Brianna Rollerson (#50 / F / 6-0 / R-So.)
Creighton’s Brianna Rollerson (WBR/Adam Streur) $ CLICK TO BUY $
At times during the 2013-14 season, Rollerson showed flashes of being a really potent weapon down low for the Bluejays. She scored a career-high 14 points in just 12 minutes in a rout of Xavier. She also posted the first two double-doubles of her career against Marquette and Butler during Big East play.
Despite playing by far the fewest minutes of the nine Bluejays who played in all 34 games, she finished second on the team in blocked shots, just six behind senior forward Sarah Nelson. Nelson finished as Creighton’s all-time leader in blocked shots, so for Rollerson to keep pace with her while only playing around 10 minutes per game speaks to the young Omaha product’s potential contribution over the next few seasons.
With the graduations of Nelson and center Alyssa Kamphaus, Creighton’s front court is open for new faces to step into new roles. One of those spots has already been grabbed by senior Alexis Akin-Otiko. The other will be a battle between Rollerson, incoming freshmen Kylie Brown and Bailey Norby, as well as junior Taylor Johnson who is back after missing two years with knee injuries. While Johnson and Akin-Otiko have seemed to separated themselves from that group, expect to see Rollerson show more consistency in now her third year in the program. A lot can change throughout the course of a season. Fortunately with Rollerson and Co. in the front court, the Bluejays have the depth to deal with those challenges as they are presented.
Head Coach Jim Flanery on Rollerson:
“She still has a wealth of potential and offensively she has a chance to be one of our best scorers. We still need her to continue to get better defensively and on the defensive glass, but she’s been better on the offensive glass. I think she’s made a commitment to going to the offensive glass and she seems a little more willing to shoot the 15-footer which I think helps her, because it won’t be every game where at 6-foot we can throw it inside to her.”
5-on-5 with Brianna Rollerson
Q: How has practice gone so far?
A: “Good. We’ve been practicing a lot and we’re ready for the games.”
Q: What were some of the things you worked on most during the off-season?
A: “Probably just getting in better shape. I feel a lot better this year.”
Q: What do you think of the Championship Center and how has it helped you so far?
A: “It’s right across the street from our dorm, so it’s more convenient for us to come here. We can come here anytime, day or night. We come here sometimes late at night and just shoot around.”
Q: What were some of the hardest adjustments you had to make from your first year until now?
A: “Everything is just faster and I didn’t think I would be able to get used to how fast we play. Flan always talks about how talking and communication helps us, and I think it really slows down the game. It’s easy to get yourself out of trouble if you talk to your teammates.
Q: What are your thoughts on being picked fourth in the Big East preseason poll?
A: “I think it’s exciting. It shows that we did really good our first year, so now people know what to expect. It sets a high bar for us. We want to be better than that, but it’s good place to start.”
Q: What are your goals for this upcoming season?
A: “We want to come out number one in our conference and make it to the NCAA Tournament. We didn’t make it last year, so to get back there will be pretty cool.”