A Story of Hope: Santa Barbara City College women's basketball standout Isabella Jensen Williams

SANTA BARBARA - "I have a strong belief in faith in the universe."

Those are the first words that come to head coach Sandrine Krul's mind when thinking about Isabella Jensen Williams.

If you've had the opportunity to watch the SBCC women's basketball team this season, chances are you've noticed its team captain at work. Despite initial notions that she might contribute to the program as more of a traditional forward and post player, in Jensen Williams' sophomore season, Krul has watched her blossom into the type of multi-positional threat every team would love to have. Not only does she possess the size, instincts and ball-handling abilities needed to play 1-through-5, but she also brings an elite IQ that's clearly discernible from the moment she steps on the hardwood.

Her basketball savviness and acumen can be attributed to an early start in developing a love for the sport.

"I've been playing since I was five years old, just in the backyard with my dad and my brother," Jensen Williams said. "I've always been a LeBron fan. I would say I try to model my game after him. I'm kind of all over the court."

For many, basketball tends to be a convenient and reliable escape; the best way to take a break from the ups-and-downs of everyday life and focus all your energy and attention on the game. For Jensen Williams though – someone who is working tirelessly to fulfill her dream of becoming a Division I basketball player – that hasn't always necessarily been the case.

"My parents split apart when I was in middle school. Just being split between two homes, it was hard," she said. "When I look back and think about the things that were going through my head, basketball was not one of them. I had much bigger things to worry about."

Alongside navigating family dynamics and just trying to be a normal kid growing up in Berkeley, Jensen Williams found herself allowing other things to take up her time and energy; aspects of life not necessarily centered around being a student-athlete.

"If I'm being honest, I was a mess. I was not focusing on school. I had bad grades," she said. "There was so much time in high school where I could've been training and perfecting basketball. If it was a Saturday afternoon and I could either play basketball or be with my friends, I was going to be with my friends."

To further complicate things, her junior year of high school coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was really easy to just do the bare minimum," she said. "It was like, okay, I have this basketball workout. If I want to go, I'll call my dad and ask him to take me, but if I don't want to go, nobody's even going to know. Before I knew it, high school was over, and it's like, 'Look what you did with that time.'"

The first time Jensen Williams came to Santa Barbara as a kid was to attend Kobe Bryant's summer basketball camp on the campus of UCSB. Without even realizing it, she was visiting the town she would later call home.

"I drove through Santa Barbara one time with a friend and I was like, 'Wait, I've been here.' Then, I saw the beach and I said, 'This is where I want to go,'" she recalled. "I knew I wanted to find a new environment away from Berkeley. I found Sandrine and sent her an email. We got on the phone and talked for an hour or two. I didn't watch any film on the team, but I knew this is where I'm going."

For Krul, the feeling that this partnership was going to work out was mutual from the outset.

"I couldn't believe it," Krul said. "Like, oh my goodness, the universe has sent me a gift and she doesn't even know it."

Jensen Williams would hit the ground running at SBCC, scoring 21 points in her Vaquero debut. Along with being one of the team's top scorers and starting in every game, she also paced SBCC in assists and steals for the year, leading to an All-WSC Honorable Mention.

Despite having just completed a successful freshman season, Jensen Williams approached her coaches in the summer to discuss a change in the way she was being utilized.

"She said, 'Coach, I'm going to be your point guard,'" Krul recalled. "I told her it's going to be a lot of work. It was up to her to prove to us that she could make it happen, but she did it. And when she said that, that's when I realized how special she was."

For the second straight summer, Jensen Williams made it her mission to be the hardest worker on the team.

"She worked every day. 5:00 a.m. beach workouts trying to get in the best shape possible," Krul said. "Everything that she has, she's had to work for. Nothing has been given to her. I can say this about five players that I've coached in 29 years – she practices what she preaches and she preaches what she practices."

It wasn't just Jensen Williams' strong relationship with her coaches that allowed her to thrive as a Vaquero, though. From top-to-bottom, her new school provided her with an environment that she could thrive in.

"Once I got here, it was like I'd been here forever. It was almost too good to be true," Jensen Williams said. "SBCC is amazing. I feel like there's an opportunity for everyone here. If you need extra support, or anything, you can find it here."

Jensen Williams didn't just get off to a great start on the court. After her first semester, she earned a 4.0 GPA, something she wasn't sure she had in her following her last tumultuous years in high school.

"It was a completely fresh start and it was the opportunity to prove to myself what I could do for myself," she said. "I remember calling my mom and telling her I feel really smart. Like, 'Wow, I just did that.'"

After her basketball days are over, Jensen Williams – who recently became a two-time All-State Academic Team honoree – now has aspirations of becoming a doctor, something her head coach has no doubt that she will accomplish.

"I think what it is is that Bells didn't have to compromise anymore," Krul said. "She didn't have to be one thing, she could be many things. In our program, she could just be herself."

Krul understands the grueling task at hand for her student-athletes. Part of the supportive environment Jensen Williams has been fortunate to be a part of at SBCC has to do with her team's attitude and culture regarding mental health.

"As a young, empowered woman, you have to find a place that allows you to make mistakes," Krul said. "We call it the 'golden nugget.' Everyone gets two per season. If you're not there mentally, if you need to miss a practice, then no questions asked, you can come back stronger the next day and it's going to be okay. We want you to be at your best, and it doesn't mean you're a bad person or a bad teammate. You're in a safe space."

With 52 starts as a Vaquero now under her belt, Jensen Williams has led SBCC back into the postseason, which begins when the Vaqueros travel to face Mt. San Jacinto this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. She enters her first SoCal Regional as a now two-time All-Conference selection, currently leading her team in points, rebounds assists and steals while ranking top-four in her conference in all four categories.

Her unshakeable self-motivation and determination to prove she can be a Division I player has yielded some remarkable performances, including last month's 37-point career-high at Cuesta and a 26-12-10 triple-double posted two weeks ago at Monterey Peninsula, both resulting in SBCC wins.

"I'm just really determined to feel what it's like to reach a goal. To be rewarded for all the work that I'm doing," she said. "I know that everything is earned. If a coach is asking for something, you have to give them what they're asking for or they won't want you, simple as that. The goal of this season is to show that I am a D-I level basketball player and that I can change a program with my leadership and mindset at the forefront."

Considering all that Jensen Williams brings to the table, Krul thinks it would be a huge mistake to not give her star sophomore a shot.

"These coaches are sleeping on her because they don't know what they're getting. She's not a 6-1 shooting guard or a 6-5 post player, but what she does is the intangibles," Krul said. "She's not going to be the one complaining about not getting playing time. She's going to be your hardest worker. She's going to work her way up and make others better. This is a person who someone has to take a chance on."

Isabella Jensen Williams was once on the brink of flunking out of high school. Now, after leading her team back into the postseason, she's on the brink of leaving her legacy at SBCC.

"There are so many people like Bells who quit in high school because they don't realize a miracle could happen. You just have to find the right people, the right program, the right support system," Krul concluded. "Her story… It's a story of hope."

(Michael Jorgensen, Santa Barbara City College Athletics)