Kimberly Beck did not grow up worshipping a basketball idol. She has never patterned her game after a particular player. In fact, who’s the George Washington point guard’s favorite player? Her backcourt partner.
“Sarah-Jo Lawrence. I think she has one of the quickest first steps in basketball,” said Beck. “She’s just a great all-around player.”
It’s a non-traditional choice that suits Beck just fine, who isn’t concerned about being considered among the best guards in the country or the shadow of defending national-champion Maryland just a few miles away.
“I’m trying to make my own little niche. I’m not really trying to go out there and be anybody else,” said Beck. “We don’t compare ourselves to anyone. We want to win the Atlantic 10 tournament and go deep in the NCAAs,”
She wasn’t highly recruited out of Woodward Academy in Georgia, but Beck is leading the conference in assists (5.52 per game) for the third straight season. She’s also fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage (45.2), but more importantly, she’s the floor general and unquestioned leader among the eighth-ranked George Washington (21-2, 10-0 A-10) players.
“She has a great sense of what is needed at the time, whether it’s on the floor, in the locker room, in the film session,” said Colonials head coach Joe McKeown. “She just feels like what her team needs that day, she gives it to them. She runs the show, runs the team.”
Although just a junior, McKeown likens Beck to a fifth-year senior, having started her since early in her freshman year. In just her third game, she faced then-No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville, a game in which she had more turnovers than anything else.
“She just had a really tough night, which a lot of people do there,” said McKeown. “And I said to her, ‘You know what, remember this night because you’re going to be back in this type of atmosphere a lot.’”
Beck went on to earn A-10 rookie of the year and lead the Colonials to two straight NCAA tournaments. She’s unfazed by the newfound attention that comes with being in the national Top 10.
“It’s more of a feeling that it’s about time. We expect to be great,” said Beck. “And as far we’re underrated, being by Maryland only a couple miles away, they’re national champions so they get the respect they deserve. We’re just going to have to earn our respect, and I think we’re doing a good job of doing that.”
No. 8 George Washington (21-2, 10-0 A-10) at Charlotte (17-8, 8-2)
» When: Tonight, 7
» Where: Halton Arena, Charlotte
