Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Generally, little is said about these basketball players who leave the province to practice the sport they love south of the border. A look at the career of one of them, who has just spent five years on the American circuit.
When talking with The Press, Julie Brosseau was still grieving the elimination of her team, the Kansas Jayhawks, at the hands of the Stanford University Cardinal in the second round of March Madness, the national championship. Which also meant the end of his NCAA Division 1 career.
“It’s disappointing,” she admits. […] But I think this team will win the national. »
A fruit of Collège Montmorency, Julie Brosseau would never have even thought that she would one day participate in March Madness. It all really started in 2016, at the end of her college years, when she was ranked 4and player in Canada by the Crown Scout Magazine.
If the native of Repentigny herself did not understand “not too much” what that meant at the time and that she did not really care about it, she is aware that this is partly what allowed her to get an offer from an American university. Maine’s.
“The head coach came to visit me twice in Montreal, the assistant coach came to see me play too. They were really involved in my process,” she says.
“It was all new to me,” she continues.
In my team, no one had necessarily been there, in my family either. I just embarked on the adventure. It was my only official offer, so I was sure to take it.
Julie Brusheau
Maine, Utah, Kansas
In her first season on the American circuit, Julie Brosseau recorded an average of 6.8 points per game and shot 33.7% of her three points, her strength.
“I remember my coach at Collège Montmorency was trying to prepare his players for American universities,” she says. […] I kinda knew that I had to be at my best all the time in practice. »
Of course, whoever says United States says English. “There was a big barrier. I didn’t speak much English. I understood him a little. It took me a while to make the transition. »
In his second season with the University of Maine, in 2017-2018, Brosseau had the opportunity to participate in March Madness for the first time. Her team lost in the first round to the University of Texas, but it didn’t take long for the Quebecer to set herself a new goal: to return there.
PHOTO TONY AVELAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Julie Brosseau (20)
“It was after that game that I realized that’s really what I wanted, that I wanted to go play against stronger players, stronger conferences, to have more media attention. »
She therefore made the decision to join two of her former teammates from Collège Montmorency with the Utah Utes, in the Pac-12 conference. After a year like red shirt – a campaign without games in order to win another year at university – Julie Brosseau played a season in Utah. Then, she transferred to the Kansas Jayhawks for her last two years of college.
I think I took a lot of experience from each team, which kind of shaped the player I am today.
Julie Brusheau
This season, she has played an average of 16.2 minutes per game, while her team took the 5and rank of the Big 12 conference. The Quebecer has a record of 5.5 points, 1.5 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game. She also achieved her best success percentage on her three-point shots: 40.6%. At the end of January, she entered her 1000and dot and sound 200and three-point basket.
“It’s something I’m proud of,” she says.
“To be honest, I’m satisfied with my season,” she says. I accomplished some big goals that I always wanted to accomplish, which was to go back to March Madness and win more than one game. It happened this season. »
The plan
Julie Brosseau is finishing her MBA this year. But the jacket and the files are not for now.
“I want to keep playing basketball professionally,” she says without hesitation when asked what’s next for her.
“The next step is to hire an agent who will help me organize for my next opportunities and options. »
If all goes well, she will therefore cross the Atlantic Ocean in a few months.
“Why not continue to travel and discover other places while doing what I love? »
Said like that, it makes a lot of sense.