health & wellness >> sports

People's Choice

Steve Stein

Contributing Writer

T

amar Brown was enjoying a
Passover break trip to Florida last
month when a friend sent her a
text message with some interesting news.
She'd been nominated by her high
school — Frankel Jewish Academy — for
the West Bloomfield Patch online news-
paper's prep athlete of the winter season
award, and voting was already under way.
"I had no idea I was nominated;' she
said.
The senior girls basketball player also
had no idea what was about to happen.
More than 2,500 votes were cast for the
award over five days, and she won with
1,337 votes thanks to a late surge. West
Bloomfield High School sophomore wres-
tler Ross Bahro was runner-up with 1,167
votes.
The other nominees for the award were
West Bloomfield seniors Max Dubin and
Syndi Davis and Orchard Lake St. Mary's
senior Chibunna Ukandu.
So how did someone from a private,
religious school with 218 students end up
with more than 1,300 votes? Brown said

friends and family campaigned tirelessly
for her through social media outlets like
Facebook and sent emails. Old-fashioned
face-to-face conversations and phone calls
also worked.
"Shocked and honored" is how Brown
describes her reaction to the victory. "It
was amazing I got that much support from
the community."
Frankel girls basketball coach Aron
Wolgel shares his player's amazement.
"It was incredible how the community
bonded so quickly to support her:' he said.
Brown is a 17-year-old Southfield resi-
dent. She played basketball for Frankel for
four years, the final three as a starter, after
serving as the "sixth man" as a freshman.
The 5-foot-4 guard averaged just 3.5
points per game as a junior, when Frankel
finished 2-11 in Wolgel's first season as
coach.
This season was a different story for
Brown and the Jaguars. The tri-captain
averaged 11 points per game on a team
that averaged less than 30, and Frankel
improved to 9-11.
Brown made 17 three-point shots,
scored more than 20 points twice, was
successful on nearly 60 percent of her free
throws, and she was named to the All-

Catholic League Team.
Wolgel said Brown matured as a player
this season and took advantage of an
opportunity to be a leader on and off the
floor.
Away from basketball, "Tamar is a very
centered and balanced person who is dili-
gent about her studies:' the coach said.
Brown has a 3.7 grade point average and
is headed to the University of Maryland.
Her career goal is to become a dentist.
She said she chose Maryland because
she likes the strong Orthodox Jewish com-
munity and Hillel campus chapter there,
and her sister Rachel, 20, is a sophomore
at the university.
Tamar attended Akiva Hebrew Day
School in Southfield from kindergarten
through eighth grade before entering
Frankel as a ninth-grader.
In addition to basketball, she played
soccer for two years and softball for one
season in high school.
"I enjoy playing sports:' she said.
Larry and Helen Brown, Tamar's par-
ents, also have a daughter Estee, 11, who
attends Akiva.

B'nai B'rith Golf
Here's a date to circle on your calen-
dar: July 9. That's the day of the 30th
annual B'nai B'rith Golf Classic at Wabeek
Country Club in Bloomfield Hills.

Tamar Brown

Proceeds from the outing benefit
B'nai B'rith and the B'nai B'rith Youth
Organization in the Great Lakes Region,
and Hillel chapters on state college cam-
puses.
An early bird special of $195 (if paid
by June 4) is offered for a golfers' pack-
age. For information on the outing and
reservations, contact the B'nai B'rith Great
Lakes Region office at (248) 646-3100 or
blevine@bnaibrith.org.
•
Check this column in a few weeks for
more news about the outing.

❑

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