Tahnee Robinson (born February 2, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player now actively coaching in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

. She is the first enrolled Native American woman to be drafted into the WNBA being a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. She was also the first player to be drafted into the WNBA from the

University of Nevada-Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

(UNR).

Early life

Tahnee Robinson was born February 2, 1988, in

Fort Washakie, Wyoming Fort Washakie ( arp, Ce'eyeino'oowu') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States, within the Wind River Indian Reservation and along U.S. Route 287. The population was 1,759 at the 2010 census. The headquarters ...

, to Tim and Sara Robinson. Her mother is

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

and

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

and her father is

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

and

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

. She was raised on the

Wind River Reservation The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone ( shh, Gweechoon Deka, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Northern Arapaho ( arp, h ...

in Fort Washakie, Wyoming with her two brothers. She is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. Robinson began playing basketball at the age of four, and at the age of six told her mother that she would like to play basketball in college. In high school Tahnee became one of McDonald's High School All-Americans. Tahnee had a successful high school career; during her senior year Robinson led her team to win the Class 3A State title in 2006, and signed her letter of intent to play at the University of Wyoming.

College career

After she graduated from Lander Valley High School in 2006 she went to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. However, during her freshman year she became unexpectedly pregnant, and gave birth to a son at the age of 19 forcing her to leave school. She was then granted a chance to play for

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

, and took the opportunity. She tried balancing being a full-time student, a single mom, and an athlete at the same time but she was overwhelmed and forced to leave her son with her parents. Tahnee became the leading scorer in the nation for National Junior College Athletic Association schools, averaging nearly 30 points per game (PPG). Leading her team to their first-ever appearance at Nationals in 2009, Robinson's performance gained a lot of attention from four-year universities. She then graduated from Sheridan College with an Associate of Science Degree in General Studies before she transferred to the University of Nevada for the 2010–11 season. In her first year at the University of Nevada she had a breakout season as the Wolf Pack's co-captain in 2009-10 she was named the Western Athletic Conference's Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-WAC. The entire 2010–11 season she remained in the top-15 in the nation for scoring, ending the year as the ninth-best with 22.1 points per game. She then picked up her second All-WAC first-team nod and was named to the WAC All-Tournament Team. Her senior year Tahnee was promoted to captain, and went on to become one of twelve of Nevada's 1,000-point scorers averaging 19.5 points per game. In addition, she was named one of five finalists for the Sullivan Award, given annually to the nation's top amateur athlete. Furthermore, Robinson was also named a WBCA All-Region honoree and WAC Verizon Wireless Player of the Week three times over the season. Robinson lead The Wolf Pack to a record 22 wins in her two-year career. Tahnee then received her Bachelor of Science Degree in General Studies with emphasis in Health Education, Communication and Native American Studies at Nevada-Reno.

College statistics

Source

Professional career

In 2011 she became Nevada's first WNBA selection, and the first enrolled full blooded Native American woman drafted in the third round by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

. Tahnee was then traded to the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

were she played for them over seas before she was released from the roster. After being released from the team the Head coach Mike Thibault stated that he believed that Robinson can eventually become a good player in the league. He also stated, "Tahnee just hadn't been able to beat out the people in front of her," Thibault said. "The players at our guard position are pretty solid veterans and there really isn't a roster spot for her at this point. She has some work to do in a couple of areas of her game and hopefully she can go overseas also and work on them." Robinson then decided to play four seasons of professional basketball overseas. Over the four years she played professional basketball in countries such as Israel, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland and China, but unfortunately suffered from an injury. Tahnee then returned to the University of Nevada-Reno and became a graduate assistant for the Wolf Pack Women's basketball team while she pursued her master's degree in the University of Nevada's educational leadership program. Robinson was then promoted to the Director of Player Development for the Wolf Pack. Making her one of three Native women coaching at the NCAA Division I level. Robinson is also a Nike N7 basketball ambassador and the national spokeswoman for “Let’s Move! In Indian Country,” a

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

, health initiative. Tahnee is also the national spokeswoman for Big Brothers & Big Sisters.

References

External links