She wouldn’t be as hard pressed to spot someone dancing on her campus, though, as folks are indeed excited about Baylor’s greatest athletic school year to date.

It’s been a well balanced combination of team versus individual talent at Baylor this year, so much so that if a swarm of sports journalists were to flood Waco, distinguishing their target would be taxing.

They might be seeking junior quarterback Robert Griffin III, who captured the coveted Heisman trophy and made the football Bears relevant on a national level. It could, as well, be Perry Jones III, who as a sophomore is leading the Bears basketball squad into national championship contention. And certainly, the journalists might be in search of Griner, whose Lady Bears basketball team is currently ranked No.1 in the nation.    

Not much separates these scholar-athletes. Each of them was star-destined upon arriving on campus and thus far, has lived up to expectations. Assuredly, all will be lottery picks and even challenge to be selected No.1 overall in their respective sports. And in all likelihood, they will each one day have their jersey numbers don the rafters, adored by the Baylor faithful.

But as much as they share in achievements and common goals, what Griner has a chance to accomplish sets her apart from her classmates. In fact, it probably sets her apart from most. It goes beyond the collegiate realm, and that says wonders, because by no means is there anything paltry about Griner’s present.  

Her team right now is 22-0 and as the top-ranked squad in the country, is the favorite to capture the national championship. Special as it would be, Baylor fans have some familiarity in how to celebrate. It was just seven years ago when Sophia Young led the Lady Bears to a national title, capturing the crown over Michigan State University.

Young was a lottery pick herself and now plays for the San Antonio Stars. So no, Griner’s legacy won’t be defined by whether or not she cuts down the nets this year, garners national player of the year honors, or flies off the podium as the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft.

The Houston native has a much loftier standard at this juncture in her career: hijack the WNBA and have an entire era defined by her.

If the task sounds daunting, that’s because it is.

As it stands, the WNBA is a guards’ league. This is no more validated than through the league’s crowning of its greatest 15 players of all-time from the first era. The quick and tough point guards are present, as in Dawn Staley and Sue Bird. The flashy scoring guards are well represented, with Cynthia Cooper, Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tameka Catchings standing accounted for.

What’s absent from this adorned group is a true big. And no, Lisa Leslie, Yolanda Griffith, Lauren Jackson, and Tina Thompson don’t apply. While each is surely a Hall of Famer, the only real center among this group is Griffith, who at 6-3, dominated the boards during her career and did most of her scoring damage around the basket.   

But as talented as they were and as celebrated as Leslie was during her playing career, none dominated in a fashion that altered the reality of women’s basketball being monopolized by guard play. This was true prior to the Great 15, when Teresa Edwards and Cheryl Miller were the standard. It’s now the same in post Great 15 existence, where Maya Moore, Candace Parker, and Angel McCoughtry pace the new generation.

Griner perhaps could alter this. Yes, if one player can combat an entire culture, it’s Griner. That’s a tall task, even for a tower like the Baylor All-American.  

At a legitimate 6-8, the junior possesses the size that looms over most post players. What’s more dangerous is that she plays at her height and beyond it. And what’s even more threatening is that Griner is a superb athlete. No, Griner’s not the player looking for space in the open court to go airborne. She can dunk from the post and in traffic, with either one hand or two, all with relative ease.  

Dunking, though, might be passé for Griner. When the Houston native was a star player at Nimitz High School, she entered the sports pop culture via Youtube, where her above the rim antics were vastly celebrated. But as a freshman at Baylor, while pundits were waiting simply to see Griner jam one, they got introduced to something more.

Instantly, Griner was a force on offense. She pumped in 18.4 points per game and shot 50 percent from the field, starting in all 35 games in which she appeared. Defensively, she was a pure nightmare, blocking an NCAA season record 223 shots, altering 114 more. Her most modest production came at the free throw line, where Griner shot just 68 percent, and in rebounding, where she grabbed an effective but less than stellar 8.4 boards per contest.    

Modesty withstanding, most coaches would be satisfied with those numbers coming from a senior, much less a freshman competing in the Big 12, one of the best top-to-bottom conferences  in women’s NCAA competition. But Griner’s ceiling, unfortunately for opposing teams, present and future, doesn’t call for modest.

And so she came back as a sophomore, even more developed. Her offensive game evolved, to the tune where she upped her scoring average to 23 points per game, connecting on 54 percent of her attempts. The strategy to put the center on the free throw line hit a snag as well, as Griner improved to become a 77 percent marksman from the charity strike. She continued to be a force on defense, blocking 170 shots even with teams attempting fewer shots in the paint against her.  

This season, Griner continues to be consistent. And remarkably, she’s maintained her steady elevation. She’s pumping in 22.9 points, shooting an astounding 62 percent from the field. Moreover, she’s good on 78 percent of her attempts from the free throw line and is averaging a career best 9.4 rebounds per contest. 

Numbers aside, Griner has few weaknesses. In fact, her offensive game greatly mirrors NBA elite big man Pau Gasol. She can score over either shoulder with a potent jump hook, and is fluidly sound with both right and left hands around the basket. Equally, she has an array of initial moves to get free in the post, and when those break down, Griner has a soft touch from midrange that she easily shoots over most defenders.

Though her offensive skill set is polished, Griner is by no means a finesse player. The junior doesn’t shy away from contact, and even with a lean frame, doesn’t allow herself to be bullied by opponents hoping to contain her with physical play. In fact, Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle found this out last March, after Griner punched the Lady Red Raider for attempting to throw her to the ground. Griner was ejected and served a two-game suspension.

That, thus far, has proven to be the best way to contend with Brittney Griner: have her seated on the bench in street clothes. For in the games that matter the most, Griner plays at her best. She led Baylor to the Final Four last year, blocking an NCAA Women’s Tournament record 35 shots. This year against Tennessee, she poured in 26 points, 17 in the second half, and anchored the defense with seven blocks.

In a more touted matchup later against Connecticut, Griner was no less dominant. She tallied 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked nine shots, doled out five assists, and secured four steals. After that game, Lady Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, was deflated.

“The obvious answer is she’s just a lot bigger than any kid that she’s going to be playing against,” he said. “She’s developed a little bit of an aggressiveness and a few more ways to score than she’s had in the past and that’s made it really difficult to defend her.”

Nothing on the horizon offers reason to think much will happen to derail this train. Griner’s prospects have been increasingly expanding with every outing. Her level of play and intensity has yet to diminish, and visually, one can see a fierce competitiveness in her that lives in only a remote few.

Soon, Griner will be swimming in a much wider and deeper body of water in that of the WNBA. She won’t have much company at that point, either. The Baylor Lady Bear has a chance to do for that league what Wilt Chamberlein and Shaquille O’Neal did for the NBA. No, she won’t erase the outstanding guard play that will continue to be the heartbeat of the WNBA; what she will do is make every general manager and coach have to build their team to contend with her.

Perhaps they already are.