Having a father who stands 6’ 8” tall and played basketball on the collegiate level, it was inevitable that the blood line who eventually take its toll on Franklin’s Ali Brigham. The now 6’ 3” center is in her sophomore year and has already made a name for herself.
“The sky is the limit fort her; she’s just scratching the surface and should be able to expand her game,” Bill Brigham, who played for Boston University and George Washington during his college days, said. “It’s very exciting to watch her grow. She’s going to put me in the rearview mirror and beat everything that I ever did.”
Ali Brigham recalls picking up a basketball for the first time around first grade, and then, as a fourth grader, joined the AAU basketball team the Mass Mavericks before moving over to NEX Elite three years later. It was here that she wanted to take her game to the next level.
According to her Dad, Ali was a late bloomer, but by playing with the older kids on the AAU team, she was gaining confidence and confidence.
“Confidence is the biggest thing with young athletes,” the elder Brigham said. “As Ali began to come into her own, I thought that she could really be pretty good.”
As high school got closer Brigham started working more on her shooting as well as playing a more aggressive game on the court for her AAU team; she was hoping that she’d be ready for freshman tryouts. That would be a bit of an understatement.
“There was a bit of jitters, but overall, I was not all that nervous,” she said. “Then about 10 minutes into the tryout, the Coach asked myself and a few others to join the junior varsity and varsity tryouts. That wasn’t too bad, as I knew a lot of the girls from the summer league.”
Since then, Brigham has established herself as the varsity starting center for the Panthers. Although a little nervous that first game, she knew that she had worked really hard to get to this point, and that she belonged here. As a freshman, she scored 12 points and averaged another 12 rebounds. At the conclusion of her freshman season, she was named the Hockomock League All Star team, was the Panther’s team MVP and was the Hockomock League Underclassman of the year.
“That was an exciting time, not just for me, but for all of my teammates, who helped me get to that point,” Brigham said. “I may have been given the award, but it was all about the team.”
While the Franklin freshman was racking up the wards locally, her big break came during her play with NEX. The AAU team, which is out of Braintree, traveled south to take part in tournaments in Kentucky, North Carolina and Washington DC. It was in Washington, where the team was taking part in the National Tournament that Brigham started to receive national exposure.
It wasn’t long before her father received a call from the University of Minnesota on behalf of his daughter, as colleges cannot speak directly to high school athletes until after their sophomore year, and Ali had not even started her second year in high school yet.
“That was a really proud moment for me,” the elder Brigham said. “For Ali, she was thrilled, but really had no idea. When I told her about the offer from Minnesota, she wanted to know if they were a Division 1 school, were they any good, and did they play in a good conference.”
Although her father was very proud of what his daughter had accomplished at such a young age, Brigham was nervous when her father called her and told her he needed to talk to her after school.
“When he called me, the first thing that I thought about was I was in trouble,” she said. “When he told me about the scholarship, I thought it was awesome, but it was something that I was not expecting at all. I definitely want to play basketball in college, but I’m not planning on making any decisions just yet.”
“At 6’3,” she was not only good in the paint with her rebounding last year, but she was starting to make a name for herself in the league,” Franklin Coach John Leighton said. “After playing in the Nationals, she got the exposure and after the University of Minnesota called, the flood games seemed to open and she received more offers from the likes of Boston University, Brown and Holy Cross.”
With no decisions to come from the Brigham household for some time now, Ali is keeping her mind, and all options opened as she continues to keep in touch with those schools that have already offered her scholarships. She says she take in games of those schools who are interested, but she still needs to focus on improving her game.
“I have to stay more composed this year, as I’m seeing a lot more double teams. I’m just going to have to go out there and play my game.”
Brigham has been working on her three-point shooting where in game situations she can start off in the middle of the paint and then bounce herself outside and bury the three. This way, she’ll be able to take whatever is given to her inside or out.
“She’s still young and needs to expand her game, but she already has the potential,” Coach Leighton said. “She is also adding an outside presence to her game with a three-point shot. Not only that, Ali can also handle the ball quiet well.”
While still being on the young age; although a sophomore she will not turn 16 until late July, her father wants her to enjoy as much of her high school career as she can.
“I told her that once they can start calling her directly, it’s going to become a difficult time for her,” he said. “It’s going to be a very stressful time, but will also be the best time of her life.”
Issue Date:
January, 2018
Article Body:
Column: