How focusing on life outside of basketball made Lauren Betts even better on the court

In January, Betts spoke for the first time with ESPN about her mental health journey. Betts, her mom, former mentors, coaches and teammates shared how she struggled from the depths of depression and insecurity about her athletic abilities, to a person evidently confident in her own skin and talent. The story was published on March 20, one day before the Bruins’ first matchup of the NCAA Tournament.

“I think one of the reasons why I wanted to come out with the story is because I felt like I was finally in the right place to do so,” Betts told media ahead of UCLA’s Final Four game against UConn. “And I think that I just had done a lot of healing since then. I was, like, you know what, I just don’t feel like I have to really hide this anymore.

“I think the responses that I’ve had since then have truly just validated what I did and what I put out. And I think the amount of love and support that I’ve gotten just means a lot to me. To help young girls who, I guess, just didn’t really have anyone to look up to … I think just for me to be an outlet and to kind of validate their feelings and to know there’s someone out there who is dealing with the same thing that I am is, I think, is just really important.”

Sharing such a vulnerable story at a critical point in the season could have made things more difficult for Betts, but UCLA head coach Cori Close thinks it has had a very positive effect.

“You know that phrase, the truth, will set you free? You know, it’s hard to live. It took incredible courage to put that out there. But I feel like there’s a lightness about her that didn’t exist before,” Close told a scrum of media on Thursday. “I think she’s gotten stronger. I think she’s gotten more free. And I think she’s gotten a sort of a groundedness about who she is, that has been a work in progress.”

From the UCLA teammates that witnessed even just parts of Betts’ struggle and comeback, there is immense pride in her decision.

“I’m just super proud of Lauren and the way she emphasizes mental health and is an advocate for it, especially with student-athletes, because it is something super important,” junior guard Gabriela Jaquez told media Thursday.

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“I just think Lauren’s willingness to be open about a topic that’s not easy is inspiring to all of us,” junior point guard Kiki Rice said. “And I think we’ve all seen her grow in her confidence over these past few months. I think I’ve even seen another step in that over the past few weeks towards the end of the season.”

“Mental health before wasn’t really talked about with student athletes,” graduate forward Angela Dugalić told The Next. “It’s just it’s a touchy subject, and I think now in the time that we’re at, it’s being more talked about and brought up. And I think her story shines a really, really important light on it, and she’s done a great job. And she’s an amazing role model, too.”

Timea Gardiner and Janiah Barker, 6’3 and 6’4 respectively, are particularly proud of the representation Betts’ story provides for tall girls. Betts spoke extensively to ESPN about she hated her height growing up because it was a source of bullying and anxiety. Now, embracing her 6’7 height has helped her dominate on the court.

“I’m so happy for her,” Barker told The Next in the UCLA locker room on Thursday. “It’s such a blessing she can be who she is and be who she needs to be for other people that are that tall. And you know, also, they look up to her, so she has a chance to influence people and it’s such a blessing.”

Gardiner thinks Betts’ story is really powerful in its ability to potentially help others.

“A lot of girls, especially tall girls, if you don’t have, I feel like, a hobby, or like basketball, or, you know, an extracurricular that you can affiliate towards or feel normal in, it’s hard, and it’s hard growing up tall,” Gardiner told The Next. “And so I think that her story is going to inspire so many people, and it already has and I’m so proud of her for sharing and opening up about that.”

Betts’ openness with the team and the public has also served to educate some of her teammates who didn’t realize how important mental health could be.

“I’m extremely proud of her, because I know it takes a lot of vulnerability to do that,” junior guard Londynn Jones told The Next. “I mean, she’s taught me how important [mental health] really is. I never really was so adamant on it. Now I know how serious it is, and how it’s impacted so many people in their lives, and she’s made me aware of that.”

The work

The people around Betts have seen her game improve a lot over the years, but they witnessed a truly massive jump at the beginning of this season after Betts had taken some time to focus on her mental health.

