Step inside UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, and Lauren Betts is a rock star.
Step inside UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, and Lauren Betts is a rock star.
She's currently averaging a team third-best 14.4 points and team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game. Her name is mentioned in every All-American conversation and as a top pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
That said, the 6-foot-7 Colorado native felt like a freshman last week when she arrived in North Carolina for the USA Basketball's first camp for the senior women's national camp.
Like a little girl attending camp with clinicians she grew up admiring, Betts was playing among some of WNBA's greatest to ever play, and many of the future faces of Olympic basketball.
"I had one of those moments, I think, when we were all kind of in the huddle, and I'm just looking around, and I'm like, 'This is kind of insane, I can't believe that I'm surrounded by such amazing basketball players,'" Betts said during her media availability on Friday. "I mean, I've grown up watching a lot of these people, and I looked up to them so much. So it's very surreal."
From veterans like Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, to first- and second-year players like Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark - to name a few - Betts hoped to not only leave her mark on a new coaching staff, but absorb as much as possible before returning to Westwood and the Bruins.
Betts' excitement to train with Boston put her in fan-girl mode, as she said she's admired the Indiana Fever star since she played at South Carolina.
"I've always grown up watching her," Betts said. "I loved her at South Carolina, and I've talked about her in a few interviews. I was really looking forward to seeing her because she's an amazing post player, amazing person and I think she's really grown the game, especially with posts.
"She's just someone that we idolize. So, being able to learn from her and have those conversations has been really cool, and I actually spoke to her about some tips that I could use moving forward for my team. So, just really honored that I got to speak to her."
BRING IT TO WESTWOOD
At 9-1 thus far, the Bruins are currently ranked fourth in the nation and hope to return to the Final Four with a veteran-laden team that includes sharpshooting Gabriela Jaquez and do-it-all guard Kiki Rice.
Betts has been an integral part of the team's lineup since transferring in from Stanford before her junior season, but now believes spending time with some of the world's greatest basketball players will benefit her and her UCLA teammates.
"I think coming into this environment, I'm one of the youngest here, so it is really cool to just kind of step out of that leadership role for a little bit and just get to really listen and take all the new information in and just be a sponge," Betts said. "I'm going to take a lot of these things that I learned in these couple of days back to UCLA.
"I think one of those things is attention to detail. I think something that we don't talk about enough in college sports is how important all the small things are. Taking all of that and trying to implement that into my team will be really helpful for the rest of the season."
For her personally, Betts said one of the biggest emphases for post players was being intentional and playing a level of aggressiveness that rises to a certain standard in international competition.
It was something Betts acknowledged she has to learn to grow into, and is looking forward to carrying it to the rest of the season.
"I thought their competitiveness was good," USA coach Kara Lawson said about her younger players, including Betts. "It was what I expected from a national team camp, and that's what we talked about, even the people being here for the first time. You got to play, you got to compete, and there's an approach that you have to have to be in one of these camps. And I thought that the young ones did a good job of trying to be at that level."
PERSONAL GROWTH
Kiki Iriafen, who just finished her rookie season in the WNBA and who played with Betts at Stanford, said she was excited to see Betts at camp and felt as if it was a perfect introduction toward next season in the WNBA.
"I think it's incredible," Iriafen said. "If anything, it kind of gives them an edge when they get back to college. Like, someone like Lauren in her senior year, she'll be playing with us in the league next season. So for her, I think this is super great to kind of have a test run and see what it's like competing with us."
Betts also acknowledged UCLA coach Cori Close's dedication toward her players' development, and the support she's felt since becoming a Bruin, and preparing for her experience with Team USA.
Close knows international basketball well, having served on past staffs, and told Betts to simply be herself on the court, and from a mental standpoint, to stay present while soaking up the atmosphere, while learning from each person she encounters.
Simply put, to make the most out of an amazing opportunity.
"I think this is all a great opportunity," Betts said. "This is an honor to be here. It's a dream come true. I'm just very happy to learn from the best of the best, and to surround myself with people whom I've looked up to for a really long time. I'm really thankful that coach Cori allowed me to come to do something like this, especially because we're mid-season. I won't be missing any games, so I'm okay schedule-wise, so I'm just really grateful to be here.
"I think coach Cori has done a really good job of just making sure that every day, our team is always trying to be the best version of ourselves, and we don't care who we're playing. If we're not playing up to our level, then she'll make sure that we fix it. So I think just carrying that into this, making sure that I'm doing all the right things for myself, and I'm always working hard, and, regardless of how much younger I am to everybody else, just making sure that I'm always playing at the best that I can."
Category: General Sports
