Devenei Hampton's middle name is Unique.

Seriously, it's Unique, with a capital U.

"I can say that I am one-of-a-kind," the soft-spoken freshman star from California's women's basketball team said. She was quick to add, though, that she has been compared to others before when an ESPN commentator told Hampton she reminded her of North Carolina's Orlando Larkin.

"Unique is just being blessed to me, and being given the talent that I have been given, and not only just being the person I am, but having the teammates that are behind me," she said.

The self-stated one-of-a-kind forward from Oakland, Calif., has her own one-of-a-kind hair, a painted-blond ponytail hanging from the rest of her brunette locks. On the court, the 6-foot-3 Hampton is a physical force, playing with an aggression and passion not usually seen in a true freshman.

Unique herself, Hampton knows a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when she sees one.

So when the prestigious University of California-Berkeley came knocking at her door with a full scholarship offer, the high school McDonald's All-American couldn't refuse. Hampton doesn't live in the greatest of neighborhoods and needed to stay close to home to help care for her three younger sisters; couple that with California's reputation as the best public school in the country, and Hampton was sold.

"I come from Oakland where there's not too many opportunities that we have," she said. "To come to the No. 1 public school in America, I have the opportunity to take that and use it and to prove people wrong. That's what I'm going to do."

Hampton now finds herself part of an athletic program different from most in the country. California prides itself on academics, and, while the school provides a fine athletic program, what it really offers its students is a grade-A education.

And while the No. 10-seeded Golden Bears players were disappointed after losing to No. 7 St. John's yesterday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in University Park, it's clear the mentality of this program goes beyond just wins and losses.

"It's an amazing experience for any student-athlete to just have the academic background," sophomore forward Krista Foster said. "To be able to say that I was at Cal-Berkeley, and not only did I play basketball, I got an education."

During the NCAA Tournament, everyone follows Foster's lead in calling those participating "student-athletes." For players on the Golden Bears, that title rings especially true. California freshmen must keep a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and the Golden Bears have five, including Hampton.

Hampton, a pre-medicine student, wants to be a pediatrician. In order to handle the rigors of such a difficult major, Hampton takes her core classes in the summer when basketball isn't such a distraction.

Even the Golden Bears' mascot looks focused on school, wearing a blue blazer and khakis that could pass as a professor's everyday garb.

But a quality education isn't the only idea the Golden Bears have taken to heart. In her first-year as the California women's basketball coach, Joanne Boyle wants her team to play like a family, and, by all observations, that's what California does.

During the season, players get together for dinner, often at Hampton's grandmother's home, Foster said. It's something that builds chemistry for a young team and develops an atmosphere that makes the players feel more like sisters than teammates.

"I'd give anything for these girls," Foster said.

The atmosphere has given the team a sense of trust that extends from the last player off the bench up through the entire coaching staff.

"It's an awesome thing," Foster said, "because a lot of teams don't have that. It's usually, there's some kind of separation, but I feel like our team really has pulled together."

While the players now gush about how great it is to be at California, the truth is many took a risk when committing to a school known more for its protests than its women's basketball team. Before this year, the Golden Bears hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 1993. It's something high school stars like Hampton didn't worry about, though. The chance for a guaranteed great education as long as they did their work and stayed true to the goals trumped everything that wasn't cast in cement -- in this case, a relevant basketball team.

But players like Foster and Hampton committed with enthusiasm and faith, eager to help make a change in the program. Since then, Boyle said her players have bought into the system whole-heartedly. In fact, Foster even said the team's motto was that they'd "run through a wall" for their coach, and she'd do the same for them.

A freshman class that includes Hampton and her former Oakland Tech teammate and McDonald's All-America point guard Alexis Gray-Lawson has set the foundation for a revolution for California women's basketball.

But with many younger players taking up minutes in place of older players, an interesting dynamic was created, Boyle said, one that could have caused some animosity. However, the team worked through it and as Boyle said, "a lot of off-court things had to happen for that chemistry to develop off the court." And fortunately for Boyle, those things like meetings, bonding activities or just hanging out together happened.

"It's been time consuming, but in the end, it's worked," Boyle said.

The players' faith has paid off. Hampton was a first-team All-Pac 10 selection this year, Gray-Lawson was the Pac 10 Freshman of the Year and the gritty Foster is now one of the team's captains. Not to mention, their team is relevant and looks to be for the next few years with only one senior leaving this year.

And they've done it in a way different than many teams -- by buying into a trusting, family atmosphere.

And that is unique ... with a capital U.