The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
84 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WOLFPACK BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY BRIAN RAPP L en'Nique Brown-Hoskin is no stranger to challenges. Seemingly from the time she first picked up a basketball, back in sixth grade in San Antonio, the one-time Olympic track hopeful has beaten odds and overcome obstacles to achieve her goals. And in this, the final year of her own col- lege basketball odyssey that's taken her from Texas to Los Angeles to Raleigh, she once again finds herself confronting a chal- lenge: lead an NC State team that lost its top three scorers from a year ago, including two WNBA Draft picks, back to a 20-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth. "I know it's a challenge because out of the three years I've been here I haven't had this role," Brown-Hoskin said. "But I have teammates that I know are going to help to bring me along. "I'm also the point guard [for the second consecutive year], so that has helped as far as getting me ready for a leadership role. And that also means I'm still in a sup- port role since the point guard gets others involved." Necessity, however, may mean that Brown-Hoskin (who added her father's last name to her own over the summer after her parents, Roselyn Brown and Leonard Hoskin, were officially married) must be a little less generous this season, at least in terms of passing up shooting opportunities. With the departure of All-ACC post Markeisha Gatling and forward Kody Burke, last year's top two scorers and rebounders, and shooting guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman, the leading scorer in the Pack's backcourt, Brown-Hoskin returns this season as the reigning team leader in scoring (8.8 points per game), rebounding (4.1), minutes played (1,018), field goal attempts (261), three-point at- tempts (98) and three-point makes (31). She was the Pack's top assist leader last year, with a career-high 147 in her first full season at the point (after sharing the on-floor directing duties the previous two years with Goodwin-Coleman). "Len'Nique is a true point guard," sec- ond-year head coach Wes Moore said in summarizing one of this year's team tri- captains (along with fellow senior guard Krystal Barrett and sophomore Miah Spen- cer). "She looks first to set her teammates up and distribute, but if you let your guard down she can definitely be very effective offensively. "She's super quick and can create things for herself as well as her teammates — whether she goes all the way to the rim herself or kicks it, she's going to make things happen." That's tall praise for one of the small- est guards in the ACC, at just 5-5. But it's another testament to Brown-Hoskin's con- sistent ability to defy modest expectations and circumstances — beginning with her rather unusual intro to hoops. Growing up in San Antonio, despite the fact that her father and two older brothers all were standout players (Leonard Hoskin starred at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas), Len'Nique actually dreamed of compet- ing in Olympic track and field and began running while in kindergarten, eventually becoming a high school regional qualifier in the triple and long jumps. "I didn't start playing organized bas- ketball until sixth grade — and I hated it," she said in an interview two years ago. "I stayed with it because my mom made me, and because my dad started helping to coach my AAU team in seventh grade." By the time she graduated from Karen Wagner High, Brown-Hoskin had grown to like hoops enough to be named a two-time district MVP and first-team all-region and all-state, averaging 12.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a senior. Former NC State assistant coach Richard Baron, who was on Kim Mulkey's staff at Baylor for most of Brown-Hoskin's prep career before joining Kellie Harper in 2009 when she was named NC State's new coach following the death of Kay Yow, had tar- geted the San Antonio standout for recruit- ing — but Brown-Hoskin opted for USC, mainly due to the presence of former NBA star and WNBA coach Michael Cooper, then the Trojans' head coach. "I wanted to play professionally after college, and I felt he could best prepare me for that," she said. She played in all 37 games for USC as a freshman during the 2010-11 season, helping the Trojans reach the finals of the WNIT, where they lost to Toledo. But de- spite averaging 12.0 minutes a game and netting 3.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest, Brown-Hoskin wasn't happy being coached by Cooper. "I just wasn't comfortable with his play- ing and coaching style. It also could have been the fact I was pretty far from home." After seeking advice on a possible trans- fer location from her AAU coach — and seeing one of her AAU teammates, Erica Donovan, opt to come to Raleigh (though Donovan transferred to Bowling Green fol- lowing the 2012 season) — Brown-Hoskin decided to follow suit. She sat out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules, then played in all 34 games of the 2012-13 season, starting the final 12 at the point and finishing second in the conference that season in assist-to- turnover ratio (1.6) while averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 assists. With the change in coaches last season, and the move of Goodwin-Coleman to shooting guard, Brown-Hoskin started all 33 games for the Pack at point and played a pivotal role in helping NC State to its sur- prising 25-8 record and first NCAA Tour- nament berth since 2010. She once again led the team in assists- to-turnovers (1.8, fifth in the ACC) while finishing third in the conference in assists. She also enjoyed her best scoring season, tallying 291 points, including a career-high 24 against Wright State, and earned her first double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Towson. "I never had any thoughts of leaving af- ter Kellie left," Brown-Hoskin said. "Kel- lie gave me a chance when I came here, so why not give a new coach a chance? Plus, I'd already transferred once, and I didn't want to do it again. As it turned out, Coach Moore and I clicked from day one — he was passionate and fired up the first time we met him, and he has the abil- ity to make you laugh. I liked him from the start." While most who followed the Pack last season were understandably surprised by Brown-Hoskin was the Pack's assist leader last year, with a career-high 147 in her first full season at the point guard position. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN One More Challenge Point Guard Len'Nique Brown-Hoskin Is Ready To Prove The Doubters Wrong Again