May 11, 2005

Brionna Dickerson knows she has a special opportunity waiting for her when she enrolls in the Honors College at the University of South Carolina this summer. Of course, all the hard work she has put in over the years in the classroom and her participation in extracurricular activities has been a primary factor in her being in a position to have such an opportunity. And by the way, it doesn’t hurt that she averaged 39 points per game on the basketball court to earn a spot on the Gamecock basketball roster.

“The Honors College at South Carolina is right on the level of the Ivy League schools,” Dickerson said. “That is really one of the main reasons why I am coming to USC. It gives me an Ivy League experience with the opportunity to stay at home. The business school within the Honors College is number one among all public universities and only about 50 people per year get admitted, so I am excited for the opportunity.”

As well-known in Columbia for her exploits on the court as she is for her intelligence and character off it, Dickerson appeared as the subject of a lengthy cover story in Columbia Metropolitan Magazine before even graduating from Heathwood Hall Episcopal School.

“It was strange to be on the cover,” Dickerson said. “A lot of people had heard about me, but that was the first time people knew what I looked like. It ended up being funny, because I would walk into stores and see myself on the cover of the magazine and act like I didn’t see it. People would look at the cover then look over at me say `Hey, you’re the girl from the magazine.’ It was definitely a new experience.”

The magazine highlighted the fact that Dickerson is both an excellent basketball player and student, but Dickerson is also very involved in the community and plans on making a career of helping those with special needs.

“I’m thinking about starting a couple of businesses when I’m done with basketball,” Dickerson said. “One will deal with the special needs population. I would like to start an annual camp for special youths like the one that I work with during the summers now. It’s called Camp Sunshine and it’s here in Columbia. Basically what we do is we have a good time with people from five years old to 30 years old. We do things like bowling and swimming and reading books and all kinds of other things.”

As if living the life of an excellent student, superstar basketball player and upstanding member of the community wasn’t enough, Dickerson is also involved in extracurricular activities at school and is the head of the Spanish club.

“I love the Spanish language,” Dickerson said. “Our club meets all the time and we go to restaurants at lunch and try to use what we have learned. I get a little nervous sometimes, because I wonder if the fluent speakers look at us and make fun of us and how we speak. Most of the time though, they enjoy it and appreciate that we are trying to speak the language.”

She’s also the president of the spirit club.

“I think if I wasn’t a basketball player, I’d be a cheerleader,” Dickerson said with a laugh. “I’m the loudest yeller in the gym.”

Gamecock fans are hoping that Dickerson also has the loudest game in the gym when she suits up for Carolina next season, and the fact that Dickerson’s surgically-repaired knee is healing fast gives reason for optimism. Dickerson tore her ACL playing in a scrimmage in mid-November.

“The knee is great,” Dickerson said. “I just got cleared by the doctors to get fitted for a brace and start playing again. It’s been about nine months since I have played and I’m ready to get back out there. During the time that I was out, I went to all of our games and just about all the practices because I realized that this was an opportunity to take a step back and learn from just watching.”

In addition to learning from the sidelines, Dickerson has spent time with her future Gamecock teammates.

“I go and visit campus during my free time,” Dickerson said. “I talk with the players all the time, but I really have bonded a lot with Stacy Booker. She was my hostess on my recruiting visit and she really is an inspiration for me. We are about the same height and same weight, and there are a lot of similarities in our backgrounds. Seeing her go from being a reserve on the bench to being someone who is a starter and playing 38 minutes per game at the end of the year really gives me encouragement that I can do the same.

“I’ve known Lauren Simms since I was 13 years old,” Dickerson said. “We played AAU for the Georgia 76ers organization and even played on the same team within the organization for a while. Lakesha Tolliver and Melanie Johnson were also on that team, so I have known a lot of the players on this team for a while.”

Dickerson said she is excited to get started at USC, but acknowledged that she knows she has daunting challenge ahead of her on the basketball court, as the Southeastern Conference boasts a pair of Final Four teams in Tennessee and LSU and is loaded from top to bottom with some of the best talent of any league in America.

“I’m expecting a physical conference where you have to play well as a team every game, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle,” Dickerson said. “I am a hard worker and I will do everything I can to make the adjustments to be successful. It will definitely be a difference, playing with 16 and 17-year-old girls to playing with full-grown women, but I will mature and will prepare myself to be ready.”

A mindset like that is part of what makes Dickerson so special.