She has it--all the talent and the brains. Blanche Alverson, junior guard and forward on the Auburn's women's basketball team, has achieved success on and off the court.
The 6-foot-3-inch athlete, originally from Andalusia, started playing basketball when she was 4 years old with her older brother William.
She became involved with a recreational league when she was 6. At the young age of 8, she was already playing on a traveling team.
By the time she was in seventh grade, college coaches already had an eye on Alverson.
"Growing up, that was always a goal of mine to play in college," Alverson said.
After excelling in basketball at Buford High School in Georgia, she decided to continue her career by playing at Auburn.
She is a fourth-generation Auburn student and has been an Auburn fan her entire life.
"All the places I visited, everywhere I went, there was something that reminded me of Auburn," Alverson said. "So that's how I knew where I wanted to go. I love it."
Alverson's teammates love having her here as well.
"Blanche is our jukebox," said Morgan Jennings, senior guard. "You press play, and she'll just sing any song and get us going on the back of the bus. The genre doesn't even matter: rap, R&B, country, Justin Bieber in particular."
The team is very close and members enjoy hanging out together, Alverson said.
"She's goofy and sarcastic," said Jassany Williams, sophomore forward. "She's smart on and off the court."
This season, Alverson was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV Women's Basketball team.
She is a junior in pre-med with a 3.62 grade-point average.
In addition to being named to the Capital One academic team, Alverson was the first Auburn Tiger for the 2010-2011 women's basketball season to be named SEC Player of the Week, which she said is one of her greatest accomplishments on the court.
Alverson is a part of numerous honor societies as well as a sorority on campus.
"I just enjoy being here with everybody," Alverson said. "Auburn's a unique place, because I get to be in a sorority, and I get to be on the athletic side of things. I get to be in kind of all different kind of realms in the school."
As for next season, Alverson said the team had a few weeks off and has been working out and conditioning since.
"As a team, I know we just want to improve, and you know SEC Championship is definitely the big thing for us," Alverson said.
The women's basketball team finished the 2010-2011 season with a 16-16 record.
Alverson said she has been working on getting stronger and working out since last season to prepare herself for the upcoming season.
"I want to be the best I can be," Alverson said. "I want to improve every year and hopefully, maybe be recognized for that in some way throughout this year."
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