Shore Shore’s Brianna Fraser could have taken a rest this summer, but she wasn’t in the mood for a vacation.
The rising senior forward already committed last September to play college ball for Maryland, so she could have taken the summer off and watched others sweat it out on the travel ball circuit hoping for the scholarship she already has.
She feels she owes it to her New York Gauchos Elite teammates help them get seen by more college coaches. The more her travel team wins, the more eyes will be on them at whatever tournament they play in.
Fraser also wants to impress her own future coaches. She said the Maryland staff comes to watch her often, and many of her future teammates were around to see her at last weekend’s United States Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C.
“It’s a special opportunity for them to see how I play and to see what kind of teammate is coming to their school,” Frasier said. “I want to show them that they are going to have a good teammate and a hard worker who is going to come to their team, work hard, and perform every day.”
If Fraser can do that during her senior season she has to chance to stamp herself as New York City’s best player and finally bring the Vikings the elusive Public School Athletic League Class AA championship. South Shore has lost consecutive title games, including last year to Francis Lewis at the Barclays Center.
“I think I will need to play a little bit harder, too, to win the chip this year,” Fraser said.
She is an easygoing kid, who sometimes needs a push to go dominate a game. Her numbers have always been good. Fraser averaged 12 points and 9.8 rebounds during the regular season last year. She increased her scoring to 15.7 points per contest in the post season.
“If she gets 10 points, she is happy with it,” Gauchos coach Earl Elliotte said. “The rest of us are saying, ‘You could have had 30.’ ”
South Shore being better than the majority of their competition has limited her playing time and production, according to Vikings coach Anwar Gladden. He believes Fraser is the city’s best player and has spoken to her about leaving her in games a little longer to let her finally put up numbers more in line with her talents. Gladden believes that could happen organically if Fraser becomes a better free-throw shooter.
“She knows what she has to do,” said Gladden. “It’s just a matter of her staying motivated on a daily basis. I think her last year she definitely wants to go out on top.”
Fraser showed what she was capable of in last year’s the title game. She tallied 26 points and 15 boards and easily could have had more. Gladden understands what a determined Fraser would mean for his club.
“Unstoppable,” he said.
She seems motivated since this is her final season and that could spell bad news for the Vikings opponents. In order to make it happen, Fraser is learning to score in different ways.
At 6-foot-3, Fraser will be a small forward in college, and Elliotte has moved her to the perimeter at times. She has been working on her ability to drive to the basket. It’s taken some getting use to, but Fraser can see the advantages.
“It’s a little different because I have a lot of shorter people holding me,” she said.
It’s all part of the process of Fraser preparing to be more consistent and more dominant then she’s ever been in her career, and it could drive her right to the top of the list of New York City’s best players.
