While Tanna Decker’s time on the Camp Verde basketball team came to an end when the Cowboys lost the 2A State Championship Game, her competitive basketball career is not over.
With her parents Laura and Joe Decker by her side along with Camp Verde basketball coach Mark Showers and athletic director Dan Wall, Decker signed her Letter of Intent to play basketball and go to school at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
A number of factors helped Vanguard win Decker over. She liked its proximity to the beach. It suits her intended major of Kinesiology well. It’s also a strong basketball school in NAIA Division I. Under long-time coach Russ Davis, the Lions have made the playoffs more than any other NAIA Division I school and are currently ranked No. 6 in the nation.
“I found it to be a perfect fit for me,” Tanna said. “The location, I fell in love with the coaches and I got to meet the team. So that was super exciting. I really enjoyed the atmosphere there. Academically it has the degrees I wanted and I just fell in love with the school.”
The Decker family is similarly excited about her choice.
While Tanna will be leaving the state, being relatively close in Orange County will make it relatively
easy for them to travel to see her play. They were also impressed by something that the Lions players and coaches did on a recent trip to Arizona.
On Feb. 7, Tanna and the Camp Verde team won a road game against Scottsdale Prep. The Vanguard team surprised Tanna by coming to that game to cheer her on.
“One of the things that the assistant coach said to Joe is that we’re doing this because Tanna is part of our family now, too,” Laura recalled. “Which is pretty amazing from a parent’s point of view. To know the involvement and what she’ll gain from having that support around her is pretty exciting.”
Laura credited Joe for working hard to promote Tanna and get colleges interested in her. Of course, both parents gave Tanna credit, as well. She was a driving force for the state finalist Cowboys, which, in additionto their postseason run, finished the regular season as not only the 2A Central Region champions but also the top seed in the 2A state tournament.
Individually, Tanna had a tremendous senior season as well, averaging 13.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. For the second year in a row, Tanna earned 2A Central Region Player of the Year honors. This is all despite being undersized compared to many of the girls she’s played against.
“That’s probably the biggest thing — her level of involvement, wanting to get to this level and move forward,” Joe said. “And her ambition to play with even a higher level of coaching and girls. The ability of her’s to be able to play — at 5 foot 5 — at the college level, is huge for her. We’re excited to see where it takes her in the next chapter.”
Tanna was also grateful to the number of people who have worked with her along the way, including her parents, coach Showers, Chris Johnson, Camp Verde assistants Steve Hicks and Donnie Bus and Sedona Red Rock High School coach Kirk Westervelt.
“I want to thank my parents, teammates, coaches and everyone that’s helped me throughout this to get me where I am today,” Tanna added. “I’m very excited.”
