Syreeta Stafford

Position:
Guard
Height:
5-5
Class:
Redshirt Freshman
Hometown:
Torrance, Calif.
High School:
Narbonne

Barry on Stafford: ?If Syreeta stays healthy, she has a great chance to play quite a bit at the point guard position. She is very strong, in much better condition, and a very good defender.?

This Season: Has earned the nickname ?cannonball? from teammates and staff because of her ability to penetrate in the paint and finish very consistently. With two years in the CU system, should be the most qualified to take over the reins of the CU offense if she can take care of the basketball. A very quick player who plays stifling man-to-man defense, should climb CU?s assists and steals chart this year with her good vision and fast hands.

2001-02 (RS Freshman): After redshirting the 2000-01 season with a torn ACL, Stafford saw action in 26 of Colorado?s 34 games. Backing up and learning from one of Colorado?s all time greats in point guard Mandy Nightingale, Stafford found herself in a capable reserve position for her team. Coming off the bench in all but one game she played in, Stafford averaged 6.6 minutes and during that time managed 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assists. The first points of her career came at home against San Diego when she knocked down a three-pointer. Stafford had four points and four assists against Bowling Green during the Coors Classic and then went on to play a career high 22 minutes two weeks later against Air Force scoring a career high six points. Along with teammate Kate Fagan, Stafford was inserted in the starting lineup for the first time of her career against No. 21 Louisiana State in front of 13,000-plus in Lubbock, Texas on Dec. 29. The first freshman to play in the postseason, Stafford had her first taste of NCAA tournament action against Southern in which she played nine minutes, scoring three points and dishing out an assist.

2000-01 (Freshman): Stafford sat out the 2000-01 season while rehabilitating a torn anterior cruciate ligament she suffered her senior year of high school. Spent much of the season working with the red team on opponent scouting, as well as providing Mandy Nightingale and Caroline Koechlin with a formidable adversary in scrimmages in practice.

High School: Stafford joins a tradition-rich Colorado program from an equally rich Narbonne High School (Harbor City, Calif.) team that finished the 1999-2000 season unblemished at 34-0, as the Division I California State Champions, and the USA Today National Champion. A first-team All-Marine League pick and second-team All-Los Angeles City Section pick, Stafford averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, dished off 7.7 assists while she worked opponents over for 4.3 steals a night. The 2000 Marine League and LA City Section Champions are currently riding a 42-game winning streak that dates back to the 1998-99 season. Stafford underwent successful surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in April of 2000.

Off The Court: Syreeta Deline Stafford was born May 9, 1982 in Compton, Calif. She is the youngest of Irma's three children. Her sister, Charvelle, is a graduate of Grambling State University and her brother, Alvin, attended Cal-Berkeley. She is majoring in communication at CU. Stafford was a debate champion in high school, and lists the biggest moment of her high school career as sinking two free throws to advance to the AAU championships, which her team eventually won.