Becker bound for Kentucky

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This article was published 06/03/2024 (687 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not common to go from Winnipeg to a major NCAA basketball program.

The Becker family, however, is doing their part to change that narrative.

It started with dad in the mid- to late 80s when Dan, a 6-7 forward out of Fort Richmond, suited up for St. Joseph’s and then Colorado. Dan and wife Paula’s eldest daughter Niyah, a 23-year-old currently playing pro in Slovenia, was next as she went to Utah before closing out her college career with Wake Forest in 2023.

Now there’s another Becker making the leap with 18-year-old Tanah announcing her commitment to the University of Kentucky earlier this week. The 6-1 wing will join the Wildcats in the mighty Southeastern Conference (SEC) this fall.

“I was born into a basketball family. Everyone in my family is basketball, basketball, basketball,” said Tanah in a phone interview. “With my sister, I obviously watched her grow up, work and go after her goals and it made me go ‘This is possible. Someone from Winnipeg can get to a big school and compete at that level.’”

“I’m following her footsteps, but I also want to make my own path and prove myself.”

Tanah left Shaftesbury High School after Grade 10 to play at Lincoln Prep in Hamilton, Ont., to compete in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association. After graduating in 2023, she took her talents to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee this season for some extra seasoning where she averaged 12 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 43 per cent from the field.

She has also spent three years in Canadian WNBA star Kia Nurse’s high performance summer basketball program.

“I think she will do very well,” said Hamilton Heights head coach Melvin Williams. “She’s a big guard who can score and can create her own shot. She’s relentless on the defensive end, and I think that’s what she’s going to bring. As a freshman, defensive wise, she’ll be right in there and I think that will get her onto the floor.”

There’s arguably no higher level of women’s college basketball than the SEC. LSU won last year’s national title, and another SEC program, South Carolina, look poised to do that next month as they’re ranked No. 1 in the country with a spotless 29-0 record.

Kentucky is in a rebuilding year at 12-19 but has qualified for the NCAA tournament twice since Kyra Elzy took over at head coach in 2020.

“It’s gonna be amazing. It’s also going to be so helpful for my growth,” said Tanah. “I mean, I’ve watched these people on TV and have seen them all over the news and all that stuff. They’re super talented people and being able to play against them is going to be such a cool experience.”

Tanah went through the Manitoba provincial team program and played at the 2022 Canada Games. She also made Canada’s under-16 team that claimed silver at the 2020 FIBA Americas tournament. Her game took her to the WNBA Basketball Without Borders Girls Camp in Las Vegas and the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix in 2023. She played in last year’s BioSteel All-Canadian Game which features the top 24 female basketball players in the country, and will do so again in this year on March 30 in Mono, Ont. She’ll then spend a few months training in Winnipeg with her dad and sister before heading to Lexington, Ky.

She’s joining the college ranks at the perfect time as the women’s game is more popular than ever. Tickets and TV ratings have skyrocketed in the past year or so with Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark — who overtook LSU legend Pete Maravich as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer last week — playing a massive role.

“It kind of seems like it’s taken over the spotlight now and people are realizing that there are some tough girl hoopers,” said Tanah.

“It’s really great that’s helping build women’s basketball and these players are setting the footsteps for us to come and the younger generation. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The only Manitoban currently playing NCAA basketball is former Vincent Massey star big man Kyler Filewich — a junior at Wofford.

Niyah, Emily Potter (Utah) and Raizel Guinto (Louisiana Tech) are Winnipeggers who have played NCAA women’s basketball in the past decade but no female from the province has ever taken the court for a March Madness game.

Todd MacCulloch (Washington) and Emmanuel Akot (Arizona, Boise State) are the only Manitoba males to get that experience.

Tanah is hoping she can be the one to make history.

“I think that’s somewhere we’ll be next year, and it will just be super cool to experience that and be the first,” said Tanah.

“That’d be crazy.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31