Jeanette Pohlen

Classroom

Pohlen maintains a 3.08 GPA in communication and is on track to graduate in 2011. She earned Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention in 2009.

Character

Pohlen arguably possesses the best work ethic on the Stanford women’s basketball team. She has been one of the team’s leaders in minutes played for the past two seasons, and is constantly working on her game, whether by putting in the extra workout time in the weight room or by shooting hoops in the gym outside of normal practice times. In her three years on the team, Pohlen has played both guard positions (point and shooting guard), having been pressed into point-guard duties many times over the past two years because of injuries to other players. Pohlen’s embrace of these challenges and her hard-nosed play and work ethic have endeared her to teammates, coaches and fans alike. Her constant hustle and endless motor have made her a Cardinal fan favorite. Never was Pohlen’s work ethic and hustle more apparent, nor did it ever pay off so much as at the 2010 Sacramento Regional Final against Xavier. With 4.4 seconds left in a tie game and Stanford inbounding the ball from underneath its own hoop, Pohlen took the inbounds pass and sprinted through the Xavier defense, getting her layup off with just one-tenth of a second remaining. Thanks to Pohlen’s heroics, Stanford went on to its third straight Final Four with a 55-53 victory.

Community

Among the community efforts Pohlen has been a part of, she and her teammates have visited patients and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House throughout the past year, in addition to making visits to local elementary and middle schools to talk to students about the importance of education, exercise, nutrition and self-esteem. Pohlen has also participated in basketball clinics for young girls through Bay Area Women in Sports Initiative (BAWSI) and during the holiday season, she and her teammates have helped provide gifts, decorations and other helpful items for families in need through Adopt-A-Family.

Competition

After her junior season, Pohlen was honored as a first-team All-Pac-10 selection. That followed a second-team all-league selection the previous year. She is also currently 10th on Stanford’s career three-pointers made list with 172, and is on pace to rise as high as second by the end of her senior season. Also, with 389 career assists entering this season, Pohlen is on pace to crack the top-10 career list. In the summer of 2009 Pohlen played on the United States World University Games team that won a gold medal in Serbia.