and their second round exit in the NCAA tournament, Brink said a key lesson is being grateful for every day. Go into the gym and work hard. Continue to improve team chemistry. She feels like the team is a bit of an underdog this year, but they’re excited to show people how good they really are.
A main message from head coach Tara VanDerveer has been to keep their work ethic high and good team chemistry, but also that positive attitude. The team motto is “best year ever” and Brink feels like the team has embraced that.
While she is excellent on both ends of the floor, Brink says she takes a ton of pride in her defense because she feels like more players are offensively minded. The key is making sure she’s staying out of foul trouble and making the right decisions in that respect. Finding a good balance.
Brink had great things to say about freshmen Chloe Clardy, Courtney Ogden, and Nunu Agara. She likes how talented they are and the fresh energy they bring. She feels like they’re all going to make meaningful contributions to the team right away.
Brink shared her thoughts on finding the right work-life balance at Stanford. She feels like it’s really important to remember they are kids at the end of the day. She wants to have fun and makes sure she finds time to spend time with friends while also holding herself accountable by getting in the gym and getting her studies done. But, finding that time to have fun and be a normal college student is extremely important to her.
What Brink most likes about Stanford is how it is such an amazing and unique place where everyone has something going for them. She feels like it pushes you to be a better overall human and a very humbling place to be due to all the brilliant minds walking through campus.
On her relationship with Stephen Curry, Brink said it’s great to have him in her corner. She said he’s the best. She said she doesn’t get to see Steph too much because of how busy they both are, but she said he’s been a great mentor to her. As well as the whole Curry family. She’s just really thankful for them.
On the WNBA getting a team in the Bay Area under the Warriors’ franchise, Brink said it’s exciting. She feels like any type of expansion is long overdue. She said she would love to play for their franchise one day. She’s also excited about the prospect of Portland getting a WNBA team given that’s her hometown. She’s excited about the future of women’s basketball and is happy that she can be a part of it.
Broad picture-wise, Brink said it’s been great to play under VanDerveer, calling her the greatest of all-time. She feels like VanDerveer brings fun to it every day. She likes how she holds them accountable and makes them the best players that they can be. Her main teachings are being prepared and bringing your best energy every day. She feels like VanDerveer has taught her so many things and is thankful she’s been her coach.
Finally, Brink shared her favorite flavor of Gatorade. Watch the end of the interview to find out what she said.
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