PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Indiana it is for Colvin ...Coeur d'Alene High point guard Brookeslee Colvin, with 35 Division I offers, heading to Bloomington

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

It was a shot that Indiana women’s basketball recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Colsten Thomas wasn’t sure he could take.

But after watching rising senior Brookeslee Colvin — a 5-foot-8 point guard at Coeur d'Alene High that can shoot it from anywhere — Thomas approached Viking girls basketball coach Stacy Boyd after a Vikings game at the Nike Tournament of Champions last December.

Boyd was listening.

“After the game, Colsten came up to me and said, ‘she can really shoot it,'” Boyd said. “'We really need a point guard, and I wish we could get her. But there’s no way she’d come to Indiana.'”

As it turned out …

“I told him she’d go anywhere,” Boyd said. “To me, the more opportunity the better and they came in late and it was the first time they’d made contact. He followed me out of the gym and asked if I minded if he kept in contact with me.”

On Tuesday, Colvin, who had 35 Division I offers, verbally committed to Indiana to join the program for the 2027-28 season.

“To be in front of those coaches in Arizona last December, and him expressing an interest in me, it was a really cool opportunity,” Colvin said. “I’d watched them play growing up and being in one of the biggest conferences in the country (Big Ten), it was an interest for me for sure.”

Michigan, California and North Carolina were also among Colvin’s final four schools.

“I knew that was the place for me when I got to campus,” said Colvin, who made her official visit in June. It’s a great college town. On the visit, I got to meet all my teammates and coaches. And I could tell they were genuine people. It was a great experience.”

Indiana sent its entire coaching staff to a summer tournament back East as Colvin played on the Under Armour circuit.

“I just felt the love and support then,” Colvin said. “They were really supporting me, and it was a cool feeling to get to see all of them.”

Colvin is ranked 24th on the ESPN SportsCenter NEXT 100 list. Gonzaga, Washington State and Eastern Washington were among the local schools that offered Colvin.

“It’s been a long process,” Colvin said. “It started in seventh grade really. I’m just grateful to go through the process and be able to build the relationships with the coaches that I have. I’m so relieved to have made my decision to go to Indiana.”

The early signing period for NCAA Division I basketball is Nov. 11-19.

Colvin added that she didn’t have a specific timeline to announce her decision, but wanted to do it when it felt right.

“My family had a lot of conversations about it,” Colvin said. “I really thought it out and was precise on where I wanted to go. I’m really thankful to have a great support decision to help me make that decision."

Colvin was named Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year last season after averaging 30.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 4.7 assists per game en route to becoming the career scoring leader at Coeur d’Alene with 1,521 points. She was also named the 6A Inland Empire League Player of the Year for a second time.

“After we got done with visits in July, I just started to focus on the decision and knew when I was finished with all my visits, Indiana was the place for me,” Colvin said. “It’s nice to be able to be done with all that and enjoy my senior year.”

Boyd added he knew Colvin was close to a decision last week during an open gym at the school.

“They were really super protective of the information, but I knew she knew where she was going without her telling me,” Boyd said. “I’d never seen her so happy, but something was different and it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulder.”

Under head coach Teri Moren, entering her 12th season, Indiana qualified for six straight NCAA tournaments, including an Elite 8 appearance in 2021, before finishing 18-14 last season and missing the tourney.

“I’m excited to go there and play,” Colvin said. “It’s a really historic arena (Assembly Hall) and Indiana is in the top five in attendance in the country. I’m really excited to play in that atmosphere as well.”

According to CollegeXPress, Indiana averaged 10,828 fans, fourth in the nation during the 2024-25 season

“I’m just super proud of her,” Boyd said. “Coeur d’Alene is going to have some good players, but she’s going to be remembered for a long time. She told me straight up she wanted to go to Indiana, but still wanted to make sure and went to TCU, Michigan and UCLA (which, along with Cal, were her other official visits) and wanted to close that chapter. At that time, she knew it was the right decision. It’s amazing to me that Colsten told me he didn’t think she’d be interested because she’s got all these big schools coming after her. I told him, ‘she'll go anywhere and look where she is now.’”