I have been guilty of criticizing Brittany Boyd too much over the years, and for whatever it's worth (not much, really), here's an apologia.
Since I first saw her play as a freshman at Hercules, through her time at Berkeley High, in her career at Cal, and her WNBA run with the Liberty, she has always been the ultimate competitor. She plays hard, she battles, and she never backs down.
There are flaws in her game, of course, as there are in every player's game, and at 26, it doesn't seem likely she's going to make a huge leap forward, so she is who she is, pretty much -- and her record of achievement is impressive.
Boyd was an elite high school player on a powerhouse Berkeley team, and her fire and energy were crucial to that 77-12 three-year run that culminated a state championship game loss. She averaged double figures every year at Cal for a team that went 103-34.
Her WNBA time has been less successful, but it's important to remember just how challenging and difficult that league is. Katie Lou Samuelson, to name just one example, went from elite to unknown as soon as she arrived. Boyd's abilities have kept her in the league, despite injuries, and though, again, the flaws in her game are present, she's playing in the WNBA -- and that's a major achievement right there.
It's way too easy to forget how great certain players are when they move on, and especially if they can't duplicate their prep and college success at the pro level. But that doesn't detract from their achievements, and Brittany Boyd has a career's worth to be proud of.
Since I first saw her play as a freshman at Hercules, through her time at Berkeley High, in her career at Cal, and her WNBA run with the Liberty, she has always been the ultimate competitor. She plays hard, she battles, and she never backs down.
There are flaws in her game, of course, as there are in every player's game, and at 26, it doesn't seem likely she's going to make a huge leap forward, so she is who she is, pretty much -- and her record of achievement is impressive.
Boyd was an elite high school player on a powerhouse Berkeley team, and her fire and energy were crucial to that 77-12 three-year run that culminated a state championship game loss. She averaged double figures every year at Cal for a team that went 103-34.
Her WNBA time has been less successful, but it's important to remember just how challenging and difficult that league is. Katie Lou Samuelson, to name just one example, went from elite to unknown as soon as she arrived. Boyd's abilities have kept her in the league, despite injuries, and though, again, the flaws in her game are present, she's playing in the WNBA -- and that's a major achievement right there.
It's way too easy to forget how great certain players are when they move on, and especially if they can't duplicate their prep and college success at the pro level. But that doesn't detract from their achievements, and Brittany Boyd has a career's worth to be proud of.
