Brianna Banks didn’t wow the crowd during her final home performance at Fayette County on Tuesday night, during the Tigers’ 55-45 second-round win over Mundy’s Mill in the AAAA state playoffs.
She didn’t dazzle with her signature no-look passes, although she did toss a couple, one leading to an assist while the other was fumbled out of bounds.
She didn’t stun everyone with her dead-on, left-handed perimeter stroke, although she did make two 3-pointers during a key run in the third quarter that essentially put the game away for Fayette County.
And she didn’t make the crowd roar with any of her patented dribble moves or trick shots, although her driving scoop shot off the glass between two defenders was also part of the spurt that pushed the Tigers’ lead from three to 16 by the start of the fourth quarter. (Banks scored eight of her team-leading 14 points in the third.)
No, the biggest aspect of her game that Banks left for the crowd to witness during her last hurrah at Fayette County’s gym was what she says is the biggest thing she has learned and improved upon as a basketball player. It’s what makes her special.
“Patience,” she said, quietly, after the game. “The biggest thing that’s improved about me is being patient.”
Tigers coach John Strickland said that quality is the reason the Tigers are 25-5 and headed to their third state quarterfinals in the past four years. They’ll take on Warner Robins in Fort Valley at 7 p.m. Friday.
“A player of her caliber and talent, she could always try to do everything herself. But she lets the game come to her, and she's one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever been around,” Strickland said. “It’s the reason we’re this far in the playoffs.
“When you have a player like Brianna, sometimes the team can depend on her too much and start standing around waiting for her to do something,” Strickland said.
“But when you get this far in the playoffs, these are good teams, like Mundy’s Mill, with good players, like [guard Brianna McQueen, who led all scorers with 16 points]. She kept them in the game and they didn’t quit. So, depending on one player can be really bad for you. We don’t have to do that.”
Indeed, Banks has four fellow seniors to help her, each of whom will play collegiately next season -- guard Kira King at Brewton-Parker, center Elem Ibiam at South Carolina, forward Taybreanna Couch at Clayton State and center Bria Venson, who is undecided. And there’s also sophomore guard Aneesa Watson, who scored seven points Tuesday night, and freshmen Candice Williams and Asia Harper, all of whom are key contributors for Fayette County.
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