She’s ready to hit the books — and the court.
South Shore basketball standout Tsahai Corbie didn’t have much time to catch her breath last week. She graduated high school, said goodbye to family and friends and, on June 28, packed her bags for college. Corbie, who will play Division I hoops at Coppin State University next season, had mixed emotions heading into the move, but mostly, she was just excited for the next step in her career — both in the classroom and on the court — to begin.
“I’m really excited,” Corbie said. “I’m really amped to play against some great competition and earn my spot.”
Corbie has good reason to feel confident heading into college. She helped lead South Shore to yet another city championship last season and was an instrumental part of the Lady Vikings’ first-ever Federation championship. She was named the Most Valuable Player at the Mayor’s Cup and, on June 16, was award the Public Schools Athletic League Wingate Award for the top senior performance in girls hoops across the city.
It was a season Corbie hopes will give her a strong foundation to build on once she gets to Coppin, but she’s still willing to work for every single minute she gets next season.
“I’m definitely confident, but I don’t want to have the wrong mindset going into college,” said Corbie, who averaged 8.6 points during the postseason last year. “I really want to earn everything for myself and I want to prove to everyone I deserve what I got.”
Corbie isn’t one to shy away from extra time in the gym or, even, extra work at practice. The shooting guard overcome an injury in her junior year, returning to the Lady Vikings lineup last winter and surprising just about everyone — except herself.
“I came off my injury late in my junior year and I feel like people kind of doubted me before that,” Corbie said. “So I feel like that all of the accomplishments I’ve gotten, the awards, it’s shown people not to overlook me.”
South Shore’s girls basketball program has set a standard for success across the city during the last three years; now, Corbie is ready to test her talents against stiffer competition.
“The competition is just really going to be something I’ve never dealt with before and everybody keeps telling me that, but the amount of work that I’m putting in, just shows how ready I am for that,” she said.
Corbie isn’t putting too much stock in numbers — unless they’re her grades — but she does have a few on-court goals she’s looking to accomplish this season. She’s already gunning for Freshman of the Year honors and a regular spot in the lineup and she’s ready to hit the ground running as soon as she gets to Coppin.
“I’ve really been focused on the idea that statements say less, you’ve got to just actually do more,” she said. “And I’m ready to prove that.”
