Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

All in the family

Julie Brase is only a sophomore guard for the University of Arizona women's basketball team, but she has been making jump shots on the McKale Center hardwood for more than 10 years.

For years, Brase was forced to drive past former Wildcats Damon Stoudamire, Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott to get the ball in the hoop.

Although most aspiring basketball players could only dream of practicing free throws and post moves with the likes of Kerr and Elliott, such workouts were routine for Lute Olson's granddaughter.

Raised in Tucson, where she attended elementary and high school and began her own basketball career, Brase is the oldest granddaughter of the famed Arizona men's head basketball coach.

Becoming a player on the women's team did not result from knowing an influential figure within the UA athletic department, as Brase's accomplishments result from years of hard work. However, she admits that having Olson by her side over the years has had a remarkable effect on her playing ability which led to a spot in the Arizona roster.

Brase, 19, says she didn't have aspirations to attend UA from a very young age, as if she were destined to do so. Playing basketball for the Arizona women's team was not her first inclination however.

"Ever since my grandpa took the job here when I was four or five, I wanted to play basketball at the UA for the men's team," she says. "I wanted to play for my grandpa because, at the time, the women's team wasn't so good."

Early bruises

At age 9, she began playing basketball for Olson in camps that he conducted for Tucson youth. She learned quickly because she was the only girl amongst the best male basketball players her age.

Initially, being the only girl was rough, she says. But in a short time, the boys came to respect her as a basketball player and helped to refine her skills.

"At first I dreaded going, because I didn't want to be the only girl, but every time I got here, I had a great time playing with them," she says. "Some people hated me and some liked it, but it was just because I was better than them. I had to be more competitive because I was getting bumped and knocked around a lot. It really helped me improve my game."

Olson agrees with Brase and fondly remembers her first experience playing at camp when the teams were lined up and members of Brase's squad had serious doubts about having a girl playing with them. Those doubts soon turned to boasting as Brase established herself, Olson says.

"From the first time I saw her playing in the camp, she was guarding this kid who was the best player on the opposing team and she was all over him to the point where he couldn't even catch the ball," Olson says. "Finally he just knocked her down and she got up and got right back in his face, and smiled at him and kept defending him. She knew that she'd gotten to him and that is just the type of competitor she has always been."

Having Olson as a grandfather had its perks, as Brase became friends with the Arizona players. Spending time with the Arizona team made her a star among her friends and classmates.

"It was amazing just to be around Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr and that whole '88 team," says Brase, who wears No. 20 in honor of Stoudamire. "I hung out with all those guys and I just thought that I was the coolest thing."

Brase was given her first job with the UA athletic department when she was in middle school. She was a ball girl for the men's team chasing loose basketballs during the games or feeding the referees new ones when necessary. The job was not only fun, but provided some insight into her future when one of the coaches of the women's team offered her a similar job, she says.

"I was able to see them play and get my first contact with women's basketball," Brase says.

National recognition

With occasional instruction from her grandfather, Brase's basketball skills were finely tuned at Catalina Foothills High School. She became a USA Today All-American in 1997 and 1998, was a three-time Southern Arizona Player of the Year and was named to the All-Arizona team for three consecutive seasons.

While a junior, Brase averaged 25 points per game while leading her team to the state championship. As a senior, she averaged 26.9 points, eight rebounds and six steals per game. In four years at Catalina Foothills, she finished with 2,913 points, breaking nine state scoring records and becoming the all-time leading scorer in Arizona girl's basketball.

Despite the overwhelming belief that Brase had already decided to play for Arizona, New Mexico and Arizona State joined UA in recruiting her.

Brase admits she thought about New Mexico or ASU because of the spotlight she'd be put in in Arizona. Being on campus with the label of "Lute's granddaughter" could be discomforting at times, yet she knew that in her heart and in her grandfather's heart, Arizona was the right place for her.

"I thought that having my grandpa here would be kind of weird, so I thought about going other places like ASU, even though I hate them," Brase says. "But when it came down to it, I asked Papa-Lute for advice and he said, ' I want you to go where I can watch you practice.' By him telling me that, he was letting me know that he really wanted me at the U of A."

Olson adds that his presence at Arizona was not the only reason Brase chose to attend the UA.

"Julie has grown up on Arizona basketball," he says. "She got started in our camps as one of the only girls that we'd let in. She has been around Arizona basketball, the players, the managers, so I don't know if it has as much to do with me as it has to do with her always being an Arizona fan."

Leading by example

UA women's head coach Joan Bonvicini says her staff, which began tracking Brase when she was a high school freshman, was impressed by Brase's exceptional work ethic and ability to take command on the court.

"I liked the fact that she was a great scorer, she was just able to dominate. When she went up to the state playoffs where the competition got even better, she was able to take over games," Bonvicini says.

"Julie is definitely a hard worker, and she does a lot of little things that often go unnoticed."

Many fans who watched Brase in high school now attend her games as a Wildcat.

"I have a little section of people that come and watch my games, so it is neat that so many people have followed me from Catalina Foothills to here," Brase says. "It means a lot to me."

Brase is recognized by her teammates not as a vocal leader, but one who has an exceptional work ethic and leads by example.

"You know that Julie is going to go out there and put forth 100 percent all the time, she's going to go after every loose ball," senior guard Lisa Griffith says. "She has a lot of self pride, which carries over in her game and off the court as well. She is a very honest, up-front kind of person and that is why I enjoy being around her so much."

Senior guard Felecity Willis says Brase has established herself so well that the idea of Olson being her grandfather is unimportant. This impresses Bonvicini.

"What makes Julie great is that she handles the attention of having Lute as her grandfather like it is no big deal," Bonvicini says. "I think that she is able to keep her own identity along with the joy of having her grandparents around and having her parents here, too."

The image of being Olson's granddaughter is something that Brase has had to contend with all of her life, and at times it was an image that she says wished she could shed.

"When I was in high school it got a little annoying because there would be articles in the newspaper saying that 'Lute Olson's granddaughter did this'," Brase says. "I wanted to be known for who I am, so in that sense, I got tired of them referring to him all the time. Now it doesn't bother me because I love my grandparents and I enjoy having him around."

Today, life for Brase and Olson is just the way they want it to be.

They're at the University of Arizona together, where Olson is treated to watching his granddaughter play on the same floor as the men's teams that he has guided for years. Brase has the chance to watch her grandfather direct his squad on a court she now calls home.

"It is a dream to be here, being close to my family, my grandparents and playing basketball as a Wildcat," Brase says. "If I had to make the decision all over again, I wouldn't change a thing."