Amber Metoyer

Position:
Forward
Height:
5-11
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Boulder, Colo.
High School:
Fairview

Barry on Metoyer: “Has probably added 5-6 pounds of muscle in the offseason. She’s a stronger player, her athleticism at the small forward position and her durability at the small forward position, she’ll play the position much in the same way that Eisha Bohman did. We have to improve her passing decisions, but I think Amber has a scoring mentality and looks to score.”

This Season: Metoyer is coming off a solid freshman campaign and should build on that momentum into 2003-04. She’s CU’s most fearless and athletic player, and with another year under her belt, her confidence should translate into better offensive numbers as a sophomore.

2002-03 (Freshman): One of the strongest players for Colorado women’s basketball, Metoyer kept improving as the season went on. She played in every game during the season making her and Tera Bjorklund the only two players on the roster to play every game they have been eligible for in their careers. In just the third game of her college career, Metoyer hit all four of her shots and grabbed seven rebounds en route to 11 points in the first round of the Coors Classic against Hartford. With 20 seconds to go against USC on Dec. 21, she hit two free throws to put Colorado up 88-86 and proceeded to make another to help seal the victory, which led to Colorado Coach Ceal Barry to say Metoyer was “the difference” of the game and that she wanted the freshman at the free throw line because, “she is a competitor and she likes to win.” Her heroics continued 10 nights later against Syracuse on New Year’s Eve when she hit a shot with 15 seconds left to tie the game, 65-65, after her team rallied from a six point deficit with 90 seconds left, sending the game to overtime. But she didn’t stop there. In her first Big 12 Conference game against Iowa State on Jan. 8, Metoyer scored a career high 13 points including Colorado’s last seven points which featured a clinching basket with 1.5 seconds left to beat the Cyclones 64-63. She led the Buffaloes in scoring one time during the season and she grabbed a career high eight rebounds against Nebraska on Jan. 14.

High School: Metoyer, a 5-10 forward, was the first in-state signee for the Buffaloes since Britt Hartshorn and Jenny Roulier committed in the fall of 1997. Had a monster senior year, averaging a state-best 23.5 points per game and third-best 10.8 rebounds a game at Fairview, earning First Team All-County, Daily Camera Player of the Year, First Team All-Centennial League and First Team All-State. She was also ranked in the top 20 in the state in assists, steals and blocked shots. She was named to the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News First Team All-State teams, and earned a spot in both the Colorado Coaches All-State Game and the Denver Nuggets All-Star Game. She was a runner-up for Miss 5A Basketball. As a junior at Fairview, Metoyer led the state in rebounding at 12.4 boards per game and was the third-leading scorer in Class 5A with an average of 23.3 points per game. She was also among the leading shot blockers in the state, rejecting shots at a clip of 1.8 per contest while leading the Knights to a record of 14-8. Following her junior year, Metoyer was selected to the Adidas Top Ten Camp, was named Adidas All-American All Star, earned Street & Smith’s All-America Honorable Mention, Rocky Mountain News All-State Second Team, and played in the Colorado All-Star game. As a sophomore, Metoyer also averaged a double-double, scoring 15 points per game and grabbing 10.5 rebounds per contest. She earned first team All-Centennial League honors, and was an Honorable Mention All-State pick. She also earned First Team All-Boulder County honors from the Daily Camera. Her freshman year, Metoyer was first team All-Centennial League, Honorable Mention All-State and First Team All-Boulder County. She played summer basketball for the Boulder Rockies and the Mile High Magic. She is a product of Boulder’s own Fairview High School, becoming the sixth player in CU history to hail from the local prep program.

Off The Court: Metoyer threw shot and discus for CU’s track & field team last spring. She earned high school All-American status as a prep and won the state championship in the shot put when she was a freshman. She holds Fairview records in shot put, discus and is also the school pentathlon and heptathlon record holder. She attended the U.S Olympic Camp for heptathletes, taking sixth at the 2002 U.S Juniors National Heptathlon with 4,673 points. Metoyer also lettered for two years in volleyball at Fairview and can grab the rim on a 10-foot basketball goal. She participates in choir, and was a four-time selection to the Fairview High Honor Roll. She was a finalist for the Denver Athletic Club Student Athlete of the Year as well as the Steinmark Award. Metoyer was also recruited by Kansas State, Colorado State and Arizona State. She comes from a very athletic family, as her mother Renee was a multi-events athlete at Fairview, and her father Mike played defensive end and outside linebacker for Colorado in 1973 and later for the Kansas City Chiefs. Metoyer was born September 7, 1983 and has two younger siblings, Jarrett (17) and Mariah (14).