Christopher to continue hoops career at Central Carolina CC

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on June 15, 2015 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

Tianna Christopher's mom didn't know why she was sitting in the empty library on Friday afternoon.

Having come up from Florida to watch Tianna graduate, she was told to come to the library for an unknown reason.

Soon enough, it became very evident.

Christopher came into the library and gave her mom some surprising news that made her break down in tears and hug her daughter: She committed to playing college basketball.

Christopher signed with Central Carolina Community College on Friday afternoon. The signing caught many, including herself, by surprise considering how quickly everything came together.

"I wanted to play basketball in college," she said. "But until recently, that wasn't going well. (CCCC's coach) called my dad and left a message and I called him back. We talked for like 30 minutes to an hour and I just felt comfortable with it.

"The couple years before that Central Carolina had a girls basketball team, they were not all that serious. This is the coach's first year and this is the first year they're bringing in good recruits, so I'm excited to join the program."

The school, which is located an hour away in Sanford, offers a good opportunity for Christopher to get some playing time and hone her skills before she transfers to the University of Charlotte in two years, where she plans to major in criminal justice.

"I'm interested in being a homicide detective," she said. "I got interested in that from watching all my favorite shows like Snapped, Forensic Files, First 48 and Beyond Scared Straight."

While there will be plenty of time for Christopher to drive around Charlotte solving crimes, right now she's focused on continuing on something a little less morbid: basketball.

"My coach calls me his little star already," she said, never one to shy away from confidence, "because I'm the shortest person on the team. So it's going to be completely different. (In high school) I didn't have to run the point all the time, but now I do.

"The biggest challenge for me is going to be running the show. I have to run the whole show now."

Despite having only visited a week ago and committed even later, the coaches already have Christopher on a workout program that's testing her abilities more than she's been tested before.

"Coach has already given me my summer workout" she said. "It's like two pages long already. I have to lift weights, I have to eat right and I have to do dribbling and shooting drills.

"My three (point shot) isn't going anywhere. I have to keep that trey. You live by the three and die by the three."

Even though last season's team is breaking up, some of the players aren't done playing on the court. Next season, Christopher and teammate Jasmine Covington might see each other again -- as opponents.

"(Jasmine) is in my conference," she said. "That's going to be real interesting. She's already talking junk like, 'I'll see you out on the court.'"