Oklahoma City – The answer is yes. Yes, Colorado women’s basketball players have asked Buffs freshman guard Whitney Houston if she can carry a tune.
“We try to get her to sing for us all the time,” CU junior forward Jackie McFarland told reporters Wednesday during Big 12 Conference basketball media day interviews. “She’s kind of shy about it. She says she can sing. But we haven’t heard her do it.”
Evidently, this Whitney Houston feels more comfortable performing on the basketball court. A 5-foot-5 point guard from Memphis, Tenn., Houston, who is not related to the pop singer, has impressed CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller with her athleticism and enthusiasm.
And Houston knows how to win. She averaged 19 points and six assists in leading Hillcrest High School to a state championship and 35-3 record last season – the first Memphis-area school to win a Tennessee big-school title in 21 years.
“Whitney brings energy,” McConnell-Miller said. “I haven’t seen a player in many years as far as her desire to be on the court and her desire to lead her team.”
The jokes about Colorado’s headliners being Whitney Houston and Brittany Spears must wait until next year. Spears, a 6-foot small forward from California, signed with CU last fall but was not admitted to the university because of academic reasons. She is attending a prep school in New Hampshire and has re-committed to Colorado for next season.
One from the bottom
The Buffs were picked to finish 11th in the Big 12 coaches preseason poll, ahead of only Oklahoma State, which went 0-16 in conference play last season.
CU struggled in McConnell-Miller’s first season, going 9-21 and 3-13 in conference. But the Buffs have back 6-4 sophomore center Kara Richards, who missed last season with a foot fracture, and seven newcomers.
“I thought our recruiting class being pretty strong and having Kara back would carry a little more weight (in the poll),” McConnell-Miller said.
Strong bloodlines
Last year, Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale welcomed the twin daughters of former NFL lineman Bubba Paris. That worked out quite well, thank you.
Courtney Paris earned first-team All-America honors after averaging 21.9 points and 15.0 rebounds to lead Oklahoma to a 31-5 record, 16-0 in league play. Ashley Paris provided support off the bench with 5.9 points and 6.7 rebounds.
One of Coale’s top freshmen this season is another Californian, 6-3 Abi Olajuwon of Los Angeles. Her father is NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
“We’re the famous families team,” Coale said. “The greatest common denominator is they’ve been in the spotlight all their life. Therefore, the stage of college basketball isn’t quite as daunting.”
Parlez-vous Francais?
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair couldn’t stop talking about the Aggies’ offseason trip to France, where his wide-eyed squad played against French club teams.
“Beyond the basketball, it was a great education,” Blair said. “Those people are cleaner than we are; there isn’t a lot of litter lying around. Those people speak four or five languages. I speak broken English.”
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
