From Minico to the Mountain West Conference: CJ Latta’s growth in her freshman season at Utah State
BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A season ago, CJ Latta was the go-to player for the Minico Spartans, a leader on both ends of the floor.
Fast forward a year, and she’s taking on a new challenge in her first season at Utah State.
Fresh off a standout high school career, CJ Latta has taken on the challenge of division one basketball with Utah State.
In her debut season, the freshman guard has refined her game and developed a new level of mental toughness that has become key to her success.
“It’s been awesome. It has been a lot of learning as a freshman coming in, but I’ve had a lot of fun, and it’s been pretty good,” Latta told KMVT. “Mentally, it was tough early in the season. The ball wasn’t going through the rim for me because you have to get your shot off faster at college, so it was tough at first, but I’ve had a lot of help to get through this. Family, coaches, teammates, they’ve made it pretty easy.”
Latta and the Aggies (4-26, 3-15) wrapped up the regular season on March 4, falling to Boise State 72-59.
She’s gotten the start in 25 games and averages 8.8 points a contest. Latta had a season-high 20 points against Nevada on March 1st.
Latta was also named Mountain West Freshman of the Week in December after a 19-point outing against Colorado State.
Defense and physicality have been her biggest learning curves, and she’s made significant strides as the season progressed.
“I really wanted to see my defense grow, that’s what everyone’s been nagging me on about too, and you know I’ve grown, but there’s still room for growth of course. That’s been my biggest improvement,” Latta said. “Also, the level of physicality here is way different than high school, so I’ve had to adapt to that, and I think I’ve been decent with that as well.”
Latta was a 2,000-point scorer and the 4A Player of the Year for the Minico Spartans.
Now that the regular season is behind her, Latta and the Aggies are shifting their focus to the Mountain West Conference tournament, a stage where every minute counts.
“I think the most important thing is to play our basketball,” Latta said. “We play really well when we’re fast. You know, we play really well when we’re fast, you know, so if we keep pushing that pace and get back in transition defense, I think we’ll be good to go.”
A season of growth, and a freshman ready to take the next big step.
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