She was the 2005 and 2006 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, not to mention the 2005 Independent School League MVP and a two-time Boston Globe All-Scholastic with 2,358 points and 1,1,52 rebounds in her high school career. She's a player with impressive credentials that have garnered much hype and high expectations. When she enrolled at Boston College in the fall of 2006, there was much fanfare. The hype, however, was not just merely because of her talents as a basketball player, but also because of her appearance and success on the popular Fox television show American Idol. Local hoops star Ayla Brown had reached the final 13 of the competition and some at the Heights were concerned that her focus would be geared toward her singing career rather than basketball.
"There's a lot of expectations that came along with me, especially at the basketball level, and even at the American Idol level," Brown said. "Many people were curious and concerned whether I was going to be focused as a basketball player, especially after American Idol. And I wanted to almost prove [to] everyone that had any doubts in me that I was here, focused and could actually play basketball. And I mean, that's the reason I came to Boston College in the first place. It wasn't to be a singer, it was to prove something and win some titles," she said.
She quickly proved otherwise, putting together a solid freshman season, earning all-ACC freshman team honorable mention. She finished third on the team in scoring with an 8.1 points per game in 27 minutes per game. Brown, a product of the Noble & Greenough School, is a top returning scorer and will be looked to as one of the leaders on and off the court. Even though she is only a sophomore, her role on the squad has become more pronounced.
"I think there's a lot more expectations that come along with being a second year player. I think it's another whole mental barrier that a player must get over, you're not a freshman anymore," Brown said. "You're not put in situations where everything is new. Now everything is a year older, and actually, I like that feeling a lot more. I feel a lot more comfortable out on the court and I fell as though I'm doing things as more of a mature player than I did last year. So I think that's kind of a good feeling."
