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Koenig commits to Bradley U basketball
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · June 08, 2017
Last week, just after finishing her junior year at West Branch High School, Tatum Koenig posted on Twitter that she gave a verbal commitment to play Division I basketball for Bradley University in Peoria.
Not too many players get an offer before senior year, especially from the highest-level in college sports, Division I. Further, fewer still do it with a 5-7 frame.
Yet Tatum had a standing full-ride offer from Wichita State for a few years, and then Lafayette, another Division I team. Then Bradley came along after the coaching staff saw her play at an AAU tournament.
Tatum visited the school, heard their pitch and made a decision in just a matter of days.
“The school is incredible,” she said. “I’ve heard so many good things about it. The staff is incredible, too. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Bears Head Coach Jarod Tylee said he was “pretty excited” to hear Koenig’s announcement.
“I know it’s been quite a process for her,” he said. “I’m relieved for her. I know she was waiting for it to happen and make a decision. She put a lot of time into it. It’s not a decision anyone should take lightly, and she did her research.”
Tatum called the college search “a long journey” from freshman year to now.
“It’s been a little stressful, but now I can focus on senior year,” she said.
Koenig is No. 7 overall in Class 2A girls basketball, scoring an average of 20 points per game, shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from three-point range and 74.6 percent from the line and 461 points this season. Koenig is fourth in Class 2A for points per game. And for players with 20 points or more, she is second in three-point shooting percentage, third in free-throw shooting percentage, and fourth from field goal shooting percentage.
A daughter of Brad and Nikki Koenig, she earned 76 assists, 98 steals, three blocks and had 54 turnovers. She pulled down 135 rebounds, for an average of 5.9 per game.
At 5-7, Tatum is as tall as NBA veteran Spud Webb, and also plays point guard. Her height disadvantage means working harder at other aspects of the game, which she has played for seven or eight years now. Her mother played high school basketball, too.
“I’ve always had to work hard,” she said. “Being short, it’s difficult to play (against taller opponents). I’ve had to work on toughness, honestly.”
Tylee also called her “fearless.”
“She not afraid to get into a lane and make stuff happen,” he said. “She’s very crafty, gets the ball up off the glass and gets shots off. … She’s comfortable taking shots off-balance or finding different angles.”
Tylee said Tatum’s versatility likely attracted the college coaches.
“When you watch a basketball game she’s involved with, she makes an impact one way or another,” he said. That means either by scoring, on defense, rebounding or assists. “That’s what Bradley liked.”
Another interesting aspect of her height is that her older brother, Cooper, who stands 6-5 and also played basketball, also got a Division I scholarship — for long jumping for the University of Iowa.
“Cooper really liked basketball, but slowly liked track more,” Tatum said, while she maintained a passion for basketball.
Tatum said her parents “learned to love the game” and have helped with some pointers they picked up online and at clinics, serving as her coaches at home.
Tylee said the results of Tatum’s time in club ball and at home practicing shows up on the high school court.
“She attacks, attacks, attacks,” the coach said. “She’s fundamentally sound and has that basketball IQ. She’s got all the tools. … I look forward to helping her elevate her game for one more season before she heads off to college.”
Tatum’s May 31 tweet includes a photo of Koenig wearing the Braves’ No. 12 jersey in the locker room, posing with Head Coach Andrea Gorski, and assistant coaches Christina Hamilton, Paul Fessler and Kristi Zeller.
Gorski took the helm of the Bradley Braves in April 2016 and is credited with improving the team’s overall win total in the Missouri Valley Conference for the first time since the 2008-09 season and topping the team’s overall season win total.
Tatum said must report to Bradley on June 20, 2018, to start preseason practice and undergo orientation.
She must compete to make varsity, and will focus on playing one of the two guard positions.
“Score the ball,” she said. “That’s what colleges want.”
She enters her final high school season this November, and opposing teams will know by then that she accepted that DI offer, and will likely put her one-on-one with their best player, or two of them.
“If they double-team, I’m willing — that will open up my teammates, … and leave them wide open,” she said.
Tatum plans to major in environmental science. She said she was impressed with the school’s academics and facilities.
She thanked her coaches, team, fans and family — including her younger siblings, Sasha and Peter — for their support over the years.
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