Lisa Willis has loved UCLA ever since she first picked up a
basketball in the third grade.
Although two of her prep teammates at Narbonne High School,
juniors Jessica Cheeks and Ebony Hoffman, currently start for the
USC women’s basketball team, Willis chose to come to
Westwood.
“I have wanted to come to UCLA for years,” the Bruin
freshman said.
“I didn’t want to be in anybody’s
shadow,” Willis said. “I feel like I’ve been
under Ebony and Jessica’s wing a little bit.”
But that was hardly the reason Willis came to Westwood. Talking
to other coaches during the recruiting process, she says, was
simple. Five minutes was all she needed to thank them for their
interest, but she always let them know that she would be wearing
blue and gold come fall.
And Willis has proven more than just the fact that she can hold
her own on the court. She brings both a very strong defensive
presence and valuable offensive skills to UCLA’s program but
also shares the court with eight other guards on the Bruin
roster.
“I’m confident in my game,” Willis said.
“I know that if I’m not playing, it’s about me,
not another player.”
It is clear that UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier is confident in
Willis’s game as well.
“Lisa’s a winner,” Olivier said. “She
sneaks in there for rebounds … and makes great decisions on the
offensive end.”
Willis’s potential was clear from the beginning of this
season when she came off the bench at the University of Hawaii
tournament Nov. 23 and added 18 points, three of which came on
UCLA’s only three-pointer. She is now surpassed in scoring
only by senior guard Michelle Greco, freshman guard Nikki Blue and
freshman forward Julia Pitts.
Willis’s defensive skills are likewise showing, as she is
one of only six Bruins with double-digit defensive rebounds this
season.
“A lot of people can score at this level,” she said.
“(Coach Olivier) has been pushing my defense and my
rebounding skills … I guess it helps that I can
defend.”
Yes, it does.
But what is most telling about this freshman is not her
comprehensive court skills, but the sights she has set for herself
and the entire squad.
“I want to win,” she said. “We’re on the
rise ““ the freshmen are here to bring the program up. If we
get recruits like this year, we’ll be looking really, really
good.”
The next few years are indeed looking good for Willis, as her
role on the Bruin team clearly has the opportunity to develop in
multiple areas.
But regardless of the years ahead, she will never forget the
hard work and hours it took to get here.
“I always wanted this ““ but I never knew for sure
that these would be the hills I’d be walking to class
on,” she said.
“I am so thankful that this is where I ended up. I feel
blessed, really.”