“I think from the first day in summer workouts and preseason, I could tell what a different player she was and the different confidence she had about her,” Rice said. “We all knew the entire time the incredible player she was. But I think a lot of it was about her realizing that.”

Betts agreed that the focus on her mental health has led to her playing some of the best basketball of her career because she has started to realize the player that she really is.

“I think a lot of it has to do with not just the basketball side but the mental work that I’ve done this past season,” Betts said. “And I think just talking to [assistant] coach Shannon [LeBeauf], having those conversations about taking away all the pressure when I’m on the floor and just playing for my teammates and understanding the moment and what I have to do — I think that’s just made me the player that I am.

“I think also I have to give a lot of credit to this program and the amount of confidence that they’ve given me and all the love that they’ve showed me the past couple years,” Betts continued. “I’m super grateful to be at UCLA.”

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Jones explained how much the team pours into her and reminds her what she’s capable of and everything that she’s learned, particularly on days when she may be feeling less confident. But Betts’ work extends beyond on-the-court confidence.

“I think for [Betts it] is just accepting who she is outside of basketball, and just really like having fun and playing light, being light hearted on and off the court,” Gardiner said. “Just enjoying life and finding her identity outside of basketball.”

Dugalić expanded, “basketball is what you do, not who you are. And I think that was a big thing for Lauren, is just having an identity outside of basketball and for that not to consume her whole life and everything about her.”

Betts always tries to tell herself that she is so much more than basketball by focusing on her off-court relationships.

“I think I always talk about how I really value the relationships I have with the people around me in my close circle,” Betts said. “I’m a daughter. I’m a teammate. I’m a sister. I’m a friend. Just reminding myself that … when I go back home to my teammates and my family, that’s really what matters to me.”

The growth

Betts has grown in many ways over the past few years, both on and off the court, and her teammates were able to point to different changes they have witnessed.

“Over the past few years, she’s grown a lot, especially with not only receiving feedback, but also giving feedback,” Dugalić said. “Both were very hard for her. Receiving the feedback was just like, she already is so hard on herself, so it’s hard for her to sometimes hear other people say it. And she’s gotten a lot better at it.

“But also giving feedback was actually extremely hard for her because she didn’t want to piss other people off, which speaks to her, because she doesn’t want to offend anybody. But at the end of the day, we need to do a job and she understands that, and nobody takes it personal, especially when it comes from Lauren.”

Gardiner has seen this particularly translate in Betts’ leadership on the court.

“I think that she’s gotten more comfortable with saying the hard things, especially with high-stakes games,” Gardiner said. “I would say definitely this latter part of the season, she’s been more vocal and just holding everybody accountable and vice versa. And I mean, we’ve held her accountable. She’s been able to accept that. Sometimes it’s hard in the moment, we’re all yelling at each other. But I think that that’s what makes her so great.”

Barker has known Betts for much longer than the one season the Texas A&M transfer has played at UCLA. The two won gold together at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for the USA Basketball Women’s U-16 National Team.

“Her personality has definitely grown so much,” Barker said. “You can definitely just see her be okay with her being herself and being comfortable with her and her own body. Definitely at a younger age she didn’t like her height, she she didn’t like talking about that. But now she’s just so confident in who she is. … She’s so beautiful, she’s gorgeous, she’s tall, a model. She’s Lauren Betts.”

All of the growth does not happen without Betts’ own determination and willingness.

“I’ve seen so much growth in her just over the past two years, and I think it just speaks to her and her character, and her growth, and how determined she is to just grow as a person,” Dugalić said.

There is no question that Betts is the centerpiece of this UCLA Bruins team and her ability to play confidently is crucial to the team’s success. At the same time, the whole team needs to have that confidence and healthy mindset for success in the Final Four.

“Her performance doesn’t dictate whether we win or lose. It’s team performance at the end of the day and I think that makes her load a little bit lighter,” Dugalić said. “We win as a team. We lose as a team. We go in with the same confidence, everybody has the same confidence. I think that that’s the mindset that we have.”

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