As the Colorado women’s basketball team wrapped up nonconference play in mid-December, freshman Logyn Greer was in a groove.
Then came the Big 12 schedule.
Greer struggled in her opening conference game, with four points and one rebound in just 14 minutes of playing time in CU’s loss at Arizona State on Dec. 21.
“My first (conference) game versus ASU was definitely a big culture shock,” said Greer, a lean, 6-foot-4 forward from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. “The physicality, the pace, you really see it full-time and it was definitely an adjustment.”
Adjustments were made, and Greer has wound up putting together a stellar freshman campaign for the Buffs (22-11), who will head to the NCAA Tournament this week.
Greer is averaging 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while hitting 45.9% of her shots and ranking second on the team in blocked shots (24). Two weeks ago, she was named to the Big 12’s all-freshman team.
“I definitely think Logyn is one of the best freshmen in the country, as well,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “She does things that nobody else on our roster can do. She has a rare combination of size and skill that not many players, not just on our roster but in the country, can do at her age and her size.
“She’s certainly very much appreciated on our team, and we’d be in trouble if she wasn’t on the roster.”
Greer’s scoring average is the best for a CU freshman since Frida Formann averaged 12.4 points in the 2020-21 season. And, she’s the first Buffs freshman to average at least nine points and four rebounds since Annika Jank in 2017-18.
In relation to her preseason expectations, Greer didn’t hesitate to say she has done, “Way better. Way better.”
“I thought I was just going to come in here and there, come in and play just like spot minutes,” she said. “Some games I was playing like 30, 35 minutes a night, so definitely not what I expected. Yeah, way better than my expectations.”
It was evident throughout nonconference play that Greer was going to have a bigger role than she expected.
She had 13 points and six rebounds in her second career game, at No. 22 Louisville, on Nov. 12. She posted 19 points in only 21 minutes against Portland State. She averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds during a three-game tournament in Hawaii in November. She added a double-double (12 points and 12 rebounds) Dec. 14 against Miami-Ohio, which would go on to win the MAC.
The ASU game Dec. 21 may have been an eye-opening experience, but she averaged 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds through the rest of conference play. That included 17 points in an upset of No. 14 TCU; 13 in an upset of No. 20 Texas Tech; and a near double-double (nine points, nine rebounds) in a victory against Oklahoma State.
“Itap definitely been fun,” she said. “You learn a lot because you play in a lot of close games and you have to learn how to play for that long period of time.”
She’s also learned to focus on more than just her scoring, and she’s become one of the Buffs’ most steady rebounders.
“If I’m not having a good game (scoring), just trying to impact it with rebounding, passing, and just being a good teammate I think are the biggest areas of growth because in college, you’re not always going to score the most points,” she said.
As she looks to her future, Greer said coaches often talk to her about putting on muscle so she can handle the physicality of the college game. Itap an area in which she’s improved this year, but is eager to have a full offseason of growth going into her sophomore year.
“I already have a year under my belt,” she said. “So I’m not too worried about how conditioning is going to go or how the first practices are going to go (next year).”
She’s also got more confidence than she did before this year, although she said, “I knew I could do it.”
Greer may not have expected to play as much as she has this season, but the growing pains were expected, and she’s excited about how she played through them.
“Itap definitely gone as expected, pretty up and down for the most part as a freshman,” she said. “So, I’m not mad about it. I think I had a great year.”
