Amani Brown named 2021 NJCAA All-American

VINCENNES, Ind – Vincennes University Lady Trailblazer Amani Brown just added another award to her name after a stellar career at VU after being named a 2021 NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention this week.

Amani Brown led the Blazers to a 17 – 4 record this past season, while averaging 17.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

"It means the world to me to be named an NJCAA All-American," Brown said. "Being an All-American was one of my goals at the start of the season, so for it to actually happen is a blessing and just goes to show hard work will pay off. This is just the beginning of a new chapter and I am grateful and will forever cherish this accomplishment."

"Amani had a good freshmen year last year and we had an idea that she was going to be a really good player for us," VU Lady Trailblazers Hall of Fame head coach Harry Meeks said. "Amani is a great kid, we love having her on our team, she always tries to do everything you tell her to in practice and I enjoyed coaching her."

"This year I thought she had a really good year," Meeks added. "She had some good guards around her, which allowed her to shine a little bit. Her scoring and assists went up and she's got the speed and quickness to be a really good player at the next level."

Brown is the 28th member of the VU Women's Basketball program to be named an All-American and the 25th under Coach Meeks and adds her name to the banner of All-American in VU history that hangs in the P.E. Complex.

"I am proud to say I'm an All-American, so having my name on that banner with all the great players before me is something I dreamed of and knowing it will be there forever is an even better feeling," Brown added.

"Most of those names on those banners I coached and I think that's a mark on your program," Meeks said. "If you've got All-American players, whether their First-team, second-team, etc., at least they're on the list. They put in the work, they had good stats and people recognized them as being an All-American type player. To me, I'm really proud that we keep putting names in the rafters. That's important for me, it's important to the girls that make it to that level and it's going to be really nice to see Amani's name go up there."

For Brown, this honor was obviously not given, it was most definitely earned. It serves as the culmination of hours of hard work and staying focused.

"It takes hard work, mental toughness, effort, attitude and staying disciplined," Brown said. "Not everything is going to be easy, but staying focused and never giving up on what you really want will get you where you want to be."

"From my perspective to be an All-American means they reached a certain level with their play and that level makes you better than most," Meeks said. "I don't think you can be a person who is not completely invested in what you're doing and be an All-American player. I think you have to be totally involved in the game, as far as practice, game preparation and game play to get on that list. Some of the girls on our banners are really good basketball players and that gets you a certain status when you get your name up there. I'm really pleased to have to add Amani Brown's name to that list because she deserves to be up there."