For most people, summer is a time to be outside enjoying the sun and warmth.
Yet every morning this past summer, Needham High School girls' basketball coach Kimberly Benzan arrived at the local gym only to find one of her players already there. The lone gym rat was not a freshman looking to make varsity, nor was it a senior hoping to impress college scouts. It was ex-Rocket and current Tufts senior Colleen Hart just looking to improve her game, even as she was well on her way to becoming the greatest player in program history.
"I look forward to the summer every year," Hart said. "There is no time for individual development during the season, so the offseason is the time to do that. Once you get a taste of the kind of improvement you can get, it drives you to do more."
Taking a break from practice has never been a philosophy to which Hart subscribes. She has proven time and again that the answer to the riddle "how does a 5-foot-4-inches player excel in a sport dominated by girls two feet taller than her?" is hard work and determination.
"She plays taller than what she really is," Tufts head coach Carla Berube said. "She makes you pay if you put your hands down on defense. She also takes advantage of her quickness. I don't think height makes you a better basketball player — it's all in heart."
Hart almost never stops practicing, no matter how taxing it is. In fact, there are times when Berube has to sit her down and force her to take a break.
"She comes onto campus every fall tired because she has worked so hard all summer," Berube said. "I have to get on her about taking some time off because we need her in December, January and February."
But the extra time on the court has clearly paid off. Despite there currently being only three players in the NESCAC shorter than Hart, her list of records and accolades continues to grow.
As a junior, she broke the program's career 3-pointers record and was selected as a D3hoops.com Fourth-Team All-American. This season, she was a preseason Second-Team All-American and is currently on the verge of breaking not only the career points record set by Teresa Allen (LA '89), but also the career assists mark. She needs only 18 more points and 56 more assists to lay claim to both.
Berube, who spent time as the assistant coach at Div. I Providence, says that Hart is, without a doubt, the greatest player she has ever coached.
While it may seem incredible to some that a player of Hart's size could be as successful as she is, those people clearly have never seen her. Hart is more than used to going up against the odds — she has been doing that all her life. Growing up in Needham, Mass., Hart would play basketball with her two older brothers day in and day out. As siblings often do, her brothers played rough, and Hart often found herself battered and bruised by the end of the day.
In 8th grade, Hart was already practicing with the high school team, with girls upwards of four years older than she was. As much as she could not wait to join the team, the team was equally eager to have her.
Unsurprisingly, Hart was a starter for the Rockets from her first days on campus. But it was on the AAU circuit that she got a taste for the type of talent and athleticism that existed across the country. She knew that it would take even more effort to get to that level.
"Going to AAU tournaments, I played against some very big, very athletic players," Hart said. "It was tough because you still had to find a way to play your game."
To compensate, Hart developed her now-infamous shooting style, in which her shots often seemingly defy reason. Hart can often be seen sprinting down the court only to stop and pop a three while fading away from the hoop. In fact, Hart often looks more comfortable taking a 3-pointer while falling away from the basket than she does setting and shooting one. Her ability to vary her shots has been giving NESCAC defenders headaches for years.
"She doesn't have a typical shot at all," Berube said. "Her best shots are when she's falling away and floating on to the bench. That is what makes it so impossible to read her and defend her."
But her improvisational wizardry does not end behind the arc. It is that same ability that makes her so dangerous as a point guard and as a playmaker. When a play falls apart, Hart is an expert at creating something out of nothing and getting either herself or a teammate a good look.
"A lot of times, we would draw up a play and the play would break down," Benzan said. "But Colleen would improvise and she would make it look like we just drew it up in the timeout. I would turn to the other coach and say it was all coaching, but in truth, it was all Colleen."
But above being a lethal shooter and a dynamic playmaker, Hart is a winner. In her senior year at Needham, Hart led her team to the state semifinal at the TD Banknorth Garden, the farthest the school has ever gone in the postseason. While the squad included Cerie Mosgrove — who now averages double-digit points for Div. I UMass Amherst — Hart was at the center of the run.
"In her four years, [Needham] probably had more success than they did in the history of the program," Benzan said. "And while Cerie was a terrific player also, Colleen was just so dynamic. She was really the heart and soul of the team."
Hart brought that winning mentality to Tufts, and the effects were evident almost immediately. In her first three years, the team won at least 20 games each season and qualified for the first three NCAA tournaments in program history, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2007-08.
"It's not a coincidence that our success happened when she stepped on campus," Berube said. "I think the program was headed that way, and we had some good upperclassmen that year, but we needed that point guard to come in."
As the only senior in this year's starting lineup, Hart has proven that she can take over games in order to get her team the victory. This was showcased most prominently in the Jumbos' Nov. 28 victory over Brandeis. Tufts found itself down 26-19 at the half, and Hart was only 1-for-9 from the field. But unwilling to concede defeat, Hart exploded in the second half, scoring 19 points, 11 of which came in the final four minutes.
"She rises up when the team needs her," Berube said. "It takes a special player to play 40 minutes, but while other players are tiring out, she just finds another level."
Only 18 points away, there is little doubt that the all-time record is on the team's mind. But while many great athletes might say that they do not care about breaking records, Hart is the type of person and player who actually means it. Rather than leading through brags and taunts, she has always led by example.
"She's one of those kids that never blames anyone else and always has a positive attitude," Benzan said. "You won't find a more humble person than Colleen Hart. There just aren't enough athletes like her today; she optimizes what a student athlete should be."
Hart will get her first shot at the record on Saturday against New Paltz St. If she fails to get the 18 points, she will have to wait until Jan. 2 to get another shot at it as the team takes a break for the holidays.
But whether she breaks the record on Saturday or in January, one thing is for sure: The next morning, she will be back to work.
