Women’s basketball captain Alyssa Baron has received more honors than we could possibly name. OK, we’ll name a few: she was a unanimous first team all–Ivy member, an Ivy League and Big 5 rookie of the year and the top–scoring Ivy League woman of all time. But we’re more impressed by her panda facts.
Street: Alright, so how tall are you? Alyssa Baron: 5’10”, though compared to the rest of the girls, that’s not even that tall… I’m actually in the bottom half, I’d say. When we run out for games, we run in height order, and I’m always in the front… so it’s kind of weird.
Street: What’s your favorite basketball movie? AB: “Love and Basketball.” It’s a classic.
Street: What is your greatest basketball memory? AB: Last year we had our first postseason victory in Penn history. And in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational, I made a three–pointer at the buzzer to win. That was a big moment. It ended up making SportsCenter Top 10, so I got to watch myself on TV.
Street: What would your spirit animal be? AB: A panda. Pandas are real cuddly and stuff, but then when they get angry they ‘bleat.’ They make this noise when they get angry—it sounds like a mix between a seal noise and a tiger growl. I have, like, a lot of panda stuffed animals. I have a panda watch. A panda pillow pet, which was passed down to me. A panda calendar. Yeah, I really like pandas.
Street: What’s the best panda fact you know? AB: A panda's tooth is four times the size of a human tooth.
Street: That’s terrifying. AB: It’s a big tooth.
Street: What’s your secret talent? AB: I’m really good at giving tours. My team calls me Anonymous Tour, because when we go on tours I go up on the microphone, and I give a tour of where we are. It started sophomore year at Notre Dame—and, by the way, I know nothing about Indiana. I don’t think I even named the right city. Now they make me go up at every school we’re at and give a tour.
Street: There are two kinds of people at Penn… AB: Athletes and NARPs: Non–Athletic Regular Persons.
Street: My Penn Card looks like… AB: Oh my God, I look like a baby. I’m pretty sure it’s a homecoming picture from my senior year, but I literally look like I'm twelve.
Street: If you are what you eat, what would you be? AB: Oh, man… I eat so much. Hmm… probably a banana.
Street: If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be? AB: This is going to be really random, but Harry S. Truman. He’s just my favorite president, so I would tell him he’s my favorite president. His middle name is “S” and it doesn’t stand for anything. It’s just “S.” I think that’s the main reason I like him so much.
Street: What’s your basketball show–off move? AB: I guess it would be the in–and–out, between the legs, step back three. I mean, that’s not very showoff. It sounds crazy, but it’s just two moves.
Street: Do you have any pre– or post–game superstitions? AB: Sour skittles before every game. But they’re unhealthy, so now I only have the mini–pack.
Street: Where do you see yourself in five years? AB: Hopefully playing basketball in another country, like Spain or France. As long as my body holds up! But five years is a long time for my body. We'll see.
Street: Why should people watch women’s basketball? AB: We’re better than the men!
