Dec. 16, 2004

By Annie Shepard, Purdue Sports Information

New to the Purdue women's basketball team and the Midwest is freshman guard Brina Pollack, a native of Marlboro, N.J.

Growing up on the East Coast with New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks fans around every corner, Pollack has been surrounded by basketball her entire life. The Knicks fans seemed to rub off on Pollack, her favorite player being John Starks. "He was underrated and brought so much energy to a team that was competing for a championship," Pollack says.

Getting an early start on the court, Pollack was a regular at the gym from a young age. "I started playing around 5," Pollack says. "I would just follow my dad to his pick-up games and learned to play from then on. In preschool I joined a boys' league for kindergarteners. I was the type of kid who was a gym rat."

Brina's father, Dr. Martin Pollack, noticed his daughter's basketball ability at young age. "She'd come to my games when she was very young, and at halftime she would be out on the floor shooting and dribbling," he says. "You couldn't get a ball out of her hands no matter which sport it was for. She had extremely good hand-eye coordination."

Brina has seen the time she put in at the gym pay off.

A four-year starter at Marlboro High School, Pollack helped the program achieve unprecedented success. Pollack completed her high school career with 1,573 points and led Marlboro to a 101-15 record, making it the first girls high school team in New Jersey to win 100 games or more over a four-year span. To finish on an even sweeter note, Pollack hit the game-winning jump shot in the Central New Jersey Group 4 State championship game against Hillsborough High School her senior year.

Though the last-second shot is one she won't soon forget, Pollack owns lots of memories from a stellar pre-college career. "My favorite memory is winning the 11-and-under national championship with my AAU team, the Central Jersey Hawks," Pollack says. "We definitely overachieved, and no one expected us to win."

Marlboro High School coach Brian Nash has his own favorite Pollack memory of when the Mustangs took on rival Christ the King in the 2001-02 season. "Brina had 21 points that game," Nash says. "Though we lost the game, it was clear that Brina was the best player on the floor." High praise, considering Christ the King, alma mater of Olympic gold medalists Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird, had seven players from that team go on to play Division I basketball.

Coaching Pollack for four years, Nash watched her develop as a player. "When Brina began high school she was our scorer," Nash says. "Over the years her point guard skills really developed and she filled the role not only as a scorer, but as our main point guard as well."

Many universities recruited Pollack during her high school career. When making the decision on which college to attend, Pollack received advice from her dad along the way. "I told her that if she wanted to play at a Division I school that had a top-20 basketball program she needed to find one where she would play the point guard position because of her height," Dr. Pollack says. "The second aspect I suggested she look at was the coaching, and third was the academics."

Purdue stood out, thanks to the coaching staff. "I chose Purdue because it seemed like a family atmosphere," Pollack says. "They made me feel welcome."

Now that Pollack has spent time in West Lafayette, her father has seen her become very comfortable with Purdue. "Brina seems to be very happy," Dr. Pollack says. "Her grades have been excellent and she seems to be very comfortable on campus and with her teammates."

Pollack is enjoying her time at Purdue, but, like most students, she misses home. "I miss the culture a lot. The East is a lot different from here," she says. "And of course I miss my family and my two dogs."

Pollack is able to take the point guard skills she developed in New Jersey and put them to use in Indiana. Having the opportunity to play the point as a Boilermaker, Pollack is excited to make a contribution to the Purdue squad. "I hope to help the team win in any way possible, whether it is cheering them on or playing valuable minutes on the floor when they need me," Pollack says.

Though Pollack had tough competition out East, she definitely is seeing a difference between high school and college basketball. The biggest surprise for Pollack: "The quickness of people out here and the intensity of the game altogether. You have to be ready to compete every day."

The competitive drive is something Nash says stood out in Pollack: "Brina is one of the best competitors I've ever been in contact with. She has this innate desire to make herself and those around her better."

Pollack has big expectations for the 2004-05 Purdue team. "The goal I have for the team is, of course, a Final Four. It's every child's dream growing up."

A Final Four appearance may not be every kid's dream growing up, but it is for this Jersey girl.

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