De’yanna Douglas’ coaches call her a “walking double-double.”
The Midwest City senior averaged 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds as a junior last year. The sport has come naturally to her since the first time she picked up the rock.
“Basketball has always been the sport I preferred over anything else. I did volleyball my junior year and enjoyed it and was even good in it, but it just didn’t click like basketball,” Douglas said.
“Basketball has just always been the thing I come back to ever since I was 5.”
Douglas credits the influence (and good genes) of her family. Her uncles and mom played at Midwest City, too, but she inherited the most from her great grandmother, Barbara.
“My family has always been full of basketball players and working at gyms, so watching my uncles and always being around basketball just inspired me to want to do it and be good at it, so it’s always been in me,” Douglas said. “From my great grandmother, [I learned] to never stop moving. She’s going on 80 and is still able to cross people over and shoot. The rest of my family constantly tells me to just leave it all on the floor, no matter if it’s the first game of the season to your very last game. Leave no regrets and make sure you’re having fun, because no one’s going to play good or ever be remembered for being a sad player.”
Just as she followed the examples of her relatives before her, Douglas is paving the way for her one brother and two sisters.
“In most situations, people tend to gravitate towards me with hopes of me just leading, which I don’t mind and being the oldest helps a lot with it. My sisters keep me on my toes, but I love them for it,” Douglas said.
For the Bombers to find success this year, they’ll need Douglas to display that leadership. Her teammates are like sisters to her, she said.
“I love them and I love that, in a pinch, they can count on me just as I can count on them. Being a leader has its ups and downs. You’re the one they look towards when things go wrong or they even need guidance, either in life or on the court, but good or bad, I’m there for them when they need me,” Douglas said.
After she graduates, Douglas hopes her teammates remember her “as someone who made an impact.”
“Someone who made their days a little brighter whenever I could, because that’s what I strive for, to positively impact others around me, even if it’s just a high-five or a kind word.”
In college, Douglas plans to pursue a degree in psychology and become a family therapist or a marriage counselor.
