Page 15 - Laker Connection Fall 2011

& Girls Club in Spring Field. She realized I had great talent in basketball and re- ferred me to my first coach, Chris Martin.”
Tillman joined Martin’s team, Pied- mont Express AAU, that year. He quickly became her mentor and role model.
“Chris Martin was
like a big brother to
me,” Tillman recalls.
“He taught me the
rules of the game, and then I just mixed it in with my skills that I learned from watching the guys outside playing in the neighborhood. Chris Martin started this journey...”
Tillman played on Martin’s team for several years, and his influence in her life extended beyond the basketball court. A probation officer, Martin’s ca- reer in law enforcement encouraged Till- man to choose to major in criminal justice. She will graduate from Clayton State University with her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice this fall.
Tillman also gives credit to her high school basketball coach Kenny Carter. Where Martin started the journey, Till- man says “Coach Carter finished me off by teaching me how to dominate on the
court.” A four-year starter on the High Point Central High team, Tillman earned four confer- ence championships. She made an incredible first impres- sion in her freshman season by helping her team to a North Carolina state championship. As a senior, she saw the state finals and be- came a four-time All-Tri-County performer and Tri-County Player
of the Year.
Following high school, Till-
man pursued basketball at the college level, lettering one season each at Division I Western Carolina in Cullowhee, NC, and at Guilford Tech in Jamestown, NC. Little did Till-
man know, the next team she would play for would make his- tory by winning the first NCAA basket- ball championship for any Georgia NCAA women’s team. It would also be Clayton State’s first national title in any sport.
“We watched film on her and were very impressed, so Coach Cox and I de- cided that I should go see her play in a game,” says Lakers Assistant Coach Kaleena Coleman on recruiting Tillman. “She had some other good schools of- fering her a scholarship as well. I think she was interested in attending Clayton State after our first conversation; then she attended one of our games and was
ready to sign with us.”
Coleman describes Tillman as a
mature person and player. “I have en- joyed the opportunity to know her per- sonally and to have her on the team.
Above: Tillman celebrates after the national win with one of her biggest fans, her father.
She has good leader qualities that can carry her far.”
Tillman thanks Mrs. Bee, for seeing something special in her as a child; her mother; brothers; aunts; uncles; cousins and friends. “All of my family members support me, but one special person in my life has attended almost every game - my father, Wayne Brown. Thanks, Dad, for your support,” she adds.
Just how far basketball will take Till- man is yet to be seen. She says her grandmother always said, “Stick to something you’re great at and master in it.” For Tillman, the journey will continue as she sets out to dominate a career in professional basketball.
Above: Tillman rejoices following the na- tional championship win - a first ever for a Georgia NCAA women’s basketball team.
SPRING 2011
Above: Tillman answers media questions on her home court after the Clayton State vs. Lander game that sealed the Laker’s Elite Eight status. Right: Tillman responds to interview questions following the national championship win that earned her MVP honors.
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