It’s Cree! A lot of you may not know me yet, but that will all soon change here in a few moments. It’s only right that I kick off my first blog by letting you know a little bit about myself, especially if you’re planning to check in here regularly throughout the season. First and foremost, my name is Cree Hammond (also known as “H-town” around here) and I’m from Houston, Texas – that’s 1,180 miles from Milwaukee to be exact. Many people ask, “Why Milwaukee?” and the answer is very simple. I want to take on the mission of building our team into a championship caliber program. In the world of college basketball, scholarships are hard to come by, which is why being here at Milwaukee is a true blessing in and of itself. After a long recruiting process by a number of D-1 programs, UWM topped the list! My gut told me this was the place to be and I have been proven right!
Okay, BACK TO THE TOPIC! I’d like to think of myself as very liberated and very different. I love shopping, sushi, going to dinner dates alone, math, cracking jokes, writing, playing my keyboard and listening to music. As a matter of fact, believe it or not, my DREAM career is to be the world’s greatest female disc jockey. But, for now, I have chosen to take a path toward a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Besides my two brothers and two sisters, I am my mother’s only child and we’ve been two peas in a pod my entire life. My mother, Helon Hammond, is one of the greatest women I know. As a single mother, she has sacrificed for me and supported me in whatever I’ve decided to do, and for that I am so grateful. As the saying goes, “there is no love like a mother’s love”, and I can definitely vouch for that! I’m a mommy’s girl through and through. For example, on my first day of college here at UWM, she called me on FaceTime. I will never forget how the moment we saw each other on the screen her eyes filled with tears - I missed her and she missed me! After all, we are all we have. That separation from her has probably been the most difficult aspect of my transition to college life here at Milwaukee. (Although the looming experience of my first REAL winter here in Wisconsin may be a close second!)
Back in January, I experienced one of the toughest and most challenging times of my basketball life when I suffered a torn ACL and lateral meniscus. (Yikes!) No matter how common ACL tears may be in this sport, in my opinion, they remain every player’s worst fear and now I had to face it head on. So, I spent my Valentine’s Day in an operating room. (Exciting right?) While other girls spent their day eating assorted chocolates and heart-shaped candy, I was under the knife and steady hand of Dr. Walter Lowe, who also serves as the head team physician for the NFL’s Houston Texans and NBA’s Houston Rockets. Now, months later, I look back and realize how the entire ordeal truly showed me just how much I love this game of basketball. When you go from working out multiple times per day to having to relearn how to walk on both legs, it would be an understatement to say it’s a wakeup call. Now to the good news! I’m happy to say that I’ve been given the ‘OK’ by Dr. Lowe to resume full basketball activities, but I realize I still have a ways to go when it comes to strengthening the new muscles around my knee. Lately, I’ll be honest with you, the practices and strength and conditioning sessions have been very difficult. Imagine walking around with the feeling of a dead leg, because that’s exactly how I feel when the muscles become fatigued. However, I know that I must push myself beyond my comfort zone and, if I do, it will all pay off in the end.
Well then, I hope I’ve given you a little more of an idea as to who I am, where I come from, and why I’m here. Now, the next time we talk, we won’t be strangers anymore! I’ll be posting here at Cree’s Corner throughout the season, so check back soon because you won’t want to miss the inside scoop on our team!
GO PANTHERS!
- Cree
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