Adhel Tac finds home at UTEP with old high school pal Avery Crouse
Coming out of Sachse High School in the North Dallas exurbs, Adhel Tac wanted some place comfortable to begin her college basketball career.
Two years ago that was almost-hometown school TCU, which she chose over, among many others, UTEP.
More:C-USA women's basketball standings
Comfortable surroundings, though, can be generated in multiple ways. When Tac’s 2020-21 season at TCU didn’t work out and she entered the transfer portal, she sought a familiar face instead of a familiar place.
The second time UTEP recruited her, the Miners came at Tac with the player most likely to land her, her old Sachse High teammate and Miner elder stateswoman Avery Crouse.
Tac did commit to UTEP this time, and as the Miners head into Saturday’s home game with Louisiana Tech, her emerging presence at power forward is among the reasons UTEP is off to a 9-3 start.
"I was going through some things and just wanted to find a new home,” Tac said of the recruiting process before the 2021-22 season. “Avery Crouse was heavy on recruiting me here.
“Avery played a big role. I’ve known her since sixth or seventh grade, the trust is there with her and her family (Crouse’s father Gary is an assistant boys coach at Sachse). They let me know everything about UTEP, I kind of went from there and now we’re here together.”
That makes both of them, and UTEP, happy.
More:Women's basketball: N'Yah Boyd lives up to billing for UTEP
“It’s been really cool,” Crouse said. “That was one of the things I was most excited for whenever I thought she was considering UTEP, the possibility of playing with her again, getting to have her as a teammate again, have her around.
“We were very close in high school. She was one of my best friends on the team. Even on the court, off the court, we had great chemistry and that’s transferred over here.”
Not surprisingly for a power forward, developing into a next-level player took a bit longer for Tac than the swingplayer Crouse, who was starting from Game 1 as a freshman in 2019-20.
A three-star prospect out of Sachse, Tac played 55 minutes in 14 games in her true freshman year at TCU. Last season she became a rotation regular off the bench for UTEP, averaging 7.0 minutes and 1.4 points.
Tac just needed development time and here it is. This year as a starter she’s averaging 7.3 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds in 24 minutes and is coming off a 15-point effort against Rice.
“Adhele is doing what we thought we could do when we got her from TCU,” coach Kevin Baker said. “She can do it all. She can score inside. She can score outside. She’s a very, very intelligent defender.
“Now you’re starting to see something she’s really good at and that’s rebounding the basketball. It’s hard to keep Adhel off the offensive glass. She’s really a very well-rounded player to just be a sophomore.”
More:Jazion Jackson makes quick splash for UTEP women's basketball
Tac takes pride in the “well-rounded” part.
"I bring a post presence, rebounding and a vocal leader on the court,” Tac aid. “I try to do what’s needed.
“We have a couple of veterans who have to step up on the court and be more vocal leaders, off the court, in practice — not just in games. It’s about being that communicator and helping the younger guys out.”
Tac said that comes with being more familiar with the system and the people in it.
“I do feel more comfortable, I credit my teammates,” Tac said. “The first year is always a little shaky but with my teammates here, it helped me get into it. I feel more comfortable now in my second year.”
That shows up in her personality as well.
“She’s quiet until you get to know her, then she’s not quiet at all,” Crouse said. “She’s goofy, she’s funny, she’s one of the class clowns of our team. Everyone loves her, everyone laughs with her.
“She’s just a good person all around.”
With each passing game she’s become a better and better basketball player for a UTEP team that wins three times as often as it loses.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
Louisiana Tech at UTEP
What, when, where: A Conference USA women’s basketball game, 1 p.m. Saturday, Don Haskins Center
Records: UTEP is 9-3 overall, 2-1 in C-USA; La. Tech is 8-5, 1-2
Tickets: $8 and $12
TV: CUSAtv
Last meeting: UTEP def. La. Tech 63-54 on Dec. 18 in Ruston
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Adhel Tac finds home at UTEP with old high school pal Avery Crouse
