But for Brown, the decision was made early on. “I wanted to continue to build myself as an individual player, but also, I wanted to continue to make history with this team, my teammates, my coaching staff.”įor many players, deciding to return to college for a fifth year is a difficult decision. “I just knew that I wasn’t really done yet,” Brown said on Oct. She wants to win, and she wants to do so alongside her teammates. We’re lucky to have her back here for her fifth year of college basketball and leading this group.”Įntering her final year at Michigan, it’s easy to see why Brown chose to use her extra year of eligibility as granted by the pandemic. She’s amazing to coach in that sense because in the hardest moments, you know she’s going to stick by it and fight it out. “And she’s an amazing teammate in that sense. “Once she knows you care about her, she will do anything for you,” Michigan assistant coach Harry Rafferty said. Whether it was spontaneously driving to Ohio to go to Waffle House with some teammates, adopting two cats or inspiring her younger sister to get a tattoo after getting her own, Brown has always had a knack for showing those around her how much she cares and how invested she is in creating memories. “I talked to some other schools in the transfer portal, but the whole time I kept telling my parents ‘It doesn’t compare to Michigan.’ I think the whole time I knew this is where I wanted to be.”īy coming to Ann Arbor, Brown was trading in a 10-hour drive from home for a two-hour one.Īt that new home, her teammates, coaches and family were quick to praise who she is on the court They were equally quick to praise who she is off of it, too. “I had people come up to me after the (Big Ten Tournament) and they were like, ‘You need to play for a school like Michigan, just their culture, the way they interact, how hard they play, the passion that (Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico) has,’ ” Brown said on Oct. And I just thought, you know, you always hope that day comes but then when it finally does, you’re like, ‘Oh crap.’ ” “… I remember that one day when she finally did beat me (in a one-on-one game). “She was a freshman in high school,” Nate said. That same drive carried her right up to a moment that her dad had been dreading, a day that he knew would come, but was still unprepared for. She just beat that boy that was like six inches taller than her and beat him by like five or six, and it was just such a great feeling.” “That was just one of those proud moments, that you’re like, ‘that’s my kid’, you know. “She won it all, beat that boy one-on-one in front of everybody,” Nate, who coached Leigha for much of her life, said. The camp had a one-on-one tournament, and when Leigha faced off against her rival, her competitive edge and basketball IQ shined. There was one other kid there, a boy in her grade at school, who she had a bit of a rivalry with.
In elementary school, Leigha attended a local basketball camp. For Nate, sitting and talking to his daughter about backscreens and off-ball movement at such a high level was “almost like talking to another adult,” even though Leigha wasn’t yet a middle schooler. Beyond playing multiple years up on her travel teams and being the leading scorer on her teams year after year and game after game, Leigha took it upon herself to start watching any games she could get her hands on - her own film or whatever was on TV.Įver since she was around eight, she would sit and watch basketball with her dad, and the two would talk about what they saw. Toward the end of Leigha’s time in elementary school, the Browns realized that their daughter was going to be special. It carried her through high school, where she was described as a “once in a lifetime” player by her DeKalb High School coach Brett Eltzroth. It carried her through elementary school basketball and travel ball where she started playing at least one year up before she even entered middle school. If I won, she would throw the basketball and go stomping out of the room.”Īs she grew up, that competitive spirit grew, too. … That turned into indoor pig and horse games between her and I, and broken picture frames. “We had a little tiny basketball hoop we bought her as soon as she could start walking. “Ever since she was walking, she just always had a competitiveness to her,” Nate told The Daily. Because if there’s one thing that motivates Leigha, in every facet of her life, it’s winning.Īs Leigha grew up, board games gave way to a miniature basketball hoop at home, but still, the determination to win remained. Her reaction wasn’t out of anger toward her family but frustration with herself.
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