Brown bounces back after knee surgery

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior forward Tatum Brown (53) blocks the ball from San Diego State's Atim Otii (55) during Arizona's 76-69 win over the Aztecs last night at McKale Center. Brown had two rebounds and four points in the game.

Two years later, she's making up for lost time.

The junior forward was a Kodak Junior College All-American and first team NJCAA All-American last season, leading Central Arizona Community College to the junior college national championship.

Brown is coming off knee surgery for an ACL tear she suffered in the spring, but was cleared to play as practice officially opened for the team. While she didn't have as much confidence in her knee as she used to, she gradually regained it and the Arizona coaching staff knew she would make a difference in the team.

"I think having Tatum has been a positive impact on the team, not only in her actions, but with her mentality, too," head coach Joan Bonvicini said.

Brown is now a starting forward for the 2-2 Wildcats. Her main focus is defense and rebounding.

"We have awesome talent," Brown said. "My main concern is that if they (the opposition) can't score, they can't win."

Adjusting to Bonvicini's intensity was not difficult coming from Central Arizona. Brown said that her coach there was incredibly intense.

"I'm used to Coach B's intensity," she said. "I'm glad she's intense because it brings out the best in me and the best in her players."

Brown remained upbeat despite Arizona's 65-58 loss to top-ranked Purdue last Thursday, saying she thought Arizona had won the game because they had learned from an earlier loss to Nebraska and brought the intensity from practice into that game.

"We learned a lot from that game," she said. "I don't think any one of us were intimidated. They came in ready to play and so did we, but we were just on the wrong end of the stick."

Purdue took advantage of Arizona's mistakes, especially on the defensive rebounds, where the Boilermakers got multiple chances to score.

"We need to get to the boards as much as possible," Brown said. "We're working on that everyday."

The 6-foot, 4-inch junior from Tacoma, Wash., was an honorable mention USA Today All-American in 1996, the year she was named the Washington State Player of the Year. She led her school, Henry Foss, to a 22-6 mark, averaging 19.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.

She intends to major in psychology and sociology, wanting to become a child psychologist. The self-described "Mickey Mouse fanatic" said she enjoys working with children.

Off the court, she is friendly and personable, but on the court, she's as intense as anybody.

"When her knee gets better, she gains more confidence," Bonvicini said. "We need that from her."

Bryan Rosenbaum can be reached via e-mail at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.