The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

Next Level Up
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007

Britinee Yasukochi has excelled on club teams, international squads and through high school.
Now at point guard for Occidental, she is a living archetype of the caliber of players produced in local leagues.

MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
Occidental guard Britinee Yasukochi is a graduate of several Asian league teams, including Jetts and Yonsei. She’s now plying her trade at the college level.

EAGLE ROCK.–At one point in Thursday night’s game at Occidental, a Caltech player missed a free throw without so much as touching the rim. In the stands, a spiteful spectator mumbled, “Whaddaya expect, it’s Division III?”

The answer: plenty. This season, among the 11 freshmen on Oxy’s women’s team is a young player who has never settled for anything short of excellence.

Britinee Yasukochi, 18, has been playing basketball nearly as long as she’s been able to walk. Beginning with club teams such as Jetts Sailor Moon, the 5-2 guard has played in the AAU, been selected to travel with an all-star team to play in Japan and was a rock-solid starter at Bishop High School in La Jolla.

“If you can play at this level, regardless of the division, if you’re playing in college you’re pretty good,” said Britinee’s father, Donal Yasukochi, who was in attendance at Thursday’s game.

A volunteer coach himself, Donal said the Yasukochi family have long had basketball in their blood. They used to make the tedious drive up from Oceanside every weekend for a variety of reasons: mother Dorene has family in the Los Angeles area, Britinee was involved in Girls Scouts and of course, there were the games.

“I think she liked the friendships and the camaraderie, as well as the competition,” Donal said, “And that was the starting point for her.”

Oxy head coach Jaime Hoffman said Britinee’s toughness was just what the Tigers needed to fill a sore vacancy.

“We graduated our point guard last year, so there was a spot open,” Hoffman said. “Britinee doesn’t get flustered under pressure. She’s a penetrating point guard who has the added dimension of being able to finish, not just drive in and then dish off.”

Donal said that the constantly changing level of competition in the Asian leagues forced his daughter to be tough, adding that Occidental well suits a kid who came from an academically stringent high school.

“It started in Asian leagues; she got to play with players of all levels and abilities and I think that made her stronger. She’s a good kid, and here at Oxy they were looking for a guard, so it’s a good fit.”

“Well, Asian basketball is quick,” Britinee added. “The pace is fast and you can bring that here with a good deal of success.”

Yasukochi agreed that her upbringing in the Asian leagues has taught her a style of play that is becoming more prevalent in college hoops. From Natalie Nakase at UCLA and USC’s Jamie Hagiya, to Sara Yee at Columbia and Krista Arase in Bakersfield, it may only be a matter of time before an alumnus of the likes of the Jetts appears in the WNBA.

For her part, Britinee didn’t quite know what to expect when she arrived. “I wasn’t sure how many freshmen would be here; there’s a lot of talent on this team and I wasn’t sure how many minutes I’d get, but it seems to be working out okay.”

Now in midseason form, as was the case upon her arrival, she doesn’t expect to shoot much, regardless of her abilities to sink the long shot.
“We have a lot of big girls and strong players on our team, so I feel my role, though I like to finish, is to give it to someone who can take it up strong.”

Thursday was a typical game for her this season, with four points, four assists and three steals in her 20 minutes in the Tigers’ 87-55 win over Caltech.

As this reporter can attest from personal experience, academics at Occidental–often call “the Harvard of the West”–are nothing to be taken lightly. Britinee, who is leaning toward a major in kinesiology, took a grueling course load last semester, one that included chemistry and calculus.

Donal hasn’t seen Britinee’s report card yet, but he’s knows it’s tough. “Hopefully, she works that out,” he said.

Asked if she’d like to share her grades from last semester, she flashed her trademark grin and bade, “No, thank you!”

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