High school basketball has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for Sequoyah Tahlequah junior Annaston Brown.
Her freshman year was shut down due to COVID, and a lot of the older players transferred to other schools leaving younger players like Annaston to restart the program the following year.
Despite not having much experience on the team, Brown still averaged 18 points a game and had a good sophomore season.
On the downside, she suffered a foot injury during preseason this year and missed the first semester. But through it all, she never wavered in her support of Sequoyah.
“When the school shut down athletics, I decided to trust the process,” Brown said. “I hated losing my freshman year, but I knew the next three years would be the most important.”
Brown concentrated instead on AAU ball, which she has been playing since second grade and where she learned some lessons to help her with school ball.
“AAU ball is so fast paced and a different game so I have had to learn to be more patient and not rush things so much in school ball,” she said.
Growing up, Brown had a good role model to follow in her sister, Aubrey, who now plays at Northeastern State University.
“I used to go with her to practices and just shoot the ball at the other end while they practiced, and eventually I got old enough to practice with them and that’s when I started taking the game seriously,” she said. “Now, I enjoy watching Steph Curry play. I like the way he comes off screens and reads defenders well.”
Her coach, Justin Brown (no relation), appreciates her talents and loyalty.
“She stuck it out when a lot of kids left and now she is our lone returning starter,” Justin Brown said. “She led us in scoring last year and was second in rebounding and assists.
While having to sit on the bench during the first semester was frustrating, it wasn’t all lost time for Annaston.
“I learned a lot from watching and seeing different defenses and imagining how I could beat them,” she said.
Annaston credits her dad for being a motivator for her and teaching her, not only about basketball, but also life lessons. Now that she’s back on the court she’s got some definite goals for the rest of the year.
“I want to improve my rebounding and average a double-double in every game,” she said.
