Audrey Roden is a 5 feet 9 nine inches tall guard from West Linn, Ore. Just as a freshman she is averaging a team high 13.3 points and is shooting an elite 45 percent from the three point line through three games. Roden played basketball at West Linn high school, and now she is the sixth man for the Nevada Wolf Pack. 

The Nevada Sagebrush was able to sit down and talk to Roden about herself and the young season. 

Q: What are your thoughts on how the season has been going so far?

A: I think our season didn’t start out how we wanted it to, but after our first two losses we really came together as a team. We decided it’s time to change things, we can’t have a losing season so we came together as a team and fixed what we needed to fix. We are playing a lot better together so things should be going up. 

Q: How does it feel to have such a big role on the team, for example being one of the main scoring options, as a freshman? Is there any added pressure?

A: Honestly, it’s going to get a lot harder because people are starting to see what I can do, so scouting is going to get a lot tougher. I came in here knowing that I could be one of these players from the start, so having coach Levens give me the opportunity, because she also believes in me, is what really means a lot to me. She recruited me to come here and be a scorer and gave me an opportunity to do that from day one. It just means a lot to me that she believes in me.

Q: You received offers from Grand Canyon, UC Santa Barbara, Montana, Gonzaga, and Texas Tech. Why did you choose Nevada over those schools?

A: Honestly, I was the first kid they offered in our class, and so I felt like the coaching staff really wanted me here and they really believed that I could be a difference maker in the program. First off, I actually had a lot better relationship with them,  so it was a combination of how they believed in me and the relationship I had with them that set it apart. Also they had a football team, that was really important to me. I was going between here and UC Santa Barbara for my top two and we had a football team and they didn’t. I wanted to have a really good school community and it’s also close enough to home but far away enough at the same time.

Q: You played AAU and had a great career at West Linn high school, so when did you first realize you had a passion for basketball?

A: Probably like seventh grade or even before. I just always loved playing basketball—well that’s not true. … I was a very geeky kid and I didn’t like sports at all, so my dad made me choose a sport just so I would be active. I chose basketball. After that I loved it, after that I couldn’t put a ball down. I always wanted to be going shooting, working out and just going to the gym. That was what my dad and I did for fun. I think that from a really young age, I didn’t know I could play Division I but I knew I wanted to.

Q: When did you realize you had a chance to play college ball? 

A: Seventh grade, I would say. We had one of the Oregon assistant coaches come into our practice, and everyone was like, ‘who is the best shooter here.’ Everyone looked at me, and I was like, woah. That was eye opening. 

Q: In what two ways do you think you impact the team the most?

A: I think that number one is that I come off the bench with such a good attitude and good spark of energy that really gets the next group going. I prevent a fall off from the starters. I think also I bring a lot of joy and fun in the locker room. I’m always dancing, always having a good time trying to get people hype for the game and just keeping people’s energy and spirits up, I believe.

Q: What is one area of your game you think you need to improve?

A: Defense. I need to just lock up sometimes, thinking about it too much. I know that it will come. In high school and in club, you never really had to scout people like that and really know their tendencies and everything like you do in college. It’s only been three games, it’ll come. 

Q: You had four and five rebounds in your last couple games and you are near to leading the team in rebounds most games. Is this something you put emphasis on in your game?

A: Yeah. When I was getting recruited I wasn’t getting the looks I wanted, so I had a talk with my coach. She was like, ‘I can tell you right now if you’re a guard that can rebound or a guard that can shoot, you will go somewhere.’ I was like, alright, I can’t really control if the ball goes in or not, but you can control if you go get rebounds. It probably started sophomore year. I really made that a huge emphasis every game, every practice: go get rebounds. Just go crash, run towards the basket, and a lot of the times it will fall into your lap. 

Q: How does it feel to be named Mountain West freshman of the week?

A: I was really surprised when I found that out, but it’s pretty cool. I totally forgot about this award. If I just keep doing what I do consistently and working really hard, like it got me there without even realizing it. 

Q: What are some of your interests outside of sports?

A: Oh God. … I love getting my nails done. I like to hangout with my best friend. Her and I just do everything together, and anything we do together is always fun. 

Q: What is your favorite music genre and top three artists?

A: Probably R&B, not like the new stuff and not like the 90s R&B. Probably, Bryson Tiller, Summer Walker and H.E.R. 

Q: What are your top three movie genres?

A: I like scary movies and Christmas movies. I like the sci-fi  mess-with-your-head ones. Those are cool. 

Q: Why is Dennis Rodman your sports hero?

A: I feel like he’s just such a badass. I feel like if you could play like him, then you should be really respected because you work so hard and you give everything every play. No one can take you off the floor if you play like that, because you bring so much energy and create so much for your team. It doesn’t really matter if someone likes you or not if you’re playing like that, because chances are they don’t … He is very underrated in what he did. 

Q: What is your ultimate goal for yourself this season?

A: I want to win Freshman of The Year, I think I can do it. I think that I’m going to need the support of my teammates, the support of my coaches, and the support of our fan base. I think I can do it and I really hope we can get there.

Q: What is your ultimate goal for the team?

A: I want to win a Mountain West conference championship. I think getting to the tournament, having a chance to play in the NCAA tournament would be really cool. 

Audrey Roden is having an impressive start to her freshman season. She looks to be a young star in the making who will continue to improve and hopefully have a successful Wolf Pack career.

Anthony Miranda can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush