Sports Extra: Tatyonna Brown
Tatyonna brown can hoop. She can go around defenders, or through them. The end result is still the same.
And don’t even think about going to the basket.
"I just think that they're not gonna get through me," Brown says. "Either I'm gonna block them, or they're gonna turn over the ball."
Brown is the catalyst for Air Academy. She’s led the Kadets to a 10-0 record, while averaging 20 points per game so far.
"I just wanna bring energy," Brown says. "It doesn't matter if I score points or anything. Just bring the energy, every time I play."
Her smart, physical style of play caught the attention of Kansas, one of the country’s premier basketball schools, and that’s where Brown will be playing next year.
"It was surreal, a little bit. But, going to the campus, and seeing it, made me realize it was real," Brown says. "They talked to me near the end of my AAU career, since my best tournaments were near the end. It was pretty fun, because I kind of knew who KU was."
"She's so so talented. I can't even put into words how much growth she has from freshman year to now, it's insane to see," says Air Academy guard Lydia Flowers. Being able to have been her teammate for four years, and growing alongside her, she's not only an amazing player, but an amazing person. I'm so blessed to have been on a team with her for four years."
Brown is one of the latest local superstars. Over the last several years, Colorado Springs has become a powerhouse for girls basketball. Mesa Ridge’s Kylee Shook, and Discovery Canyon’s Ashten Prechtel both made it to the WNBA. Air academy’s Kylee Blacksten is playing at West Virginia, after transferring from Colorado. Another former Kadet, Caitlin Kramer is at CSU. Fountain Fort-Carson’s Aiyanna Mitchell is at Vanderbilt, and players like Kinley Asp are already being heavily recruited.
"It makes me really happy," Brown says. "It shows that there's a bunch of talented girls out there, and it's an overall fun experience to be here now. It gives me a bunch of pride having these people around in my state, and playing against them is just fun."
On friday night, brown got a taste of what college ball will be like. She squared off against Pine Creek’s Brooklyn Stewart, who’s committed to Oklahoma. In a battle of two 9-0 teams, Brown scored 24 points, and notched a double-double as Air Academy won 49-48.
"I'm having so much fun," Brown said after the game. "I think our team chemistry is at a high right now, so I'm super happy. Brooklyn is a great player overall, so ending the game like that was super fun."
There’s so much for Tatyonna Brown to look forward to, but for now, she’s staying grounded, and in the moment. Because Air Academy is good and she’s soaking it in.
"I'm enjoying it so much. This year we're so much of a family. It's fun playing with them every single game. We just take it one game at a time. It's just a bunch of memories every time."
