BOULDER, Colo. — Camp is now open for the Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team, but the players have become the coaches.
"It's definitely one of the biggest camps we've ever had," head coach JR Payne said. "We had over 300 kids here this week."
Kindyll Wetta, now in her fourth year with the program, was shocked to see the growth in this year's bunch.
"You walk into that gym in the morning when they're all dribbling and shooting in the same gym and it's like, 'oh my gosh, there are so many people here!' like, how are we going to manage that, how do we go about that?'"
The camps themselves are nothing new, but the turnout is turning heads. Between the recent success of Payne's squad and women's basketball as a whole being on top of the current news cycle, it's not surprising that more and more young girls would take interest.
"Anything surrounding women's basketball right now is elevating," Payne said. "Whether it's support or viewership or little kids coming to camp or little kids playing, which is incredible. Those of us who have been coaching a long time, it's probably one of the best things we could see."
There's just one thing Wetta wishes she didn't have to see.
"We had jersey day yesterday, as much as I hate to say it and see it, there were so many Caitlin Clark jerseys, and I was like, 'okay great!' but definitely attributed to the fact that there's a lot more awareness."
Don't sell yourself short, Wetta. The awareness of the Buffs has grown exponentially, and they're seeing that attention right there at camp.
"It reminds you of why you play the sport and who you play the sport for and you're not always getting that during the season because it's such a limited interaction with the community, but it's really great to see that," Wetta said. "There were some Jaylyn Sherrod jerseys and it's just so cool to see people who come to our games that are now coming to camp and want to be around you and want to talk to you and get your autograph and getting to know them on a more personal level is amazing."
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