Brooke focuses on the task at hand

By: Dave Albee, Marin Independent Journal

SAN JOSE - Athletes in attendance for Pac-10 Conference women's basketball media day earlier this week were waiting in a holding room at the San Jose Arena for their turn to be interviewed. But one of them wasn't wasting time. She was busy.

Brooke Smith of Stanford was sitting by herself in a corner, doing her homework reading a book on psychology. The 6-foot-3 senior center from San Anselmo isn't one to let a moment pass without somehow improving herself. Smith is in her final year at Stanford and she knows what's at stake in the long haul depends a lot on her. She's moving toward a degree in human biology and pursuing a personal goal on the basketball court she hopes will land her in Cleveland for the NCAA tournament semifinals April 1.

"I think anything less than going to the Final Four would be a disappointment," said Smith, a two-time all-Pac-10 player and All-American candidate out of Marin Catholic High. "At the same time, it's about the process and taking it one game at a time. It's about the journey." (More ...)