Dec. 20, 2011
The 6-foot-3-inch frame of sophomore forward Tavasha Anderson can be an imposing presence to opponents on the court. It can even be a little intimidating to people who don't know her off the floor.
However, don't let the serious look and physical presence fool you.
"Kiara (Young) always calls me a big Teddy Bear," Tavasha said. "Everybody always thinks I'm mean, I guess because of my facial expressions. I don't know what I look like when I walk around, but they always think I'm mean. I'm the complete opposite."
All you have to know about the Grenada, Mississippi native is she loves dogs - especially her one-year-old Yorkie named Mia - , she writes poetry, she enjoys cooking and she cherishes her family.
"I spend a lot of time on phone with my family, trying to keep up with my brothers (Jalyn and Cameron)," Tavasha said. "I miss a lot (being away). With them being so far away and getting older, they are trying different things with sports. I miss that. I try to talk to them as much as possible."
Vash, as she is affectionately known by her teammate and coaches, says that since she can't be around her family as much these days due to her responsibilities with college and basketball, she likes to turn to the pen to relay her feelings.
"I like to write poetry," Tavasha said. "That's something a lot of people don't know. My grandmother and mother don't like store-bought cards. They like hand-made cards. It's something I've picked up over the years. It relieves a lot of stress.
"It's more for personal purposes. It ranges. It might be something I'm going through or that I see one of my friends or my family members going through. I try to give them something to encourage them to make their day go better. I want them to know I appreciate them. I'm not as home as much, so I'll send them something to let them know I'm how much I care about them."
Tavasha is a caring individual. She is also multi-talented; just ask her teammates and coaches taste buds. With the graduation of Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey, Anderson has taken over as the unofficial team chef.
"I think I have kind of filled her role," Tavasha said. "(My teammates) always call me wanting me to cook. Sometimes I'll do it and sometime I won't. If we get together, and they want me to cook I don't mind.
"I like cooking. I cook a lot. I know coach Spoon is always in the office. She never leaves. I always text and her ask her if she wants a plate. Most of the time she says to take it to her for lunch. She is very messing about it too. I will bring her a plate and she will take it and go prancing around the office and make sure she shows everybody. I cook a lot for my teammates."
So what's on the menu? It just depends on what kind of mood Tavasha is in that day.
"This time of the year I love cooking vegetable soup," she said. "I cook a big pot of it, and invite everybody over and to get a bowl of it. I freeze the rest of it and thaw it as I need to. I like cooking shrimp alfredo and baked pork chops. I do these pan-seared pork chops that (my teammates) love. It's not fried and it's not grilled. I just toss it in a pan and season it."
When not working on a culinary masterpiece in the kitchen, Tavasha can be found on the hardwood at the Thomas Assembly Center ... looking for a recipe for success in what head coach Teresa Weatherspoon likes to call "the painted area."
Through the first 10 games of the season, she had started to find the right ingredients as she averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in only 12 minutes per contest. She has shown flashes of coming into her own as evidenced by her career-high 17-point, 7-rebound performance in a win at Houston Dec. 7.
"I will say I've grown tremendously," she said. "{My first year coming in and watching how powerful Shanavia (Dowdell) was and watching her and Adrienne (Johnson) go back and forth in practice every day. It was amazing to me how strong they were inside. I said that's the type of player I want to be.
Just being able to practice against them every day was big. Regardless of how much stronger or overpowering they may have seemed, Coach Spoon didn't allow me to think I was inferior to them. This year I can really tell a difference. I know what I am capable of doing and what I need to do."
Weatherspoon and Lady Techster fans are eager to see Vash - poet, chef, humanitarian - use that imposing frame and grow into her role as the protector of the painted area.
