Sanchez said Brown's 3-point shot dramatically improved as a result of her rehab. They let her rehab and understood that was a serious injury."īrown, who is heading abroad for the first time in June as part of an Adidas team playing in Italy, says she's looking for the same family environment she saw after her untimely injury.
"She had a lot of big-time offers, and there were a lot of schools that dropped off," Greg said. She's already visited the Seminoles and plans to visit Bruins on May 18 before Cibola lets out for the summer. Brown recently trimmed her college list to UCLA, Florida State, TCU and Tennessee. Time away from basketball also gave Brown clarity on the recruiting front. It's what, in my opinion, kick-starts her offense." Looking to the future "I'm a very old school coach," Mabrey said. "I just adore her, so of course I was going to take her help."īut Mabrey appreciates her on-court assists, as well. "She asked me if she could be my teacher's aide," Mabrey said. Even if she was there all along - as an extra set of hands in the special education department. Brown and Cibola won a state title when she was a freshman.Ĭibola coach Lori Mabrey is happy to have Brown's talent back. She took home New Mexico Gatorade player of the year honors as a sophomore after averaging 18.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.8 assists. Sanchez predicts Brown will be a McDonald's All American as a senior. "There's not a better defender at the one or two in the country." Period," said Robert Sanchez, Brown's longtime AAU coach at New Mexico Elite. "She is the best defensive guard in the country. He knew that was where Amaya could excel. Texas Elite coach Bill Franey equates her to basketball's version of a shutdown corner. These days, though, defense is Amaya Brown's specialty. "That's when I knew that she had something special," Greg said. Amaya responded by scoring 26 first-half points, dashing any questions on future lineups. "He was like, 'What?' I knew I was better than some of the girls." "I told him, 'You're going to start me this game or I'm going to quit your team,' " Amaya said. When Amaya was 11 and playing with 13- and 14-year-olds on Greg's team at a tournament in Dallas, Amaya made a statement. Her middle school years had one unforgettable moment. Then she enrolled at Cibola and joined New Mexico Heat Elite AAU. So, it made sense that Greg coached Amaya through middle school. Younger brother, Amari, is hooked on basketball already as a fifth grader. Catina played at Hobbs High (New Mexico). Dad, Greg, was a standout at nearby New Mexico.
"I was thinking it was God's plan." An early statementīrown hails from a basketball-crazed family. "One time I started crying and my mom was like, 'You're going to come back even stronger.' After that I didn't cry anymore," Brown said. It's not often top-30 recruits miss their entire junior season - prime evaluation time for college coaches. Her parents, brother and grandma all helped keep her spirits up. It was the first time since she started hooping at 7 years old that she wasn't hooping. Four days a week almost immediately following her September surgery. The months before that had been spent in rehab. Last month, the 17-year-old made her return on a new team, Texas Elite AAU, in Phoenix. "I didn't think it was a tear for the longest time."įinally, Brown is back on the court, slashing through opposing offenses like she did so many times pre-injury. "He was like, 'I don't think it was a tear.' I was like, 'OK,' " Brown said. It didn't help when the trainer on-site gave her a thumbs up. There was pain, sure, but no screaming or crying. She came down awkwardly, hyperextending her knee. "It was," the 5-foot-11 point guard said, "devastating."Īfter one of her signature steals during a viewing period last July, Brown broke for the hoop, but her opponent bumped her. It didn't matter that Brown thought she'd spend her junior year forcing steals and leading Cibola (Albuquerque, New Mexico) to another deep postseason run rather than doing leg lifts and recovery squats. Amaya Brown was in an Atlanta hotel room last summer when her mom gave her the news she'd been dreading.
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