Whether in the classroom or on the court, many freshmen face a difficult transition from high school to college. It takes time to adjust to new surroundings.
Freshman center Alliyah Fareo from Sydney, Australia, has to make her transition to college while also learning a whole new culture.
In the Lady Tigers’ early season action, Fareo’s stats are underwhelming. The freshman is averaging less than 1 point and 1.7 rebounds per game, but LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said her biggest contribution doesn’t come from totaling large stats.
“I like her physical play right now at the five and just how hard she plays,” Caldwell said. “She does a really nice job of really trying to run the floor and put a little bit more pressure on the defense to get back in transition. She may not even get the basketball, but she’s doing those types of things that don’t necessarily show up here on the stat sheet, but I definitely keep a mental note.”
Fareo is the only center on LSU’s roster and the tallest player on the team, along with junior forward Ann Jones, at 6-foot-3-inches. Jones said she is helping Fareo make the jump to the college game.
“For any freshman coming in, it could be challenging, and coming from a whole different background is going to be challenging, but I believe Alliyah adjusts well,” Jones said. “She adjusts really well to everything that comes her way. She’s very coachable. She tries to learn everything and if she doesn’t understand, she asks questions. It’s just part of the process for her.”
The Lady Tigers run a large number of three-guard sets in place of a center for a more effective press defense, but Fareo is averaging 10.3 minutes per game.
Caldwell said she has no worries having a freshman carry a large load for LSU because she can mix up the Lady Tigers’ defense to help Fareo as she learns the college game.
“We do tend to lend support because when we have to change up our defense. We can do some things out of our five to give her time to get around,” Caldwell said. “She’ll get better, but again, she’s very active. She’s very mobile, and she brings a toughness inside as well.”
Fareo said Jones and senior forward Sheila Boykin have helped her with learning the plays, but sophomore guard and Japan-native Rina Hill has helped Fareo adapt to the United States.
“[Rina has] really helped me get through some days when I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t understand this part of this play,’ and then she kind of translates it and breaks it down for me, which helps,” Fareo said.
Fareo has her share of off-the-court adjustments to make, too. She said the humidity and size of food portions in Baton Rouge have been the hardest parts of her transition to overcome.
Fareo said she misses living near the beach, but she misses her family the most. The Lady Tigers have road games in California on Dec. 16 and 19, and Fareo’s mom is meeting her there for the winter holidays.
“Mom is coming over for Christmas,” Fareo said. “I can’t wait. It’s one thing to be FaceTiming, but it’ll be nice to see them.”