She played 101 games for the Lady Vols basketball team under the coaching of the legendary Pat Summitt. She was the European Basketball League’s American Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. She won two cups in Spain and in Ireland. She’s the youngest inductee in the Bristol Tennessee City Schools Athletic Hall of Fame.
Today, she works at Tennessee High School, her alma mater, giving back to the community where she got her start as the Communities in Schools representative.
Her job enables her to help increase student and family involvement at school, provide attendance incentives like donut parties for homeroom, and encourage students by bringing in motivational speakers like Nathan Wray.
But before she was any of these things, she was a young girl playing basketball with the neighborhood kids on McDowell Street. The street next to the Slater Center, the place that used to be a segregated high school in the 60s: Slater High School.
With a quickly growing passion for basketball, McDaniel did not back down from her goal to be the best athlete she could be. Sports were already a familiar area for her; she spent a lot of her time going to her brothers’ games and practices throughout her childhood.
“My ball became my best friend, and at a very young age I knew this is what I wanted to be great at,” said McDaniel.
Surrounded by an expansive support team, her biggest inspirations were her childhood coaches and family members. Her father, Tommy McDaniel, is one of her greatest heroes.
He attended Slater High School and had a “determination to stand and be a part of a movement,” said McDaniel. Growing up and experiencing his passion, she was infinitely inspired to achieve her dreams—and did.
Graduating from Tennessee High in 2000, McDaniel holds multiple records for basketball, including most points scored in a season and most rebounds in a season. She excelled in track and field as well, holding a school record for discus and placing second in state.
McDaniel was inspired by the Chicago Bulls and discovered her love for hustle plays and rebounding through their team, specifically one athlete.
“[It] didn’t take long to realize that I loved how Dennis Rodman played,” said McDaniel, “He became my favorite player.”
McDaniel’s cousin, Shanna Howard, was also an inspiration that allowed her to strive to be the best. Upon receiving the Hall of Fame award in September, McDaniel was shocked, thankful, and thinking of her cousin.
“I used to always go and stare at her jersey in Viking Hall,” said McDaniel. “[I] told myself that my jersey was going to hang in this school too.”
