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Tanaeya BoClair: Finding Basketball
11/30/2017 8:24 AM | Women's Basketball
By Riley Elliott
Athletics Communications Student Assistant
Tanaeya BoClair's start to basketball came later on her in life compared to most of her teammates. With her father being in the United States military and relocating more than once, she lived in Wyoming, England, New Mexico, and then finally settled in Texas when she was in the sixth grade.
"Growing up in a military family was hard, but looking back on it now, I'm very thankful for all of the opportunities that it brought me," BoClair said. "I was born in Wyoming and then lived in England, Texas and New Mexico, so it was just really cool to have been able to go to all of those places. When we lived in England, we got to travel and see all of Europe, so that was definitely one of the better parts of it."
When BoClair got into middle school, she began to get questioned about why she had not tried out the sport of basketball yet. Finally, in the seventh grade, she decided to try out for the middle school's basketball team.
"I started playing basketball in seventh grade, before that I had never tried it at all. People would always ask me if I played basketball, and would tell me to come try out for their teams," BoClair recalled. "I had only done volleyball before that, I had also done gymnastics for eight years before that, so that's all I knew. After all of that, I just decided to try out for my school's team in the seventh grade."
With her start to basketball in seventh grade, she continued to play for her middle school team until she reached high school, where she played for her school's basketball team as well. BoClair attended Brennan High School, which is located in the heart of San Antonio, Texas.
At Brennan, BoClair lead the Bears to three district titles and was also a two-time District 28 4A player of the year. During her four years, she served as a team captain while also averaging 14.7 points per game throughout high school. BoClair was pursued by many universities both in-state and out of state, but the University of Utah was the school that stood out the most to her.
"When I came on my visit here, I just really loved the people, and I especially loved the environment. The girls on the team were also very accepting of me, and it was just such a positive experience that I decided that I didn't want to go on an official visit anywhere else," explained BoClair. "The resources that were available to the team, I could also tell that the coaching staff was so supportive, especially in the aspect of developing you on the court as a player."
After BoClair's decision to attend the University of Utah, she immediately saw success during her freshman season. During the 2014-15 season, she was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention, scoring an average of 9 points per game, while being second on the team in shooting percentage with 41 percent. BoClair continued to improve as she was also a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable mention during her sophomore season, starting all 33 games with nine double-figure scoring outings. BoClair's best year came in the 2016-17 season, starting in all 30 games she appeared in, while averaging 10.1 points per game and tied for the lead on the team in free-throws made with 68. Even with all of the past accolades she has collected from her first three seasons as a Ute, she still looked to improve her game during the offseason.
"This offseason I worked on my scoring opportunities, I really worked on just scoring in general over the summer. I wanted to find different ways to score, reading my options and making better decisions when I have the ball in my hands," said BoClair.
In the midst of her senior season, BoClair will continue to stress the importance of improving her skills as a player on the court. Off of the court, she is looking to finish up her degree in Exercise Science, with hopes of graduate school after she completes the major.
"I'm currently majoring in Exercise Science, which is learning about different physical activity patterns, how the body moves, and also how to get people moving. I'm interested in the field because athletics have been such a big part of my life, and I want it to continue to be a part of it," explained BoClair. "My end goal with this major is to go to graduate school and be able to do something with sports psychology."
After her time at the University of Utah is over and before she attends graduate school, BoClair will be participating in a program called, "Teach for America." Through this program, BoClair will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, for the summer where she will get her certification to become a school teacher in Tennessee. She will learn the basics of how to run a classroom, as well as all of the teaching aspects along with it as well.
BoClair is a very driven individual that is constantly trying to improve herself every day, and she will continue to follow her own path to becoming a University of Utah graduate, certified school teacher, and graduate school attendee.
Athletics Communications Student Assistant
Tanaeya BoClair's start to basketball came later on her in life compared to most of her teammates. With her father being in the United States military and relocating more than once, she lived in Wyoming, England, New Mexico, and then finally settled in Texas when she was in the sixth grade.
"Growing up in a military family was hard, but looking back on it now, I'm very thankful for all of the opportunities that it brought me," BoClair said. "I was born in Wyoming and then lived in England, Texas and New Mexico, so it was just really cool to have been able to go to all of those places. When we lived in England, we got to travel and see all of Europe, so that was definitely one of the better parts of it."
When BoClair got into middle school, she began to get questioned about why she had not tried out the sport of basketball yet. Finally, in the seventh grade, she decided to try out for the middle school's basketball team.
"I started playing basketball in seventh grade, before that I had never tried it at all. People would always ask me if I played basketball, and would tell me to come try out for their teams," BoClair recalled. "I had only done volleyball before that, I had also done gymnastics for eight years before that, so that's all I knew. After all of that, I just decided to try out for my school's team in the seventh grade."
With her start to basketball in seventh grade, she continued to play for her middle school team until she reached high school, where she played for her school's basketball team as well. BoClair attended Brennan High School, which is located in the heart of San Antonio, Texas.
At Brennan, BoClair lead the Bears to three district titles and was also a two-time District 28 4A player of the year. During her four years, she served as a team captain while also averaging 14.7 points per game throughout high school. BoClair was pursued by many universities both in-state and out of state, but the University of Utah was the school that stood out the most to her.
"When I came on my visit here, I just really loved the people, and I especially loved the environment. The girls on the team were also very accepting of me, and it was just such a positive experience that I decided that I didn't want to go on an official visit anywhere else," explained BoClair. "The resources that were available to the team, I could also tell that the coaching staff was so supportive, especially in the aspect of developing you on the court as a player."
After BoClair's decision to attend the University of Utah, she immediately saw success during her freshman season. During the 2014-15 season, she was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention, scoring an average of 9 points per game, while being second on the team in shooting percentage with 41 percent. BoClair continued to improve as she was also a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable mention during her sophomore season, starting all 33 games with nine double-figure scoring outings. BoClair's best year came in the 2016-17 season, starting in all 30 games she appeared in, while averaging 10.1 points per game and tied for the lead on the team in free-throws made with 68. Even with all of the past accolades she has collected from her first three seasons as a Ute, she still looked to improve her game during the offseason.
"This offseason I worked on my scoring opportunities, I really worked on just scoring in general over the summer. I wanted to find different ways to score, reading my options and making better decisions when I have the ball in my hands," said BoClair.
In the midst of her senior season, BoClair will continue to stress the importance of improving her skills as a player on the court. Off of the court, she is looking to finish up her degree in Exercise Science, with hopes of graduate school after she completes the major.
"I'm currently majoring in Exercise Science, which is learning about different physical activity patterns, how the body moves, and also how to get people moving. I'm interested in the field because athletics have been such a big part of my life, and I want it to continue to be a part of it," explained BoClair. "My end goal with this major is to go to graduate school and be able to do something with sports psychology."
After her time at the University of Utah is over and before she attends graduate school, BoClair will be participating in a program called, "Teach for America." Through this program, BoClair will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, for the summer where she will get her certification to become a school teacher in Tennessee. She will learn the basics of how to run a classroom, as well as all of the teaching aspects along with it as well.
BoClair is a very driven individual that is constantly trying to improve herself every day, and she will continue to follow her own path to becoming a University of Utah graduate, certified school teacher, and graduate school attendee.
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