Dec. 7, 2015
By David Dawson | Subscribe to Commodore Nation
The unique layout of Memorial Gym  with its raised floor and play-house design  can sometimes be a tough adjustment for newcomers to the Vanderbilt basketball program.
But for Minta Spears, it’s the perfect fit.
In her first season at Vanderbilt, Spears is in her element as she takes the floor at the historic venue, which offers a combination of her two favorite places  the basketball court and the stage.
Spears, who enrolled in graduate school at Vanderbilt this summer after playing two seasons at Texas Tech, has a long history of playing to the crowd. In addition to being a basketball star, she also excelled in the fine arts during her high school days in Bullard, Texas, and still feels a special connection to that side of her personality.
“I definitely wasn’t your stereotypical athlete in high school,” said Spears with a smile. “I did theater, speech and debate  so I guess you could label me as a nerd.”
Spears also branched out beyond basketball during the past two summers, making two mission trips to Uganda to share her Christian faith with the villagers.
“My parents always believed we should be well-rounded,” Spears said. “And even though playing college basketball has been my dream since I was 10 years old, my parents wanted me to keep in mind that anything can happen at any time — in terms of an injury or whatever. So I wanted to have a back-up plan ready. I have always felt it was important to make good grades and work hard in the classroom.”
Spears’ connection to the fine arts runs deep. Her mom teaches theater and debate at Bullard High, and Minta thrived in both departments, eventually competing in tournaments on the regional and state levels.
“It was cool to get to be my mom’s student,” Spears said. “And it was neat to be able to be on the competition side of things in the fine arts realm, and to get to experience that with my mom.”
In addition to being a public speaker, actress, missionary, student and basketball player, Spears also ran cross country in high school. And yes, she was outstanding at that, too. So where did she find the time to do it all? Or more importantly, where did she find the strength? Spears said the answer to that question is simple.
“My favorite Bible verse is  and this is a reflection of how I was raised  Colossians 3:23, which says, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord, not for man,'” she said. “And that’s always been my motto, whether it’s theater or debate or basketball or cross country.
“Anything I did, I was going to try to be the best at it that I could possibly be.”
Away from the bright lights of the stage, Spears has enjoyed enormous success under the spotlights of various basketball arenas. She was a Parade All-American and a four-time District MVP during her prep career at Bullard, and then became an impact performer in the Big 12 during her time at Texas Tech.
Spears played in 62 games, including making 51 starts, over the past two seasons in Lubbock. After being sidelined by an injury her first season and taking a medical redshirt, she made a full recovery, averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Red Raiders the past two seasons and earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2013-14.
Now, she’s bringing her skills to Vanderbilt, where she has two years of eligibility remaining. As a graduate student, she is able to play this season for the Commodores without having to sit out a year. Her new teammates  as well as the Vanderbilt coaching staff  are expecting Spears to make immediate contributions. So far she has, leading the team with five assists per game through the first nine contests.
“Minta is a great player, and her basketball IQ is ridiculous. It’s sky high,” said junior Marqu’es Webb. “She knows what she can do and when she does it, she does it well. She’s a great teammate and I’m looking forward to playing with her.”
Spears said she has felt comfortable at Vanderbilt since her first day, and said she has felt at home in both the classroom and the locker room.
“Vanderbilt is obviously smaller than Texas Tech, in terms of both the student body and the actual size of the campus. But I went to a small high school, so it’s kind of nice,” said Spears. “I was really nervous at first because I was in a unique situation  I was new to the team, but I wasn’t a freshman. In fact, I am the oldest person on the team. So I was interested in seeing how that whole dynamic was going to play out. But the team has just been awesome from the beginning. … I feel like I have a relationship, and a friendship, with everyone on the team. And that’s huge.”
At the ripe old age of 21, Spears is sometimes viewed as the grey-haired lady of the team. But she said she doesn’t mind getting some kidding from the whipper-snappers.
“They give me a hard-time about being the oldest,” said Spears. “They will call me grandma or GeeGee or something like that. But I think it’s funny. I can handle it.”
Head coach Melanie Balcomb is obviously thrilled to have an experienced leader on the roster  especially one with the selfless attitude of Spears.
“That’s where we struggled last year  having that one leader on the floor and that consistent point guard shelling out a lot of assists and serving,” said Balcomb. “That’s one of the reasons we brought Minta Spears here  she serves first. In fact we can’t get her to shoot enough in practice even though she’s probably our best three-point shooter beside Christa (Reed).”
Spears’ selfless attitude was most prominently on display during her mission trips to Uganda in the summers of 2013 and 2014.
“Both trips were just awesome, and were life-changing experiences,” said Spears, who served with an organization called Arise Africa International in the village of Bukaleba.
Lane Reeves, who was a graduate assistant on the Texas Tech women’s basketball team, organized the trips through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During the trips, Spears and the others in the travel party hosted “a Vacation Bible School type of program” where they taught Bible stories, acted out plays, sang songs, colored and did crafts at the local primary school.
Spears said she thoroughly enjoyed getting to mingle with the villagers, and learn about their customs. Perhaps one of the more surprising elements, Spears said, was learning that some of the villagers consult with witch doctors.
Each afternoon, the group visited the secondary school and hosted a sports ministry, providing skill instruction. They also visited a children’s hospital and a prison during their stay.
“The biggest take-away for me was getting a new perspective,” she said. “For example, after the trip, if our team had a really long basketball practice, I would think ,’This really isn’t too bad,’ especially compared to what we witnessed on the trips and what those kids have to go through.”
Spears said she plans to visit Uganda again, and said that a career in mission work is on her radar in terms of her post-college plans. But for now, she is leaving her options open  which is only fitting of someone with such a wide-ranging spectrum of interests.
“I do have a lot of passions  sports, my faith and my desire to help people,” she said. “So, if I could find something that could combine all of that, that would be awesome.”
For Spears, all the world is indeed a stage.
