Bensalem senior Amber Howard was recognized for signing a letter of intent to continue her basketball career at North Carolina A&T.
Amber Howard – North Carolina A&T (Basketball)
Major: Nursing
Final list of colleges: North Carolina A&T, Seton Hall, Iona
Reasons for choosing North Carolina A&T: “The atmosphere – the first time I visited, it felt like home. Everybody was welcoming. When I met the team, it was a good feeling. I liked the environment. I liked everything about the school and the culture and all that kind of stuff. They were my second visit I ever took, but they were my first offer. That was my first of many others, so it was new to me, and I still was exploring other schools, but I came back to A&T, and it felt right. I probably visited 15-20 schools, and I could have visited more, but it was too late to visit. The schools I was going to visit - it was at the end of my AAU season when I was going to make my decision early to commit. I committed this past August. It was a relief when I committed.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in basketball at the collegiate level? “It started becoming a goal in ninth grade. In middle school, I was just playing for fun. I wasn’t really thinking of college that far ahead, but as soon as I got that one offer, it was like - this is what’s going to happen from now on. North Carolina A&T was the first school to offer, and when (the coach) told me on the phone, I didn’t know if it was a joke or something. I didn’t really know. (The recruiting process) was a little bit of pressure, but I learned it was good pressure. It’s a blessing to have all of this, and I enjoyed it.”
Coach Steve Johnson says: “Having 20-plus schools watch your every move – how you’re playing in high school, how you’re playing in AAU, I can only imagine. She did a great job through it all, and now that she’s finally committed to NC A&T, they’ve got a great one. I could just tell how she walked through the hallway and when I see her at practice – just her smile is different. I don’t know how to explain it other than I’m super excited that she’s stress free.
“With Amber, it’s a combination of her stature, her body type and also her commitment to basketball. There’s a lot of kids out there that are born fast, born with a strong body, born being able to shoot, but
at the end of the day, if you don’t want to work hard and commit to working on your craft, you’re going to get beat by someone else, but Amber works hard. One thing she’s worked on and we’ve worked on a team -just knowing that she’s going to be the focal point of opposing defenses – what do when you draw two pairs of eyes, three pairs of eyes, four pairs of eyes and five pairs of eyes sometimes.
“Amber is definitely a three-level scorer, and she’s constantly adding things to her game. She’s working with numerous trainers, she comes to our basketball workouts, she had a wonderful AAU program in the Philly Rise and the Belles before the Rise, so she has a lot of cooks in the kitchen working with her, and she takes a little from everyone. There’s a picture of Amber with all her coaches – there are coaches from other high schools, coaches from middle school and grade school. It’s just awesome that she just constantly wants to make herself better and work hard.
“This is a dream come true for Amber. Every kid plays basketball dreaming of going to a Division 1 school, and she made her dream a reality. I can’t tell you the last time we had a Division 1 basketball commit, so I just hope that translates into a positive season. Amber is our dog, she’s obviously our top dog. Every team, everybody in the Bucks County area knows that. She knows that, so she has a lot of weight on her shoulders but also a lot of weight that’s lifted off her shoulders with this commitment.”
About Amber:
Favorite food: Hot wings
Favorite movie: Life with Eddie Murphy
Favorite artists: Rod Wave & NBA YoungBoy
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