Tell everyone about yourself?
I'm Lauren Avant, an 18-year-old Senior at Lausanne Collegiate School. I'm a 5'9", 150 pound true point guard that can convert to a combo guard at any time. I've been playing basketball since I was five or six, been on the competitive aau/exposure circuit since I was 9. I committed to play for Pat Summit and the Lady Vols on Thanksgiving of my freshman year. I have a 4.7 GPA and plan on becoming an Orthopedic Doctor after graduating from Tennessee. I suffered from a severe shoulder injury so I didn't play on the circuit this summer and only played a couple high school games, so I missed out on alot of events and camps I was invited to.
What was your best game?
It's hard to choose a single game out of my entire career that's 'best'. I personally think my best games are when I'm able to get my teammates involved; one game I had 21 assists. My first high school game back after my shoulder injury, I had a quadruple double, so if I had to pick, it'd be one of those games.
Why are sports/education important to you?
Sports and education are important to me because I know that this day in age that sports can pay for your education, and you need an education to succeed in life and have a steady income. Sports also influence education becomes sometimes you need that instinctive competitive nature that only sports can give you to want to better yourself in life, which starts in the classroom.
What can you do to make yourself better in your sport?
To better myself in my sport, I'd first have to get healthy so I can actually produce. Then I'd like to work on my leadership skills and qualities because I understand the importance of a point guard being vocal and also leading by example. Lastly, I'd like to not only increase my worth ethic but also increase the work ethic of the players around me.
How do you make your team better?
I think I make my team better by bringing a fiery intensity and just pure energy to the game every night. I'm not afraid to mix it up with the guards or the big men; I’m just a scrappy guard. I'm also very unselfish, so I like to get my teammates in the game by delivering accurate passes in the shooting pocket because I understand that truly makes a difference and just getting them in the position to score points. I also like to have fun playing, which is rare now, and I think that relaxes the team.
How do you feel about being a future Lady Volunteer?
I honestly can't wait to get up there. I feel like it's been forever since I've committed, and I can't wait to get up there to play. I was born a Lady Vol; it's always been my dream school and pretty much the only school so I plan on making the best of this opportunity.
How was the recruiting process?
The recruiting process was hectic. It started in like 8th grade; my AAU coach was my stepfather, so they could contact us legally. Then I started getting contacted illegally, and NCAA ended up checking my phone bill monthly. They came to my house and investigated. It was crazy, and that's part of the reason it ended so early. It's really hard getting to know all of these coaches and realizing how they're just great people, then choosing another school. The recruiting process is just stressing.
What advice can you give other student-athletes?
If I could tell student athletes anything, I would tell them to value their education and to take advantage of all of these scholarships and to look into the academic section of the schools and not just the athletics portion because academics will always be useful and athletics can only take you so far. But while you have the opportunity to be an athlete, take full advantage of that too and work as hard as you can to be the best. Time management is essential in being the best student-athlete on any level so learn it as early as possible, and last but not least, don't let anyone tell you what you can't do or what you're too young to do; try your best to prove everyone wrong.
Send a shout out to SoSportz:
Thank you SoSportz for creating this awesome website with loads of information and also for creating an awesome facebook page to relate to the young student athletes across the nations. Keep it up!
