The first thing you notice about Sydney Colson and Sydney Carter: there are more similarities between them than just the spellings of their first names. Colson and Carter have easygoing personalities that do not coincide with their games whatsoever; Carter is the scrappy one that hits the floor and will do whatever it takes to win the ball, while Colson is the quiet leader who passes the ball and credit on to her teammates.
But off the court? Without trying, the two soon turn a professional interview into a friendly discussion about Carter’s personality, which is “bubbly…like Colbie Caillat,” Colson said.
This answer, and the subsequent discussion afterward, leads to a look from Carter — one that can only be described as a face that says: “…The heck?” It’s a mix of amusement, annoyance and sheer confusion; it’s the face that, day in and day out, Colson strives to provoke.
“I like to get that face actually because it makes me laugh,” Colson said. “If ever I feel like I need a laugh, even if she’s in a bad mood, I’ll do something just to, like, annoy her.”
Colson, a five foot eight inch senior from the Houston area, led the Aggies in assists in 2009-2010 with 129. She was one of three Texas A&M players to accumulate 100 assists in the 2009-2010 campaign.
“[Colson] is such a fun person to play with, to coach and to be with off the court,” Head Coach Gary Blair said at Big 12 Media Day. “She is just quick with the ball. She makes things happen.”
In her third year as captain, Colson is putting the finishing touches on becoming a leader, working on the balance between constructive criticism and attacking, she said. She knows that pushing her teammates in her final season as an Aggie is a must.
“Usually, I’m really positive out there on the court and I’m usually not the one to get on [my teammates], but I’m telling them this year that I can’t really be worried about their emotions,” Colson said. “You can’t be sensitive out there on the court, you know. I just really try to be a vocal leader as much as I can. It’s definitely not something I perfected but it’s something I’m constantly working on.”
Carter, Colson and the women’s basketball team stayed in College Station over the summer to work at the annual A&M basketball camp for young girls, where the two were coaches of their own teams and players.
Carter was the vocal coach while Colson wanted to get a win even if it meant her staying silent. Victory was still the target for both, but the path to it could not have been more different for the two guards.
“I don’t know, I’m just so competitive,” Carter said. “When we’re going up against other players on our team that are coaching, I’m just always yelling and everything just to make sure I don’t lose. It’s kind of like a competition thing in-between with the players being coaches.”
Colson described her style as “just go win and do whatever you have to do.” She prefers to be laid back as a coach and just wants five players to go out and be good.
That’s the goal for the 2010 season as well — go out there and be good. In 2009, the Aggies went 26-8 — their fifth-straight season of 20 or more wins — but were unable to get into the Sweet Sixteen after a second-round upset by seventh-seeded Gonzaga.
In Colson’s freshman year Texas A&M went to the Elite Eight, and she wants to finish in that rarified air again, if not higher. That isn’t the only goal for the season, however.
“We have a lot of goals for this year,” Colson said. “I’m not going to go too far into the future, but we definitely want to go to the Elite Eight this year. As far as non-conference stuff, I really want us to go undefeated non-conference. We have a tough schedule, but I think if we do that then that’ll really prepare us for the Big 12.”
Both Sydneys offer a different talent to the team. With the junior Carter, it’s her shooting. She has rotated at the point guard position for two years, but will move into the shooting guard role, which she feels is her “comfort zone,” when she wants to.
But for Colson, the quiet strength in Carter’s game lies in her steady defensive prowess.
“Whenever we had some All-American guards we were going up against, she was always holding them and doing a mighty fine job,” Colson said. “She’s definitely our top defender and she’s always going to go out there and work hard all the time. I appreciate that aspect of her game because she’s somebody that will get out there and run with me all the time and I can count on her to go hard and handle her own.”
A lot of expectations exist for the Texas A&M women’s basketball team in the 2010 season. And by the end of it, the Sydney duo wants to put the confused “…The heck?” look on every team they beat.