Jan. 26, 2005

Devin Reed (Indianapolis, IN/Cowley County C.C.) first started dribbling a basketball when she was five years old.

Today - she is a junior for The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team, and the Indianapolis, IN, native says that when she was growing up playing basketball was her pastime.

"Coming from a basketball state that was all we ever did," said Reed, a 5-8 junior guard who is among the leading scorers for this season's team. "Day in and day out from the time we got up in the morning until the street lights went off at the playground, we played basketball and just had fun."

For Reed playing college basketball is an achievement that she has long sought after.

"It has always been a dream," said the 21-year-old. "To grow up and watch people on TV and see people from my neighborhood go to college. It was always the thing I wanted to do."

Reed played two seasons of college basketball prior to her arrival at UTPA this season. During her freshman campaign at Valparaiso, Reed helped her team earn a berth in the NCAA Division I National Tournament. Although the team didn't win its first round game, Reed remembers the experience fondly.

"That is an experience within itself. Just to go out there in front of thousands of fans on ESPN, it was unbelievable. After the game, I got a chance to see myself on TV. If you haven't been there then it's hard to describe what it was like, but just to look out there and see the lights and all of those things. It was a great experience," said Reed.

Reed chose to attend UTPA after her sophomore season at Cowley County Community College in Kansas. It was UTPA head women's basketball coach DeAnn Craft, who played an important role in getting Reed to the Valley.

"The loyalty of the program (is important). From day one (of junior college), Coach Craft and her staff came to watch me practice. She is a very loyal coach. She was consistent in her recruiting, and no matter how I played she was there. She has seen me at my best and at my worst, and in the end she still wanted me," Reed added.

Reed is now averaging 8.1 points per game while starting all 18 contests for the Lady Broncs, who have an even record at 9-9. It is the first time in program history that UTPA is even this late in the season, and Reed is determined to getting the Lady Broncs over the hump at season's end.

Her best scoring performance came against IPFW (Jan. 22) where she collected 14 points. She also played a huge role in the Lady Broncs' victories over Lafayette College (Dec. 29) and Morgan State (Dec. 31), which marked the first time in program history that the team won two consecutive non-tournament road games.

"I think we are on-pace to have a record-breaking season. We are starting to gel together, and we've shown a lot of peaks of being great (this season). We have to finish it out, and when we actually get there, it will be very nice," said Reed.

Since arriving at UTPA, Reed feels that she has learned a lot from her coaches. The proof is in the statistics as she ranks in the top five in points per game (8.1), assists (38) and steals (33).

"Coach Craft has taught me a lot of things as far as shooting and just to be a loose player. Different programs have different philosophies and some people are more mechanically structure-oriented, but at the same time, we have structure and freedom. She has taught me how to relax and just let the game come to you," Reed added.

Along with Craft, another influential figure in Reed's basketball career has been her mother, whom Reed credits for pushing her to always work hard.

"Growing up, she never missed a game. She was always there, and she knows a lot about sports so whenever there was something I wasn't doing right then she would let me know. Your parents are always the most honest, and she never sugar-coated anything. She always told me what I needed to do, and what I needed to do better," said Reed.

It was that honest and support that has allowed Reed to achieve her biggest dream of taking her talents from the playgrounds of Indianapolis to the court of collegiate basketball.

Luckily for the Lady Broncs, her dream has become their reality.