Barrett, LSU open SEC play

• By SCOTT HOTARD
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jan 11, 2009 - Page: 6C - UPDATED: 12:37 am

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

She has a knack for knowing where to be. She fights for rebounds and knocks down jumpers.

But the first thing you notice about LSU forward LaSondra Barrett isn’t in her game.

It’s in her name — her nickname, that is.

It followed her from Jackson, Miss., where Barrett starred for Murrah High and on the AAU circuit. It resonates from the LSU bench like so many defensive assignments.

“Boogie,” everyone calls her.

The nickname originated during family camping trips in Mississippi. David Barrett purchased walkie-talkies for himself and his two daughters — LaSondra and Davida, two years LaSondra’s senior.

LaSondra’s code name was “L Boogie,” after pop star Lauryn Hill of The Fugees fame. LaSondra’s basketball teammates soon caught on, dropping the “L.”

“It’s catchy,” Barrett said, “so I like it. I haven’t met too many Boogies.”

A fitting moniker considering how Barrett has begun her LSU career. With her scoring and rebounding prowess, the rookie has boogied her way into the Southeastern Conference’s freshman of the year discussion. 

Barrett ranks second on the team in scoring, with 10.6 points per game. She also ranks second in rebounds, averaging 5.6 per game.

“She has a great sense of the game,” said LSU coach Van Chancellor, whose Lady Tigers (7-5, 1-0) play Alabama (12-4, 0-1) at 2 today in their SEC home opener.

The origins of Barrett’s game, like her nickname, can be traced to her father. David Barrett, after all, is a longtime referee of Mississippi high school and junior college basketball.

During her childhood, LaSondra would often sit in the stands as her father and his crew ran the floor. Then she’d hop in the car with the refs and listen to them talk basketball the whole way home.