Former Cleveland High School basketball standout Britny Latham recently played a key role for Team USA in the first-ever Under-21 World Deaf Basketball Championships in Lublin, Poland.
Latham averaged 15.4 points and was named to the all-tournament team, as the United States won its six games by an average of almost 60 points. She missed one of the games due to an injury but rebounded to can five 3s and score 20 points in a 67-44 victory over Lithuania in the gold-medal game.
Team USA coach Debbie Ayres, who graduated from the University of Tennessee and assisted the women's program in 1990-91, was excited about the addition to Latham before the tournament.
"When I first heard about Britny, I was excited because I heard she could hit five 3s a game," Ayres said, "and that's exactly what she did in the championship game. They were all at crucial times, too."
Latham had to go through a couple of major adjustments. International competition rules prohibit the players from playing with hearing aids. As a result, she had to learn how to use sign language on the court.
"All of the girls started teaching me how to use sign language on the court," Latham said. "It was pretty easy. It took a few days to learn and pick up on it because I wasn't used to it, but it became easy after a while."
Latham said she was excited when she found out she had been named one of the top five players at the tournament.
"I was talking to some people and really not paying attention," she said. "One of my teammates had to tell me I had been named to (the all-tournament team). It was pretty cool."
The team got an opportunity to do plenty of sightseeing while in Poland.
"We were able to get out and see how they live," Ayres said. "Poland is very stoic and they've been through a lot. We went to a concentration camp where they killed 400,000 people during World War II. It was very powerful for the kids to see. Over there they don't say hello -- they don't smile. A couple of the girls wondered what was wrong with them, but once they developed an appreciation, they could be thankful for who we are."
Latham will be taking her talents to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she will be joined by a few of her Team USA teammates.
"I'm happy about it and nervous at the same time," she said. "I'm ready to be back with some of my teammates that I played with. I don't think it'll be that bad because I'm more used to the deaf world now.
"It's going to be hard being away from home, friends and family, but it'll be fun and I know I can do it."