With the rich basketball talent in her family, it’s hard to believe that Oak Forest’s Ambriel Anderson actually got a late start when it comes to being serious about the sport.
Her cousin, Darius Robinson, played at Kenwood and is now at Oral Roberts. Her uncle, Marcel Anderson, played at Rich South and Harris-Stowe State and has played overseas. Her brother, Steve, also prepped at Oak Forest and is playing for Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.
“Almost all of my cousins play college ball,” she said. “Everybody in the family plays basketball.”
Finally, Ambriel is on board. After playing for Rich Township as a freshman, she switched to Oak Forest and started playing AAU.
“I didn’t start to take it serious until my sophomore year,” she said of her dedication to the sport. “Softball was my first sport initially.”
Her career took a twist when she skipped her junior season in high school to play for Example Academy. But she’s back with the Bengals, developing into a leader on and off the court.
The senior guard scored 18 points and added five rebounds and three steals Thursday night, helping Oak Forest to a 52-17 South Suburban Blue win over host Tinley Park.
Sophomore guard Natalia Covarrubias tallied 14 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bengals (15-14, 4-4). Junior forward Madilyn Martinez came through with 10 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
Melanie Musser scored six points for Tinley Park (3-14, 1-6), which was held to just one point in the second half. Brooke Becker had 11 rebounds and freshman guard Jaiden Ilginis added nine.
Before Anderson took that year away from high school basketball, she was teammates at Oak Forest with Janae Kent, who played last season at LSU and is now starting for Texas A&M.
Anderson credited her leadership skills to the things she learned from Kent.
“I definitely took what Janae brought to me to bring to them,” Anderson said of the younger players. “Sometimes, I might be hard, holding them accountable, but that’s what it takes to go to the next level.”
Anderson said that Kent was hard on her but never got angry.
“I’m not that type of player,” Anderson said. “I listened and learned. Whatever Janae said, I took it and I stored it in the back of my head.”
Martinez, meanwhile, is glad to have Anderson back.
“She brings so much aggressiveness and energy — we love her so much,” Martinez said of Anderson. “She’s great on defense and always brings her best to the team.”
Oak Forest coach Jeff Kelly sees Anderson as a different type of player as a senior.
“Brie’s physicality has improved and so has her jump shot,” Kelly said. “She’s a great kid and a great team player and a natural leader.”
The Bengals are keeping their head above water when it comes to posting a winning season. They were looking for a better record, but Kelly believes the Bengals can close out strong.
“We missed Brie for a few games because she hurt her knee,” Kelly said. “She came back, and she was kind of slow getting back. But she’s back to herself the last couple of games.
“I think we should have about four more wins. But we played some good teams.”
Earlier this month, Anderson scored her 1,000th career point.
She also has an interesting approach to the game. She plays hard and works hard but doesn’t put pressure on herself.
“Basketball brings me peace,” she said. “I know that if I’m ever feeling uneasy, I can always get in the gym and have fun. I never took basketball as a job.
“I love to play it and I love to learn more about it.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
